I’m not sure
when the passion consumed me. The drive
was so fierce; I threw away a 6-figure salary, 401K, perks and celebrity
parties. Coming out of college, I wanted
nothing more than to be an actress. I
was a triple-threat; actress, singer, dancer.
That dream fell through when I realized I had to be poor and risk daily
rejection. So, I took a job in the
“entertainment industry”. No, I wasn’t a
stripper or anything like that. I took a
measly job as a Secretary for a Media Research honcho at a Radio Network doing
ad sales research (ratings, ratings, ratings).
We had one studio on our floor so my initial celebrity meetings started
right away. I remember Chuck Berry. He lovingly called me “Red” since my hair was
red at the time. I also remember the
very hot Lorenzo Lamos in his black leather, skin-tight pants looking delicious. Where was I going with this?
I worked at
the Radio Network for 3 years. In the
beginning I worked for the Senior Vice President of Research. My jobs consisted mostly of answering his
phone, typing his memos and letters and doing some basic research reports such
as finding out what the elusive 18-24 year old male does with his spare time
and how can we reach his ears with radio.
It was during
this time that OJ Simpson was on trial and everyone spent lunch breaks watching
All My Children. We had a new manager start after I had been
there some time and she helped propel my career to bigger and better
things. One of the first things she said
to me was “You want to get ahead? I’ll
teach you what you want to know.” From
her, I was able to move through the ranks of advertising which would ultimately
let me demand a 6-figure salary before my world changed 360 degrees.
During this
time I met my future husband who was my rock, my support system and encouraged
me in whatever I wanted to do. It was
through him that I learned about wine.
I can’t
pinpoint the day or the exact moment it happened. I remember hating wine. My father used to
make homemade wine in our kitchen. The
smell of wine fermenting over breakfast was less than appealing. He used everything from peaches, apples,
plums and any other fruit he could buy in mass quantities, except wine
grapes. My parents used to swill their
homemade brew in glasses we referred to as fish bowls. They were these enormous glasses with large,
round bowls and tall skinny stems. My
father was proud of his wine and often let me taste it. I remember the awfulness of it. It was high in alcohol and reminded me of
peroxide. Needless to say, my early wine
experiences did everything to sway me away from wine.
Over the
years, I found White Zinfandel. I think
we all do unless you grow up in a more worldly, sophisticated household. White Zinfandel was America’s favorite wine
at one time (followed by Chardonnay and now Pinot Noir, thank you Sideways). White Zinfandel was made by accident by the
Sutter Home winery. During fermentation
the skins of the very red Zinfandel were separated from the batch, creating a
lovely pink hue. The wine maker cried
for several days, I’m sure. He thought
he ruined an entire harvest of profits.
He did the only thing he could think of at the time. He bottled it as a novelty and it became a
hit. The rest is history.
After White
Zinfandel, I found Riesling. What about
reds? The only reds I had ever tried up
to this point was cheap, mass produced, hot, nasty tasting ones. So, I stayed away from them thinking I wasn’t
a red wine girl.
After meeting
my now husband, we ventured to the Finger Lakes to taste wine along the Cayuga
Lake trail. I remember my “ah-ha” moment
for reds. We went to this one winery. The main house was a barn and they had
scheduled wine tastings where they paired bites of food to enhance the
experience. The guests sat in rocking chairs as the teacher, wine maker,
whoever it was, walked everyone through the tasting. I remember the wine. It was called Spaghetti Red and it was paired
with chocolate. I had found love.
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