Studying wine lists…

Sipping wine…

Wine country (this shot’s from our trip to the Piedmont region in Italy)…

 Wine cellars (both fancy and small)…

… I’m fascinated by it all!

But who am I kidding? Jamie didn’t drink anything. And because there’s no nice word for a mom who really enjoys her wine (and knows all the downtown wine shops boasting ‘toddler play centers,’) I’ll just say it– I’m the wino in this family.

“Hi, everyone. My name is Brooke and I’m an amateur wino.”
“Hi, Brooke! Welcome to wine school!”

Jamie, errr, Santa, stuffed this year’s stocking with the best gift of all, a gift certificate for a semester of uber-famous Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Wine Wine School. Jamie, or one of his elves, must have checked out the stash of wine books by my bed because Kevin’s sits at the top. I bought my first Kevin Zraly’s Complete Wine Course almost a decade ago and fell in love with his breezy tone, easy-to-follow classifications and overall obsession with all things grape. Kevin isn’t one to intimidate– he’s a wino to love!

Jamie’s packing my bento lunch box– and stuffing it with a decanter and aerator– and sending me off to wine school beginning February 27th. We meet on Mondays, from 7-9pm, for eight weeks, until mid-April. My ultimate test won’t be administered by Kevin but by the Staglin Family  when Jamie and I cook alongside them and their wines at the Destin Charity Wine Auction (more on that later).

If you want to join me at wine school, and happily fumble through Bordeaux and Burgundies and big California Cabs, sign up here. I will be the overeager student in the front row. Just slap my hand down and steal my stemware if you can’t take any more of my questions and tasting notes.