Re: Lots of new faces ... please introduce yourself
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 2:19 pm
Hello from Norway everybody!
Yeah, that weird little country (actually quite large, just sparsely populated) way up north, at the very edge of Europe, possibly vaguely mentioned by Tacitus, back in the day, as an island at the edge of the word, occupied by barbarians. Either that, or not mentioned at all. No wonder the Viking invasions came as a shock when they kept a blind eye to us for centuries…
I am a 33 (very soon to be 34) year old male (Scandinavian Kims are male, not female) from Norway, happily married to a Japanese woman, whom I met while living in New Zealand for a couple of years. My current occupation is as a service-coordinator in the electronics industry. Soon to be ten years in the same spot now, becoming too much of a routine, so I have started to look around for new challenges. Hopefully a new occupation within my many interests…time will show.
Wine, various drinks and food have always been interesting to me, though I am a master of none. As in many other fields, I am a constant learner. And I am a much better consumer than creator! I started drinking wine just after legal age here in Norway, which is 18, when “all” the other boys were drinking just beer. Don’t misunderstand, I drank beer as well, and lots of it. But wine had character, history and diversity I did not see in beer. Perhaps because I had already delivered an essay on beer, in Norwegian, in school when I was 15 and another essay in English, during graduation class in high school, focusing on Guinnes and draught. Beer might have been thoroughly explored territory at the time, while wine was mysterious and sensual. Not much later, I discovered port wine. And I have been in love ever since.
These days, when I and my friends are becoming more and more established, we have both more time and resources to tend to our hobbies! I myself do not have room for any great wine cellar at the moment, but I have a very good friend who has, and hopefully I and my family will relocate into a place with a decent cellar soon. Or at least, an extra room to indulge in wine and books. More importantly, we are now an established group of six to eight guys who meet from time to time for thematic wine, drink and food gatherings, organized by either one of us. We are stepping up this autumn; we are going on our first wine trip together. First destination is Burgundy and Dijon. Shorty after that though, it is time for our annual port gathering. And hopefully, depending on importers and such, we will have 2011 as this year’s theme.
A trip to Portugal with FTLOP is definitely on my top-list of things to do. I hope to be able to very soon. Portugal looks beautiful and from what I have seen and read so far, it seems that the hospitality in the Douro valley somewhat above average when it comes to wine districts of the world. Lastly, but definitively not least, I really really really want that experience of having several glasses of port, readily poured in glasses in front of me, sitting in the more temperate climate of Portugal while a local explains about the bottle and its history, and in my hand, the first of those glasses ready for my indulgence. My taste buds and olfactory region peaked.
Sorry if my introduction became to long. I tend to get carried away when I write. But I am really glad to have discovered For the Love of Port (through Cellar Tracker) and this community. I look forward to exchanging experiences and anticipations.
Kim
PS! A tip for anyone travelling to the Japan: try umeshu. It has a lot of the same characteristics as port wine, but made on the local small plum called Ume. No vintages, it is not their culture, but they do have 18 yo., 21 yo., etc.
Yeah, that weird little country (actually quite large, just sparsely populated) way up north, at the very edge of Europe, possibly vaguely mentioned by Tacitus, back in the day, as an island at the edge of the word, occupied by barbarians. Either that, or not mentioned at all. No wonder the Viking invasions came as a shock when they kept a blind eye to us for centuries…
I am a 33 (very soon to be 34) year old male (Scandinavian Kims are male, not female) from Norway, happily married to a Japanese woman, whom I met while living in New Zealand for a couple of years. My current occupation is as a service-coordinator in the electronics industry. Soon to be ten years in the same spot now, becoming too much of a routine, so I have started to look around for new challenges. Hopefully a new occupation within my many interests…time will show.
Wine, various drinks and food have always been interesting to me, though I am a master of none. As in many other fields, I am a constant learner. And I am a much better consumer than creator! I started drinking wine just after legal age here in Norway, which is 18, when “all” the other boys were drinking just beer. Don’t misunderstand, I drank beer as well, and lots of it. But wine had character, history and diversity I did not see in beer. Perhaps because I had already delivered an essay on beer, in Norwegian, in school when I was 15 and another essay in English, during graduation class in high school, focusing on Guinnes and draught. Beer might have been thoroughly explored territory at the time, while wine was mysterious and sensual. Not much later, I discovered port wine. And I have been in love ever since.
These days, when I and my friends are becoming more and more established, we have both more time and resources to tend to our hobbies! I myself do not have room for any great wine cellar at the moment, but I have a very good friend who has, and hopefully I and my family will relocate into a place with a decent cellar soon. Or at least, an extra room to indulge in wine and books. More importantly, we are now an established group of six to eight guys who meet from time to time for thematic wine, drink and food gatherings, organized by either one of us. We are stepping up this autumn; we are going on our first wine trip together. First destination is Burgundy and Dijon. Shorty after that though, it is time for our annual port gathering. And hopefully, depending on importers and such, we will have 2011 as this year’s theme.
A trip to Portugal with FTLOP is definitely on my top-list of things to do. I hope to be able to very soon. Portugal looks beautiful and from what I have seen and read so far, it seems that the hospitality in the Douro valley somewhat above average when it comes to wine districts of the world. Lastly, but definitively not least, I really really really want that experience of having several glasses of port, readily poured in glasses in front of me, sitting in the more temperate climate of Portugal while a local explains about the bottle and its history, and in my hand, the first of those glasses ready for my indulgence. My taste buds and olfactory region peaked.
Sorry if my introduction became to long. I tend to get carried away when I write. But I am really glad to have discovered For the Love of Port (through Cellar Tracker) and this community. I look forward to exchanging experiences and anticipations.
Kim
PS! A tip for anyone travelling to the Japan: try umeshu. It has a lot of the same characteristics as port wine, but made on the local small plum called Ume. No vintages, it is not their culture, but they do have 18 yo., 21 yo., etc.
![[notworthy.gif]](./images/smilies/notworthy.gif "NotWorthy"){kind=small}
Let me ![[welcome.gif]](./images/smilies/welcome.gif "Welcome")
you to the Forum, I am very glad you've found us. I hope you enjoy your time here, we are a very easy going group.![[cheers.gif]](./images/smilies/cheers.gif "Toast"){kind=small}
![[berserker.gif]](./images/smilies/berserker.gif "Challenger"){kind=small}
(nerdy fact: the Japanese have translated the word viking with "eat and/or drink as much as you can". And they say the Vikings never got that far...hah!)![[help.gif]](./images/smilies/help.gif "Help!"){kind=small}
!