Known as a high-society, elitist beverage, a glass of wine just doesn't jibe with most college students' philosophy when it comes to drinking: get trashed in the least amount of time. However, with prices becoming more affordable and pop culture embracing it as the new black, wine appreciation is quickly catching on, even among college students.

With this in mind, I made my way over to the 14th Annual Boston Wine Expo at the Seaport World Trade Center, the largest consumer wine event in the country, featuring over 1,800 wines.

I wanted to know how, as a college student, I could approach a room full of snooty wine distributors and even snootier wine connoisseurs. I wondered if they would take me seriously, even though I couldn't quite taste the strong tannins emanating from a 2002 syrah.

Just like with many wines here, age however, was not the most important factor to savoring this event. Rather, the mlange of wines from around the world was an opportunity to embark on a Dionysian adventure and delve into the unique culture of oenology, the study of wine.

The expo was split into countries and different U.S. regions. As a native Long Islander, my first stop was to taste some wines from the North Fork of Long Island. Martha Clara Vineyards planted its first grape vines in 1995 and started its distribution in 2000. Owned by the Entenmann family of baked goods fame, this vineyard is now starting to distribute its wine in places other than Long Island. I tried a merlot, finding it a very satisfying drink to kick off my day at the expo.

Next, I jumped across the globe to the German region. In my limited experience with wine, I found reisling, a white wine mostly produced in Germany, to be my favorite. I headed straight for the Schmitt Sohne table, perhaps drawn in by their brilliant marketing campaign, featuring a slick blue bottle of reisling known as "Relax." The perfect mix between sweet and dry, this wine was a hit with my taste buds. Its modest price of about $9 makes it a must try for us poor college students.

On my way over to the French area, I was stopped by a Brandeis alumnus, who spotted my Brandeis press badge. Now a senior brand manager for Frederick Wildman and Sons, Ltd. Importers and Wine Merchants, Francine Kowalsky '87 explained that she has been attending the wine expo for many years.

"It is great exposure for brands and people interested in drinking wine," she said.

Red Bicyclette was my first stop in the French wines. The artistic label of a man wearing a beret on a bicycle with baguettes won my heart. I'm a slave for nice labels. This wine only started selling in the United States this past September. I tried a merlot, which had a very earthy taste with hints of red berries. I admit this is not my own description, but I definitely agreed with it after hearing exhibitor Samantha Johnson's explanation.

She also explained the marketing technique used by Red Bicyclette.

"The idea behind these wines is to make French wines more approachable," she said. I definitely got this vibe with its attractive, yet simply stated label-each bottle has only the brand name and the type of wine listed, forgoing the often confusing appellation and other French jargon.

Although keeping it simple usually sounds nice, a decadent detour is sometimes in store. With this philosophy in mind, I made my way to the Gosset table, the oldest champagne producers, started in 1584 in Ay, France. Looking as suave as I could, I held my glass out to taste a $90 1996 champagne. Needless to say, I will probably never drink such expensive champagne again, but I can't say I'm so upset-my amateur taste buds hardly detected a difference.

Just as I finished my suposedly superior glass of champagne, I noticed a crowd of people converging on one table in the wines from Quebec. I decided to see what the buzz was all about. Quebec, which I was unaware even produced wine, is the chicest of the chic in the wine world these days. It features an ice wine fermented at about 8 degrees.

The wine I tried, known as Neige, was a 2003 iced wine cider. The strong, yet appealing apple taste was riveting at such a cold temperature. At $25 per bottle, though, I doubt I'll be tasting much more of this until I find a job with a salary that allows me to indulge.

A little tipsy at this point, I decided to take a break from the wines and make my way over to see celebrity chef and television personality Todd English. For all you foodies out there, you'll be impressed to know that I even got to take a picture with this dashingly handsome food icon and former People magazine's 50 most beautiful people.

On my last leg and eager to taste the most exotic wines I could find, I spotted a litchi nut wine from China. Vinliz wine, which retails for around $28, was truly unusual. Almost like syrup, this wine's taste resonated in my mouth well after I had swallowed it. For a dessert treat, this wine would be perfect.

My final stop was to try a Chilean wine. I was surprised to see that Chile boasted a nice collection of both red and white wines. When asking why I should purchase Chilean wines over others, Cremaschi wine exhibitor Andres Tauber explained, "There is an excellent climate for wines with no rain in the summer which creates really concentrated grapes with deep and fruity wines at less of a cost than other countries."

At $7 a bottle for a very good sauvignon blanc, I saw Tauber's point.

I knew at this point it was time to go. Hardly writing legibly, I sensed that the alcohol effect of the wines was starting to get the best of me. As much as I tried to use the spittoons and not ingest the wine, I just didn't sense the same experience as truly tasting it. But if getting tipsy is the worst part of the job of a wine taster, then perhaps I have found my dream profession.

Twenty-one-year-old Samantha Slater, an associate editor of the Justice, is also the president of the Brandeis Oenology Club.