How My Love of Wine Began
My interest in wine began while visiting my in-laws in Charlottesville, VA. My wife, her sister and husband, along with my mother in law, had all taken off somewhere and left me at the house by myself. Bored, I took a walk through the countryside and discovered the Kings Family Vineyard less than a mile down the road. I went in, introduced myself, and Michael Shaps, the winemaker at that time, gave me a full tour of the facility. His love of wine was undeniable and it rubbed off on me. Needless to say, I was impressed and bought a bottle of Merlot to keep me company on the veranda. When my wife and in-laws returned, they called me to find out where I was at. I told them and they came to meet me.
It was the first time my in-laws visited the winery and it's basically right next door. We had a blast!
Returning home to Nashville, I decided I wanted to learn more about wine, so I got a job at the Wine Shoppe in Green Hills. I learned a lot in 2 years working with wine guru Josh Fowler. We did a ton of wine tastings... like every week when the new wine shipments arrived. I drank so many wines I couldn't keep up with them all so I developed a website devoted to winecology
Since then, I've done much research on wine. My favorite book about wine is The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson, whom I had the honor to meet while visiting my nephew in London. Before leaving the United States, I called the London Financial Times thinking I'd ask her secretary if Jancis would be able to sign my copy of the Companion if I took it to her office. Jancis Robinson actually answered the phone (wow). She told me not to haul my copy over the pond because the new edition of the Companion was hitting the shelves on the date of my arrival. She gave me her phone number and told me to call when I arrive and I could come to her home and she'd sign the new one there. That made my day! My nephew and I arrived to her house and drank champagne and discussed wine and life with Jancis Robinson. We had a great time... It was so wonderful!
My love of wine has expanded my horizons and allowed me to meet a lot of nice people from all over the world. From California to Michigan, from New Mexico to Canada, from Tennessee to all over Europe. Vineyards are everywhere in the world which means there's a lot of wine to drink. Let's discover the Fruit of the Vines together!
Gregg
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