Illa Kim.wine

For me, having a drink has always been about time spent together. It’s always been a part of my life—I loved the after-work drinks with colleagues, the get-to-know-you drinks with journos (back when I was in PR), and the late-night drinks with my then-boyfriend, now-husband Daero. In my early 20s, my drink of choice was Prosecco—Champagne was obviously out of reach—then slowly shifted to Weinschorle. By my mid-30s, it was mostly refreshing whites and heavier reds, always with food.

I realised quite late—at the age of 37—that wine could also become a passion. My wine (study) journey may have started as a way to prove a point (a story I might tell elsewhere on the blog), but during COVID, my studies became an anchor that kept me from going anxiety-driven crazy.

I had never experienced what kind of special friendships can be formed through a shared passion—probably because I never really had a “hobby” before.

The joy that wine brings me as a study subject comes from the stories it tells. And now, at the beginning of my Master of Wine student journey, I finally feel like I might have some stories to share, too—under the umbrella of wine.

Growing up in a German city with fewer than a hundred Koreans, I always wondered what being Korean meant for me—a question I could never fully answer. Living in a foreign country never made me feel uncomfortable, but I was always aware of being a minority. Now, as a scholar of cultures through wine, I think a lot about how people come into contact with wine, why accessibility matters, and what wine appreciation, education, and representation can do to help more people feel connected—through wine.