This one question always irked me anytime I attended an event or a social gathering. Without fail on thanksgiving dinner a wine glass was always poured in for me, and me staring at it with a deadpan expression, eyeballs popping out not even knowing how to hold it properly! The elegance with which other women held the exquisite glass always appalled me! One sip down, that’s it, no more, obviously, my facial expressions could take anybody’s appetite down the drain, the poor lustrous and sparkling glass looking right back at me and pleading one more sip, please! Doesn’t that sound kind of outlandish to you? Well, this certainly was me and my being averse to wine!

Interestingly, I spent my childhood and growing up years in New Delhi, India, and the Middle East where life was very lavish and with no dearth of anything. Still reminisce mom dad throwing the most extravagant and swanky parties with us teenagers sitting and enjoying in our rooms! Family parties were always the highlight as we used to get to meet our friends and have a convivial time! So, my point is that I never considered having alcohol as a taboo or something that women could not enjoy in gatherings!

Well, the real deal had just begun! Nina’s Cuvet, Reserve Petite Sirah 2012, Reserve Cab, Reserve Assemblage Red were ordered one at a time by our wine connoisseur friend. Whoa! I was absolutely amazed at her fine knowledge about them, well of course not to forget I was the new kid on the block, so nothing was expected of me! Do you think I knew any of these wines? Absolutely not, so had to request my friend later to share the names to know exactly what went into my gut! The first slow sip and I tried really hard to understand the taste, but all in vain! Second sip, a bit better as I felt a bit of dryness in my mouth. Third sip, more dryness, till then the other wine was poured in my glass! By now my taste buds were confused, however, I was able to make out the difference between a sweet and fruity wine. All in all, I took only one glass that lasted me for almost two hours over our laughter, giggles, open-ended conversations, and our girly chatter!

Overall, the experience was entertaining and amusing with a bunch of fun-loving and boisterous girls! I came home with a completely changed set of thoughts and frame of mind. Will I go again for a wine tasting trip, yes, of course! All because I strongly believe in the saying, “Our vibe attracts our tribe”! It’s not the wine that attracted me to go on the trip, but the set of friends I was going to hang out with! For me, it was killing two birds with one stone, got over my hiccup not to ever drink socially, and spending a beautiful Sunday afternoon with my girls!

I strongly believe one should be audacious enough to try everything that life has to offer, you don’t like it, shove it and move on to the next one! There is so much to explore, don’t be skittish to take the plunge, go for it and you will only be a happy person that you got it off your checklist! I have a bucket full of items that I need to put a checkmark on, hope you all also have a bunch lined up in your life!

 “Whatever it is that you want to do, do it today because you can handle the pain of trying hard now but you won’t be able to handle the pain of regret later.” ~ Dhaval Gajera