My Origin Story
The book, the blog, and the bottle that started it all for me.
Every person in wine has their defining moments. Today’s book, blog, and bottle set the stage for my wine learning and appreciation.
The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert by Richard Betts
Richard Betts appeared in my life in an unlikely place.
I was deep into the Tim Ferriss Podcast and drinking the kool-aid on all things health and fitness. So, the interview titled, “The Tattooed Heretic of Wine and Whiskey, Richard Betts” didn’t speak to me.
Having listened to almost everything else by Tim, I reluctantly played Richard’s interview during a train ride home. And his story surprised me.
Richard took a hard left from law into the world of food and wine. His journey made me question what I was doing—showing up to everyday to a job I hated.
Later on, I read Richard’s Scratch and Sniff wine book as preparation for my first interview for a wine job. And less than a year later, I had the opportunity to interview Richard for the Road To Wine Expert Summit. Surreal.
Cocktails Before The Collapse
If Richard Betts’s interview was the catalyst, Cal Fussman’s article pushed me over the wine edge. Again Tim Ferriss rescued me. I encountered Cal’s story on the Tim Ferriss Show.
Cal’s wine journey would be the second time I heard of someone learning wine from a practical standstill. Cal did it later in life with the intense help of experts at Windows on the World. In effort to become the “perfect man,” Cal wanted to get unafraid of wine—something I help others do every week with my other wine newsletter.
More powerful than Cal’s journey was his highlighting of wine’s ability to bring us all together in good and bad times.
One of my biggest thrills was inspiring Cal to get into wine again after our interview.
2013 Bedrock Monte Rosso Zinfandel
I opened this bottle on Thanksgiving 2017, and the rest is history.
The 2013 Bedrock Monte Rosso Zinfandel was chuggable and bright, thanks to its amazing acidity. The wine possessed never-ending layers of red and black fruits, herbs, and spices. It was a mind-altering experience.
After drinking it, I spent many months trying to figure out why it was so special.
It forced me to go deep, instead of wide. And while I absorbed everything I loved about the wine, I came out with more knowledge and more passion to fuel my future wine learning.
What I realized is that Zinfandel (and really any wine) can achieve greatness from the best sites and in the hands of a talented winemaker.