Share Your Dream: Discovering a Love For Wine (June/July 2020)

This article originally appeared in the June/July 2020 issue of Dream of Italy.

When I dream of Italy, I dream of  the moment I wanted to learn more about the wonderful world of wine. My parents had recently passed away, almost five months apart. My sister was living in London at the time and I decided to go and visit for a while after taking a leave of absence from my job.

I worked at the LCBO which stands for Liquor Control Board of Ontario. It is our government run liquor stores in Toronto, Canada. Now, while I could sell wine I most certainly wasn’t a fan. I could sell because I had taken and passed all three levels of the product knowledge courses required for all employees. Yes indeed, I could talk up a good storm. I had memorized everything! Fake it ‘til you make it! But did I really know what I was talking about? I knew I could repeat!

From London, I wanted to explore Europe and had always yearned to go to Italy, so started there.  The last thing I was interested in doing was being reminded of my job back home.

I was traveling north on a train heading to Trentino-Alto-Adige. Mindlessly looking out the window, I suddenly realized what I had read about in books was staring back at me! It was the contradiction of being surrounded by snow capped mountains, the Dolomites, and looking back at the valley floor with grape vines growing, trained on pergola trellises. The sunshine was absolutely glorious and suddenly I got it. My eureka moment!

You can grow grapes in the mountains.They are protected from inclement weather because they are cradled within these beautiful mountains that has captured the warmth of the sun in its bosom. I will never forget this day. It changed my life forever. My world experience opened up in a way I never expected. I am now a certified sommelier and member of the International Sommelier Guild.
— Jacqueline Corrigan