Vino
Talked to a friend yesterday and he was telling me how he’d been looking into expanding his knowledge of wine. And then it hit me just how unfocused I am, even when it comes to my supposed hobbies. I’d be engrossed and very taken up with a particular activity for a while – reading, talking, discussing about it and doing little else – but then something else comes along and then I go, hey! I’m interested in that too! And then poke my head into that, conveniently forgetting that I was doing something else.
That’s how it was with wine. I’ve been so caught up in my excitement to go climbing (woot! Weekend climbing trip coming up in a couple weeks!!!!) and trekking (whoopee, more hiking next week!) that I’ve clean forgot one of my great loves in life – wine. And then of course, I remember that I’m also supposed to be conducting more in depth research into stocks, given that I’m trying to save up enough to dabble with the markets.
But honestly, as my friends can likely attest, I do have trouble sometimes keeping track of the various things I’ve got going on at the same time. I’d happily set up an appointment with one friend, and forget that I’d already made plans with another.
But I’m getting sidetracked again. See??? Haha.
I wanted to talk about wine. After my talk with D, I was re-inspired to check out wine clubs here in Chicago (although, after all my plans to go hiking, climbing, and audit GSB classes, I wonder how I’m going to find the time). Surfed around a little, and what do you know, I found a couple of seminars not just on wine alone mind, but wine and politics. More specifically, classes on the international politics of wine.
I was like … . Haha, when I was first battling with the idea of what to write for my Masters thesis, I’d toyed with the idea of exploring the political economy of the wine industry in the US and abroad. Heh, D was super encouraging on that note. But it was a short-lived idea and my enthusiasm for it quickly flagged. I couldn’t find much of either primary or secondary data. It looked to be too enormous a task to take on in a short span of a year. But there was also the problem of finding a suitable advisor for that, and honestly, I finally only managed to decide on my advisor at the very 11th hour (he was awesome though, and gave me tons of feedback).
So I was … (because I was really speechless/didn’t know how to react) when I came across this seminar that’s going to be held at the GSB this coming Saturday. It’s by this post doc who got his PhD from Northwestern, and his dissertation compared the political economy of the wine industry in the US and France! Hehe, so cool! He’d actually gone out to do the primary research himself, and along the way, picked up a ton of tips on wine. He has this really informative website at Drvino.com too, if you’re interested in following his wine blog and academic discussions on wine. Man, I’d sign up for his class this Saturday if it were free (ouch - $155!):
The Politics of Wine in Spain, Argentina, and Chile
Spain has become one of the most exciting wine countries in the world and its wines have been widely praised by critics and consumers. Argentina and Chile have undergone major changes to become South America’s best producers. We will examine how the potent blend of wine and politics in these three countries has resulted in parallel transitions including the replacement of dictatorship with democracy, the upgrading of technology and winemaking skills, and the internationalization of the wine community. This course includes the pairing of regional wines and hors d’oeuvres at Fox & Obel.
Doesn’t that sound like a classic U of C course?
In any case, my weekend has already been mapped out. Clubbing with D. 
