Episode Details

Ep 8

I’m so excited to share with you my story of how I came to love wine and how Cork & Fizz came to be!

It all began in Spain when I was studying abroad and I would have a glass (or sometimes a bottle - I promise you don’t want to miss that story!) of wine with lunch. My go-to was always “Vino Blanco” (aka “white wine”).

Fast forward to a couple years later when I’ve just moved to Seattle with my husband (then boyfriend). We visited some extended family of his and they served Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc which I loved! I would then just always buy myself Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc whenever I was at the grocery store because I knew I liked it. I never really explored other wines beyond that because all the wine choices felt overwhelming, you know?

However, that all changed in 2018 during a trip to Willamette Valley. We ended up on a private wine tour where we learned all about the grapes and tried several different wines. The tour guide could tell I was intrigued (likely because of all the questions I asked) so he suggested I read Cork Dork! This book was what really inspired me to learn all about the world of wine. You can listen to my interview with Bianca Bosker, the author of Cork Dork, here.

Because I was developing this love of wine I decided to start a wine club with friends. From this wine club I learned that I loved teaching about wine! Two years after creating our wine club the pandemic happened. During the pandemic I was missing the interaction with my friends so I decided to host my first virtual wine tasting! And it was a hit!

It was from there that I realized I could share my love of wine with others that were either new to the world of wine or were already wine enthusiasts and I could do it all virtually! It was a great way to bring people together during a challenging time. 

So it was a rainy weekend in October 2020 when I decided to create Cork & Fizz. I hoped to create a way for people to learn about wine in a fun way and for people to feel like they belonged in this wine community! I really wanted to create a fun and inclusive way for everyone to learn about wine.

If you are ready to hear the full and exciting story behind Cork & Fizz grab your favorite glass of wine and listen in!

Episode Highlights

• My first experience with wine while traveling abroad in Spain
• How my love of learning and curiosity led me to learning about wine
• How a trip to Willamette Valley in Oregon, in 2018, changed everything for me when it came to wine
• The book that helped fuel my growing interest in wine
• Why I started a wine club with friends
• Why I pivoted my wine club during the pandemic into a virtual wine club
• The unique way that virtual tastings brought people together during the pandemic
• What my wine club with my friends taught me and how I pivoted it into a business and launched the Cork Crew

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Don't Forget to Download my Free Wine Tasting Guide!  - https://www.corkandfizz.com/free-wine-tasting-guide 

Connect with me:
Cork and Fizz - https://www.corkandfizz.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/corkandfizz/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/corkandfizz/
Email - hailey@corkandfizz.com