When most people think of enjoying a glass of wine, they generally tend to lean towards grapes that come from a species of grapevine called, Vitis Vinifera. You know, the grapes in your glass like: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Cabernet.

If you’ve found yourself with a number of wine bottles ‘stashed’ in a corner of your basement in some sort of make shift fashion you’ve created for your growing obsession of grape juice, you spend parts of your day surfing online wine stores or auctions for rare wine gems, or you’re starting to sneak in ‘small’ wine shipments past your spouse to add to your pile…chances are, you’re a wino.

When the opportunity to write a story about Girvan Grille at Edinburgh USA popped up, I jumped on it like a chicken on a June bug. Constantly traveling in the golf community as I do, one quickly learns that “word of mouth” is, by far, the best marketing tool.

From distribution, to restaurateurs, educators and more – the wine community is already rewriting their lists and planning their curriculum for what looks to be another exciting year in wine. As anticipation builds and we dive into what’s to come for the world of wine, I thought I’d put together my most wanted list of wine predictions and trends to catch for readers. Let’s go!

Looking to add a sizzle to your summer gatherings? Then get ready to pop the bubbly! From the regions of France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the U.S. and beyond, the world never tires of the dazzling styles of sparkling wines made worldwide. Most notably produced from the region of Champagne, France, but most enjoyed by the country of Germany.

We live in an era that allows us to purchase almost any wine we want, from wherever we want and from almost any grape varietal in the world. In fact, according to the Huffington Post’s most recent reports, the U.S. is now the world’s largest marketplace for wine, yes beating out the French!

As another Mother’s Day approaches and we take another full year’s turn around the sun, I am reminded of all things that keep us grounded as individuals. Each and every Mother’s Day, we celebrate this grounding as we honor the women that gave us the opportunity to become the individuals we are today.

Golf, much like life, is a game of skill, confidence and hard work. If we don’t practice we don’t succeed, and if we don’t strive to look beyond our own skill set we don’t improve. Oddly, my life as a sommelier is very much the same.