So whats your story?

[lordson]

Dont' think theres a thread on this

How did you guys first get into wine?

And for how long have you been drinking it?


For me, i would say about 6 months now, and out of curiosity really

My mum worked as a labourer at a winery and the boss gave her a bunch of different wines, and i thought that i'd try them. Thats how i got into it really, and was more curious into how better/good wines would be like.

I've learnt so far, i dont really like Cabernet Sauvignon that much, i like Shiraz more, and i definately do not like Vigniour

[Davo]

P&$stank basically when younger. I would drink anything that was put in front of me or whatever was available at the time, including one memorable experience drinking rum and orange juice in a NW country pub where the reefer had broken down.

Slowly developed a preference for wine, starting off drinking mostly cask and mostly white (Coolabah, Angoves Whaterwheel etc) and moved into reds which is my preferred drink these days. Unfortunately I developed a taste for wines with complexity and that meant a scaling up in price, but also fortunately meant a scaling down in quantity consumed thus saving my liver.

[pcjm]

One day I went wine tasting at Charles Sturt Uni winery as my uni building was located 500mtrs from the cellar door, went there on the first date with my now wife so it was a pretty special occasion. My wife bought me a book Jancis Robinson's wine tasting work book and my interest in wine has been there ever since. I've only been collecting seriously now for the past year and a half but everytime I buy a bottle that maybe a little more money than my wife is confortable with spending i tell her that it reminds me of when we first met and all is forgiven. (works everytime)

[Daryl Douglas]

Hope she doesn't visit this site!

[kwattro]

I can't remember how i got into wine. As an asian, i grew up seeing asian men drinking rice-wine/johny walker/xo in tinny little cup (don't laught, i know it sounds bizare, but i'm being fair dinkum here, i'm not surprise if they're still doing this in some part of asia!) with their meal.

now fast forward to many years later, in this wonderful country, I think what got me into wine could have been one ocassion i went out for dinner with my high school teachers and seeing them drinking the stuff in large quantity with their foods without getting drunk .

I didn't really get into wine until after i left uni - phew...14 years ago, and i was only drinking cask red wine then. I didn't start seriously collecting until last xmas.

[Daryl Douglas]

I've been a pisspot for as long as I can remember and wine offers more variety than beer or spirits, even Scotch.

But (only) a bit more seriously, wine was a bit of a special occasion at home when I was a youngster. Starwine(sic) or Barossa Pearl at Christmas mixed about 50/50 with lemonade in a tiny sherry glass would make my mother just babble and laugh - she was a non-drinker otherwise and a non-smoker but still died of cancer at 57yo.

Grog was often around when I was growing up but it was mostly beer. I guess I started drinking wine as an alternative to beer when I was working in a bank in Ingham 35+ years ago and I was underage at the time. There was a liquor outlet just about next door to the pub where we'd drink beer in the "private" bar, occasionally a Johnnie Walker Red with a mixer like lemonade. I don't really remember the range the grog shop carried but I recall buying a bit of Mateuse Rose and Seppelt Spreitzig there - and some Cold Duck.

I later joined a Cellarmasters thingo after my older brother made me aware of it, bought a couple of cases of The Australian Dozen, joined The Wine Society, subscribed to Winepros, met Ric on the Winepros forum and have learned much more about wine than I ever would have known since joining this and the other forum, though the latter often focusses on french wines in which I have little or no interest. And I subscribe to Brian's site and Hallidays - the internet is sending me broke!

Cheers

daz

[Davo]

I've been a pisspot for as long as I can remember and wine offers more variety than beer or spirits, even Scotch.

But (only) a bit more seriously, wine was a bit of a special occasion at home when I was a youngster. Starwine(sic) or Barossa Pearl at Christmas mixed about 50/50 with lemonade in a tiny sherry glass would make my mother just babble and laugh - she was a non-drinker otherwise and a non-smoker but still died of cancer at 57yo.

Grog was often around when I was growing up but it was mostly beer. I guess I started drinking wine as an alternative to beer when I was working in a bank in Ingham 35+ years ago and I was underage at the time. There was a liquor outlet just about next door to the pub where we'd drink beer in the "private" bar, occasionally a Johnnie Walker Red with a mixer like lemonade. I don't really remember the range the grog shop carried but I recall buying a bit of Mateuse Rose and Seppelt Spreitzig there - and some Cold Duck.

I later joined a Cellarmasters thingo after my older brother made me aware of it, bought a couple of cases of The Australian Dozen, joined The Wine Society, subscribed to Winepros, met Ric on the Winepros forum and have learned much more about wine than I ever would have known since joining this and the other forum, though the latter often focusses on french wines in which I have little or no interest. And I subscribe to Brian's site and Hallidays - the internet is sending me broke!

Cheers

daz

Sparkling Starwine, Barossa Pearl, Mateuse Rose, Cold Duck 9put me off sparkling reds for years), The Australian Dozen, Cellarmasters

Snap

Except, I arrived at this forum from the now defunct Wineplanet flamewars forum. Ahh, those were the days.

I think you must be around my age, you poor ba%$#rd

[Roscoe]

I got started on a trip to the Hunter while at uni about 30 years ago. I remember participating in drinking games based around 10 or 20 litre casks of red purchased from Draytons. I started a modest cellar while at uni. It is a little larger now- mainly Australian and mainly red. I have learnt a lot from both fora, but will probably spend more time here now because despite being interested in OS wine, my palate generally gets more pleasure (and with less wallet pain) from Oz wine. The hefty private school fees are forcing me to look at qpr as a major factor when buying. In Oz, Oz wines are damn hard to beat on qpr.

[Luke W]

Interesting stories fellas

Like many of you no doubt getting pissed on goons of mcwilliams sauterne while playing cards at uni (because it was the cheapest way to get pissed) - and exposure to more free piss with a few wine tours on the way to or back from concerts in Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide was the start but the thing that really got me to look at wine as something (apart from getting pissed) was my wife's uncle who was a bit snooty and would make deprecating comments on the wines on my winerack in the late 70's.. I didn't even realise you could buy good wine or much point to it - the first real wine was a McWilliams Phillip 1975 and this became a yardstick for me for a few years until Danny at Bartlett's barn starting pouring out Maglieri shiraz, Bin 389's and 707's and then my perceptions changed. When I drove past the Wilsonton in Toowoomba and bought my first box of Grange for $11.75 a bottle things took another turn. Grange became the dinner party drink in the late 70's and early 80's until it skyrocketed from $20 a bot to about $50 and no-one except the rich were going to fork out a third of a week's salary on 1 bottle of wine...
Thank God around this time everyone else's wines seem to get better anyway and we didn't miss it too much.

Good thread Lordson but don't write off cabernet until you've drunk a great coonawarra...

Luke

[Maroon&Blue]

I've been a pisspot for as long as I can remember and wine offers more variety than beer or spirits, even Scotch.

But (only) a bit more seriously, wine was a bit of a special occasion at home when I was a youngster. Starwine(sic) or Barossa Pearl at Christmas mixed about 50/50 with lemonade in a tiny sherry glass would make my mother just babble and laugh - she was a non-drinker otherwise and a non-smoker but still died of cancer at 57yo.

Grog was often around when I was growing up but it was mostly beer. I guess I started drinking wine as an alternative to beer when I was working in a bank in Ingham 35+ years ago and I was underage at the time. There was a liquor outlet just about next door to the pub where we'd drink beer in the "private" bar, occasionally a Johnnie Walker Red with a mixer like lemonade. I don't really remember the range the grog shop carried but I recall buying a bit of Mateuse Rose and Seppelt Spreitzig there - and some Cold Duck.

I later joined a Cellarmasters thingo after my older brother made me aware of it, bought a couple of cases of The Australian Dozen, joined The Wine Society, subscribed to Winepros, met Ric on the Winepros forum and have learned much more about wine than I ever would have known since joining this and the other forum, though the latter often focusses on french wines in which I have little or no interest. And I subscribe to Brian's site and Hallidays - the internet is sending me broke!

Cheers

Dazza, you poor old Pisspot.....we'll run a chook raffle down the pub next Friday night for you!

Lifes a bitch!

Cheers
Ronaldo

[Daryl Douglas]

Dazza, you poor old Pisspot.....we'll run a chook raffle down the pub next Friday night for you!

Lifes a bitch!

Cheers
Ronaldo

Gee, ta, Ronaldo, all contributions greatly appreciated. I forgot to mention Winefront, was speaking about the wine I buy over the internet, not so much subscription costs.

Cheers

daz

[Wayno]

For me, living with a wine appreciating mate in a small flat for 6 months opened my eyes up to good wine. Not having really drunk much until my early to mid 20s, the first bottles I really drank and enjoyed were Bin 389 1994, Chain of Ponds Amadeus Cabernet 1994 and Chain of Ponds Novello Rosso (can't remember the vintage - and I guess it doesn't matter). From there, a small collection developed, with a gasp of shock when it hit 100 bottles.

Now, some years later, I don't count. Better that way.

[Jules]

My folks always drank wine, and had a cask in the fridge, so I tried a good few when I was growing up. I still have faint but good memories of the 1986 Wynns Hermitage.

However I really got serious once I started working for a large chain specialising in wine. I got the opportunity to taste a lot of wine, and interact with people who appreciated it. Like everyone else it has meant that my tastes have gravitated to more complex, and sadly more expensive, wine, but on the flipside it has massively enhanced my ability to take a punt on wines I know very little about.

I only started collecting seriously this year, but have already run out of space.

It's a terrific hobby.

[DJ]

I grew up in a family where Mum and Dad had wine with dinner most nights. During the week it was usually cask but on Saturday night it would be a bottle from Dad's cellar (a large cupboard that sat in the dining room or the garage. I started tasting what the foks were drinking on Saturday's. First of all preferred Mum's Morris' Muscat. By the time I was 15 would have a glass with Saturday dinner. First truly memorable wine was a 54 Tullock Private Bin Dry Red opened for Dad's 40th (I must have been 15!)

I did 2 vintages during Uni hols in the Hunter, ran the College Wine Cellar and ended up working in the industry for about 10 years. got bitten by the wine bug but found for me working in the industry reduced the hobby aspect. Plus I got tired of working so many weekends for little reward. Now just a hobby.