My first love (well, in terms of wine) was a bottle of 2002 Sirius Bordeaux. Sitting in our first rental appartment, I remember it standing out to me compared to what I had been drinking previously and it tweaked an interest.

By 2006, we moved into a new place that had a small wine storage room. Our oldest son had been born in 2004, so I figured it would be fun to buy some bottles of ’04 to put away and drink over the course of his childhood and teenage years. As I started investigating what to buy, my initial interest in wine turned into a passion.

Two more girls followed our eldest son, which meant that it became somewhat more challenging for my wife and I to go out for a drink and a bite to eat on the weekend. So our “weekend dates” more frequently than not came to consist of a movie, a nice bottle of wine, and a few different cheeses at home. She picks the cheeses, I pick the wine, and the movie we can usually agree on.

At the same time, I continued to read, learn, and build up my cellar. Once the kids were a bit older, I took the WSET Level 2 (Intermediate) course followed by Level 3 (Advanced), which was lots of fun, though the Level 3 exam was slightly nerve-wrecking. I started to organize some wine tastings and providing some advice here and there, which eventually led to 1855consulting.

Cheers,
Matthijs Visser