This completes my third year of writing "The World of Wine" column, and I celebrate the advancement I've made in the growing appreciation of wine. It is one of those paths in life that one wishes he had started much earlier.
Drinking wine alone is something I have difficulty doing. As an extrovert, the allure of wine demands that I share it with someone, a gathering of friends and a selection of food.
The experiences began in-depth with wine/food parings with Sam Wai, Randy Lewis and Ron Ellingson. They provided wines from varied price points, but also went over-the-top in preparing food to accompany their classes. Being a professional horticulturist, I would say that is where my propagation of wine and food combinations actually took root.
We tasted wines from everywhere: France, Germany, Austria, Africa, America, Spain and more - all with the appropriate food to accompany the tasting experiences.
The knowledge I gained from them gave me the courage and insight to begin getting a wine history and appreciation class going at NDSU.
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This became enriched with the arrival of sommelier Jean Taylor. Her intuitive and passionate presentations of wines opened the world of wine to me even further. More than merely an academic who knows wines, Jean puts her passions into what she presents and tastes, infecting everyone in the audience with her love of the subject.
One of the rewards of being a university professor and teaching students is to come across students who stand out one way or another, and allow you to keep track of their lives past graduation.
Cam Knutson was just such a person; he was NDSU's student body president from 2011 to 2012, and he took my wine appreciation class in the fall of 2012.
Cam has partnered with Jean in creating the Fargo Downtown Wine Cooperative, where a wine tasting is hosted once a month with appropriate food in different locations in downtown Fargo. If my wife and I are in town, we make it a point to attend these wine-tasting events. This gives me a chance to experience more delicious wines and continually meet interesting people.
Knowledge gained from either direct experiences or via bookish, academic means does the learner little good if not shared with others. That is what I have attempted to do during these past 3 years via the column, and I will continue as long as the Forum wishes to publish my written musings on wine.
I enjoy the responses I get from the column - coming not just locally, but from just about anywhere the Internet reaches. Some lead to samples I get to share with my close wine-tasting friends, others are suggestions of wines for me to try and still others correcting mistakes - which I also appreciate.
I'm often asked, "What is your favorite wine, as you seem to like so many?" The answer is the one I'm holding right now.
Currently, here are my five favorites, in no particular order: Del Rio Viognier, any DOCG Chianti, Dr Loosen Riesling, Australian Shiraz and Two Mountain Merlot from Washington.
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Ron Smith, a retired NDSU Extension horticulturist, writes weekly about his love of wine and its history. Readers can reach him at tuftruck1@gmail.com .
