About eight years ago, my cousin’s husband reached out to me and asked if I would like to get into selling wine. I couldn’t tell if he was joking. Because at the time, I was selling print advertising for a yellow page directory door to door. Not exactly my dream job. Oh, and I sucked at it. The daily hustle and grind in a dying industry did little to boost my morale. Honestly, when I heard that I could get into the wine business, I jumped at the chance.  

Selling wine was everything that anyone in their early 20’s could appreciate. I was not only able but encouraged to sample wine during the day. Did I just hit the jackpot? When I got home…. I was able to enjoy those open bottles of wine even further. I was so awestruck by the idea that I WAS SELLING WINE! I was the adult milk man and I was great at it. After two years of selling the sweet nectar of fermented grapes, I drove up to the Minneapolis headquarters expecting an award or at least acknowledgment for the successful year I had. Instead, I was let go. This crushed me, absolutely crushed me. No grape pun intended. You may ask… How does a 24-25 year old bounce back? I”ll tell you – he moves to the cities with his girlfriend and accepts a job with another wine distributor. 

After moving to Minneapolis, I learned a lot of things about myself. Namely; you aren’t as patient as you preach, you actually miss your mother and YOU DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WINE. Damn. Upon this realization, I worked on 2 of the 3. The company that had previously let me go, reached out and offered me a great job. Not only did they want me back, they wanted to pay me to learn about wine, I would get to work with the top stores in the metro and I would get to work with the awesome people I missed. I wasn’t going to pass this up.  

Learning about wine was one of the greatest gifts I’ve been given. And I learned a lot about myself at the same time. I obviously didn’t stay in that industry, but I did pass the level 2 Wine Spirits Education Trust and the level 1 Courts of Sommelier. It felt good to learn about something I enjoyed so much.  

I may have nothing to do with the wine industry anymore, but I probably know more about wine, regions, varietals and producers now, more than ever. 

And for all the red wine lovers out there, here are three of my personal favorites — all for around $20 a bottle:

• Juggernaut Hillside Cabernet
• Roth Cabernet Sauvignon
• Francis Coppola Claret