Have you ever walked away from wine?

Lots of notes. Bottles. Debates. $$$ spent. Board posts. And the wheel turns. Have you ever just walked away from wine? Left it for a period of time? Came back? (presumably yes if you’re reading this)

No. I drink wine with food. I still eat. [scratch.gif]

No, have not walked away . . . yet? Though, have seriously contemplated it recently.

read and buy all the time but don’t drink for two weeks of each 6 since on call so often

Yes. Pregnancy. I had a few sips here and there, but mostly it tasted disgusting. But it was good, because I didn’t blow through my stash of wine and when you have a toddler you NEED wine. [wow.gif]

Curious as to why, if you’re willing to share.

I would add to my original question walking away from wine boards too!

I think wine boards are the first to go. They enable hoarders and buyers waaaays too much, and too easily.
I have never been out of wine, but every now and then, need to step away because of money constraints because of my income. There is always something to come back too though, and even when I was making minimum wage, I was still able to drink well enough.

I worked as the wine nerd at a shop in North Louisiana for ten years straight out of high school (lucky, right?). I posted on Cellartracker regularly and treated friends to tastings from my eclectic collection (not that eclectic, I was young). Then I just kind of lost interest for the next five years. I wouldn’t even taste a cool wine if someone offered it to me.
The truth was, I had gotten hooked on pain pills after receiving 2nd degree burns. I quit them and, all of a sudden, alcohol was the enemy. I never had trouble with wine, and I always appreciated it as something different from other intoxicating liquor. But the world told me that, if you have a problem with prescription drugs, you have a problem with everything else that could alter your mind. So, I walked away, associating one with the other.

Over the years of self-psychoanalysis (or whatever you want to call it), I came to really know myself. I knew my personal faults, my strength, my weaknesses. The wine was never a problem for me. I was always respectful of it (well, spitting good juice does feel disrespectful, but I did it). So, I went to a tasting a year or so ago, after months of buying good wines to give away to family. And I have been at peace with the decision ever since.

Sometimes I think of all the money I’ve spent and continue to spend (not only on wine, but the maintenance and upkeep as well), and what I could do instead - travel, buy another car, invest and make more money - I dunno, it’s nothing serious. I have to admit, I’ve met a lot of great people through wine, I am thankful for getting into this obsessive, absurd hobby of ours!

Well, there’s this one guy I know . . .

http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4730

For about 6 months after Katrina, all I wanted was cold beer.

David Koln, all I can say to that linked post is…
Wooooooow!

I walked away from the boards for 4-5 years when my son was between 2 and six. My wife works 10 hours a day and thus i was the main “home parent”. I was too busy with him and work and had no real time for anything. I still met with a few wine friends and drank from what i already had but did not buy any in that period.

not impossible.

No longer finding interest in something you once really enjoyed, can be a sign of depression.

I walked away and then I changed my mind. I had to grovel a bit but it took me back.

I did for a short spell. It was a confluence of things, had just made partner in my firm, wife no longer worked, new baby - translation, I was poor. And then I started training for my first Ironman and really focused on that over wine. After that, in 2004, I was just starting to get back into it, and we had the 3 hurricanes in 4 weeks in Florida, and my house was without power for a very long time. My wines died. My wine fridge died. I had to start from scratch.

Well, yeah, but I came right back. I just had to pee.

I walked away from the boards (WLDG, WCWN) only because of the time sink. I moderated the wine forum on eGullet for a time, but that became a PITA. When I came back to the boards, I started with eBob. But I quickly found that the people there were just too intense and lacking a sense of humor. Good group on this board, though.

I haven’t walked away from wine, and probably won’t. But I have dialed back my geek factor. That means I’ve stopped chasing wines, drastically cut back tastings where I have to pay, and don’t even check out every megasale.

I’m going through my “emotional cycle of ‘wine’ change” right now. A few years into the wine boards, it’s feels like a lot of the same stuff being discussed / debated; now that I’ve been able to acquire some wines that were supposedly harder to obtain, not such a big deal. I still love the wine, I think my interest in all the “stuff” surrounding wine has started to wane. Just wondering if I walk for awhile if the interest will resurface. Interesting to hear others’ perspectives.