Wine - Vino - Vin
James caught the wine bug in 1997 when he spent several months studying art, architecture, and political science in a small, Tuscan hilltown south of Florence.
In James' own words:
"First, yes, Vineyard is my real family name. I have been enthusiastically tasting and learning about wine for about 7 years now. My journey into the bowels of winegeekdom began while studying abroad in Italy. Tasting and learning about the indigenous wines caused an epiphany that I have yet to fully understand or explain. Of course, it's hard not to be seduced by the grape (any grape) when your sitting on a terrace in medieval hill town overlooking the Tuscan countryside. Slowly I began to learn what I was tasting and some of the whys and hows of winemaking and I haven't looked back since.
After I was bitten by the bug, I reinvigorated my father's interest in wine and in collusion we've now amassed a modest cellar of some 1500 eclectic selections. We have room to spare, but I hope we never fill it up - my liver doesn't need the aggravation. My purchases were never intended as a "collection," I intend to drink every last one of them, but they do keep adding up.
Mona and I have also made wine together from grape concentrates. The wines aren’t much to speak of, but it is fun to learn the process.
My pulse quickens when tasting fantastic wines and while I love tasting trophy bottles, but I find a certain satisfaction in tasting wines that are better than they should be for the money or come from obscure places and regions. The economics behind winemaking fascinate me, though it does tend to eliminate most of the romance from the topic.Cheers!,
James Vineyard
"There are more old wine drinkers than old doctors." German Proverb