The wine that made me feel like an adult 🍷

 I hope you'll indulge me in a walk down memory lane... all the way back to my first bottle of 'fancy' wine (spoiler: it wasn't).

I had a unique college experience. I went to New York University, which — if you’ve ever visited — you’ll know doesn’t have a traditional campus.  Said 'campus' is simply the island of Manhattan. 

So when you show up as a delicate 18 year old, there’s no one to hold your hand across the quad. You’re simply dropped into one of the most densely populated cities in the world and forced to fend for yourself.

But I knew what I was getting into. After growing up on five acres in Oregon wine country, I was ready for the big city. I had set my sights on NYU many years before and applied there early decision because they had one of the best acting programs in the country. So I relished the excitement, and loved every corner of that crowded, crazy island.

But the housing at NYU… I mean, no college dorm is spacious — but this took it to an extreme. My freshman dorm was a studio apartment for three people. Yes, you read that correctly. A bunk bed and a very thin cot crammed into one tiny room. There was barely space for one of us, let alone three.

An attempt at a dorm room party. Note the Obama '08 poster!

We quickly realized that congregation in dorm rooms was a challenge; no one could fit beyond those already sardined in to sleep. So your only real choice — earmuffs, Mom and Dad — was to get a fake ID. Not just so you could get drunk! (Although, let’s be real, that happened sometimes too). But so you souls have a social life, and bars provided that third space.

I don’t know what kids do in 2025 to acquire a fake but, back in the day, you just found someone — an older sibling or, in my case, a classmate’s cousin’s sister — who looked vaguely similar enough to you that a tired bouncer, feeling generous, might not inspect the photo too closely.

All this to say: I was going to bars. But I was not drinking wine.

I was drinking cheap beer, frozen daiquiris and whatever “shot specials” the college bars were offering that night. As my former boss — who I nannied for through college — once remarked, “You kids will basically drink rubbing alcohol.” She wasn’t far off.

But after a few years of that, there’s only so many hangovers induced by well liquor a body can take — especially when you still have to get up and go to class at 8am. And remember: this is New York City, where bars did last call at 4!

Wine was unfortunately not yet part of my vocabulary.

Then, junior year rolled around, and I decided it was time to be a real adult — or at least start acting like one. (I also noticed just how much NYU was charging us for that three-person studio). So a few friends and I went out and found a big-girl apartment.

It was a four-bedroom, pre-war brownstone on the Upper West Side, with crown molding and hardwood floors. I know, bougie, right? We couldn’t believe our luck. Sure, it was a sixth-floor walk-up with no laundry or central air and one tiny bathroom for four people. But hey — that’s why we could afford it.

Because we felt so adult, we invited our friends over for a housewarming party. And do you know what we served? Nope, it wasn’t Smirnoff Ice. It was wine.

Was it a good wine by my standards today? Not quite. From the blurry Facebook album photos, it appears to have been a sparkling from a brand called Chateau Diana that we picked up at the corner bodega. A quick Google search tells me that Chateau Diana — much like Chateau Ste. Michelle — is an American wine brand made to sound fancy and French. Which worked on us!

Because on a momentous occasion such as this–our first night in our very first apartment– we weren’t trying to get drunk. We were trying to grow up. And that Chateau Diana tasted like adulthood, even poured over ice in Solo cups.

Like so many humans before us, in the effort to commemorate a special moment, we reached for the only suitable option: wine.

Wine has been the beverage of celebration for millennia. It’s so special that many cultures wrapped it into their religious rituals — and still do. How did the Greeks worship their gods? They drank wine. What did Jesus turn water into at his famous dinner party? Wine. What do Catholics still sip in communion? Wine.

There’s something intrinsically powerful about this nectar of the gods that makes us feel not only more human, but more connected as humans. 

I share this story because I think all of us have had a first experience with wine that marked a milestone. A graduation. A transformation. The start of a more sophisticated chapter of life.

And as we just saw — it doesn’t even have to be fancy wine! It can be whatever made you feel grown-up in that moment. Even Chateau Diana on the rocks. (Yes, that was literally the name of my Facebook album from that night.)

And that’s why, even though wine can sometimes feel intimidating and pretentious, we keep coming back to it. Because I think we subconsciously know that wine makes us feel connected to something bigger. Our humanity. Each other. This big, beautiful, messy life we are all a part of. 

I hope this story reminds you of whatever your first celebratory wine moment was. I always love hearing those stories, by the way. They’re proof that this whole wine thing really is something special.

So on this final weekend of summer, I hope that tomorrow, on Labor Day, you can raise a glass to those you love and your hard-working community around you. Hopefully something a little nicer than Chateau Diana on the rocks 😉

But hey — even that will do.

Cheers,

Kelsey

A wine to help you celebrate tomorrow

If you’re looking for something to help you ring in Labor Day — and maybe even feel young and playful again — let me recommend one of my favorites: the Gamine Pet-Nat of Grenache from local winemaker and all-around badass Kate Norris. Gamine (French for mischievous young girl) was Kate’s childhood nickname as she ran wild in the French countryside — which feels like the perfect nod to the mischievous young girls many of us once were (or still are). This pale sparkling rosé is dry and crisp, with notes of wild strawberry and rose petal. It's vibrant, celebratory, and wildly more elegant than Chateau Diana — but still affordable enough that even a college kid could maybe swing it. Just promise me you won’t drink it on the rocks...