For all of us there was a very clearly remembered start to our interest and appreciation of wine, that seminal moment when we first tasted it and started down the evolutionary path for our knowledge and our palates. We all joke frequently about some of those wines that started the process, the sweet and cloying wines in the box, jug or bottle rapped in straw - we all know the names! But there were other wines too that we first tasted with friends and family that have lineage to what we currently drink and old world wines that winemakers here in the states were attempting to emulate but also adapt for the American palate, which decades ago was in its infancy.

I have never been much of a fan of sweet wines, and one of my first experiences with wine in a small shop in the south suburbs of my hometown of Chicago foretold this preference. I was looking for a bottle of wine to take to dinner at a friend's house. As I walked around looking at the labels all of which were a mystery to me at 22 years old, I was vaguely aware that I had seen some contemporaries drinking pink wine, but remember not liking them too much because they were so sweet. In the very small French section I spotted an hour glass shaped bottle of dry rose wine. With no other knowledge of the product I bought it.

I tried it that night and liked it, a lot. While I can't remember the producer I do recall it was from the south of France in Provence. To this day as many regular readers know we are big fans of dry rose wines especially those from the South of France.

Another category that many of us started with a long time ago is Burgundy, specifically Chablis, but this was long before our understanding that white Burgundy is actually Chardonnay, and red Burgundy is Pinot Noir. It was also well before we knew that Burgundies from the best producers are some of the most expensive and sought after wines on the market. Back 40 years ago the white and red Burgundy many of us were introduced to came in a box and resemble little the great Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs we drink now, with one exception. While the box wines labeled simply as Burgundy or Chablis like so many others in the states were intentionally sweet, they did also have vibrant fruit flavors of cherries in the reds and apples in the white which happen to be the predominate flavors of the Chards and Pinot we drink today.

Another starter wine for many of us was Riesling. To this day many U.S. producers craft good albeit overly sweet Riesling. Back when we started though we had little concept of the great Rieslings made in Germany and Northeastern France in Alsace that are fermented bone dry, and possess firm acid and are crisp, zippy and great with many kinds of food!

Whether we harken back to Chenin Blanc, French Columbard, or any of these varietals listed above one of the things we enjoy is trying the evolved version of these early favorites. Just saying some of the names makes us chuckle, and then trying to locate the same varietals and taste them now with our "new" palates is really a blast.

Our palate evolution is only part of the story though. The other part is how winemakers here in the states have continued to seek out some of these historically significant varietals and today craft them in the style that was originally intended in the old world wine countries. This welcome resurgence in wines that are varietally correct allows us as wine consumers to look both backward to our early wine experiences and forward to the styles we love.

Whether it be Chianti, Chablis, Burgundy, Rose or any of the other wines you enjoyed in college or at other times in your past take the time to chat with your favorite wine professional about the names you started with and ask for the evolved version, it will be both a fun journey down memory lane and a good starting point for your future consumption.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party - a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and writes frequently for the online version of Coeur d'Alene Magazine at www.cdamagazine.com. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles as well as other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.