I recently turned forty, a milestone in many a woman's life for sure. I did not approach the date with much trepidation, and did not feel impending doom as I entered my fifth decade in this world. I did become reflective however; I became reflective on where I had been, where I was and where I was going.

Certainly there were many things that I had not achieved at forty, motherhood probably number one on that list, being completely at home in my skin probably another, (bless Jennifer Aniston and her hot 40th body on cover of GQ last year did not help much with that one!) but as I looked back on my life and where I had been, I realised that as I approached forty, I had been given a gift, that gift has been life and its experiences both good and bad.

It started with my parents who have given me nothing but love, support and encouragement along the way. Were they perfect in every way no, but hell they were learning as they went along too. It's very true what people say, parenting does not come with a handbook. I have been lucky in the course of my life to travel all around the world, having moved countries five times before I was fifteen years old. While many people say moving a child around can be detrimental, I look back and feel that it helped hone my survival mechanism to pick myself up and start afresh time and again in a new country, or town or place and know that I could do it and would be OK. Through school I was blessed with teachers and mentors who challenged me never to settle for less than what my best could be, and to believe that I could do whatever I set my mind to. That's teaching at its best in my view. I have been surrounded by friends and family many of whom are dynamic, vibrant, successful women, so my life experience has taught me to never be defined by my gender but more to define myself by my ability, passion and creativity.

So what has all of this to do with wine, well, the truth is that wine has marked many a memorable moment in the past few decades of my life. The first being spent in France where I was raised from ages four to eight and where I was allowed, on a Sunday, to enjoy a very small taste of wine with dinner from age seven. It was also where I first learned what a wine cellar was, as my parent’s collection was enviable with Grand Crus galore. In my second decade, wine played a prominent role in my social life as my parents enviable collection was savoured by myself and my friends, whether we really appreciated them or not at the time, I knew it was something special. The third decade, I had the good fortune to find myself working in France and Spain where wine and the moments that surround it are just a part of the air that they breathe. It is where I really learned that food & wine are a natural companion to conversation, good company and laughter- all the things that really count in life. The fourth decade was the culmination of all of these, where I didn't so much find wine as a career, but it found me. I guess it had been thirty years in the making really.

Wine for me has always been and remains all about the experience, the place you taste the wine, who you are with, the memory of that moment captured in the aroma of a glass, in the taste on your tongue. It is no different to a great piece of music that can transport you to a moment in time and that is what makes wine such an integral part of my life journey.

So as I celebrated my fortieth across three continents, a few bottles of Margaux in Ireland, a few bottles of Zinfandel in San Diego and several bottles of Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling in New Zealand, I toasted to my life, and the moments that wine has sealed in my memory. I realised that at the end of the day life and wine is all about the experience and I am reminded of this beautiful quote:

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift-that's why it's called a present."

So here's to the next decade and the wine moments that lie ahead. Would love to know how wine fits into your life story if you care to share.