So why blog?

To start off, my name is Jessica and I am 21 years old.  I am a full-time college student and work 2 part time jobs.  A little over a year ago, I hated both beer and wine.  I just didn't understand how anyone could drink it.  My mother is a self-proclaimed wine enthusiast, and I grew up with my dad always having a pack of beer in the fridge.

I thought they were crazy.

When I turned 21, I drank only fancy mixed drinks (generally with vodka).  The only time I would drink beer is if I was at a party and there was nothing else, and I would only drink wine if my mother wanted to open a bottle with me (hey, it was still alcohol).

However, something changed when my mother took me up to Napa.  Her and a colleague had decided to make the trip based on a Groupon, but they needed a designated driver (lucky me).  I drove them all around the valley and took them to all of the tasting rooms, getting more and more agitated the more intoxicated and merry they became (hey, where was my share?).  At a couple of different wineries, however, we had the privilege of speaking to one of the wine-makers (or even just a really passionate pourer).  I attribute my current love of wine to these experiences.  Before, I just thought of all alcohol as the same thing, and I based my preferences purely on my naive taste-buds.  After, I gained a new-found appreciation for all of the hard work people put into each different wine (and beer!).

My appreciation quickly grew.  My mother told me that I would probably only like white wines for awhile because I was a beginner, and told me how she drank nothing but Riesling until she was 30.  She was shocked when I started appreciating and preferring red wines, and absolutely appalled when I started showing an interest in beer (it reminded her of my father).  Now, a little over a year later, here I sit starting this blog.

I do not, by any means, consider myself an expert of any kind on beer, wine, or other liquor.  I am simply a college gal with a hobby who loves to share her opinion :)  Perhaps my observations will mirror your own, or perhaps you'll think I'm full of shit.  Either way, this blog serves to me as a hobby, a diary of sorts,  a way to keep track of all I've tried, and also a way that I can practice and maintain my writing skills.