I’m here to drink wine for you, and hopefully at some point, with you. I’m setting out on this blogging journey to educate myself, and hopefully you, about the WWW (Wide World of Wine). That WWW reference was your first warning that I can be corny at times. I apologize in advance.

I drink wine a lot, with friends, with co-workers, during Richmond Gay Pride and sometimes in the morning (Sometimes there’s leftover sips in your glass from the night before. Do not judge me!). My only problem is, I don’t know much about the wine I’m drinking. People speak of tannins, and I think they should use sunblock. The “buttery” Chardonnay I tasted at the Richmond Wine Festival tasted nothing like the Country Crock I slap on my potato. At every wine festival I attend, I learn the difference between steel and oak barrels, but, it never fails; every time I sober up, all the knowledge is gone. Apparently, I need some wine schooling.  We’ll learn together along the way.

Wine bottles aboard the Titanic are still intact. How's that for vintage?

So, to start us off, I’ve done some Googling to find a few fun wine facts. They’re great for random wine bar knowledge.

• Remember Leo?: Everyone’s favorite ship, the Titantic, holds the oldest wine cellar in the world. Amazingly, the bottles are still intact.
• Fill up your Kroger basket: It takes around 600 to 800 grapes to make a bottle of wine.
• Ladies, I love you: According to Persian mythology, wine was discovered by a woman. The smart lady sipped on some fermented grape juice stored in a jar, went to sleep and woke up cured of a headache.
• I think he was fired: The highest price paid for a bottle of wine was an insurance claim of $225,000 to settle a 1787 Chateau Margaux dropped by a waiter in 1989.

Who knew? I didn’t.  More to come, including wine reviews, some “gay” wines and a Virginia wine holiday gift guide. Cheers!

Have a glass of wine Out Of The Box each Wednesday on GayRVA.