A few days ago, I was going through my usual wine consumption ritual – view the color and clarity, sniff the aroma, swirl the glass, and was getting ready to taste when I suddenly heard, “Mommy, can I have a sip?” I looked down to see the big blue eyes of my four and a half-year-old daughter staring up at me. “Um, no. This is an adult drink.” Strange – she had never shown an interest before other than looking at the Eurocaves and asking if those were full of “adult beverages.” I saw the disappointment in her eyes and said innocently, “would you like to smell it?” I showed her how to swirl the wine to bring out the bouquet (it wasn’t pretty). I figured she would lose interest immediately. She did not.

She took a deep sniff and declared, “I smell cherries, chocolate, and strawberries.” Holy crap – we were drinking an Archery Summit Pinot Noir 2002. Did I have a sommelier in training? Should I give the blog over to her since her palate was so much more evolved than mine? I did what any good mom and wine lover would do – I bragged to my friends and on Twitter all week.

A week later, I poured a glass of Failla Viognier and handed it over to her. She sniffed, she swirled. I held my breath. Finally, she declared, “I smell cherries and chocolate and strawberries.”

Seems those childhood experts are right about kids picking up the darndest things. And so I wait for the next college scholarship opportunity.