Hold the smooth, cool glass in your nimble fingers. Rest your gaze firmly on the fluid inside, fixed stare… hypnotic. Like a diamond, you study it closely, looking for composition, color and clarity. You focus your attention to these qualities but before you’re even aware it’s happened, the liquid has released its aromas and it's already made a solid and lasting impression on you. Part of reason that wine makes such an immediate impression on you is that so many things have made an impression on that wine in in the process of delivering it from vineyard to glass. So what's really in that glass of wine? Here’s just a few things that came to mind…
Rich blood, sweet sweat and salty tears.
A snapshot of a growing season—wind, rain, sun, blue skies, sunsets, rainbows and clouds.
A whole lot of money—barrels, bottles, corks, capsules, labels, equipment and staff.
Bugs.
Dirt.
Skin, pulp, seeds, stems.
Sickness, health.
Respect, love, appreciation, admiration.
Passion, tenderness.
Someone’s hopes, dreams, expectations, aspirations, successes, failures.
Life.
5 comments:
Tamara Darling,
You left out a few things, Beautiful. What about?
Somewhere between 88 and 93 points.
The chance of waking up in a stranger's bed
Middle of the night urinating
Headaches, Memory Loss, Pillow Face, Erectile Dysfunction
Maybe I missed the spirit of your piece. But it's a lovely list from a wondrous woman.
Ron my love,
I'm truly honored to have the Hosemaster himself visit my site, and that my post inspired a comment (even if you missed the spirit), well Darling, I'm still all vaklempt. Thank you. My intention for the spirit of this piece is that just as your feet leave an impression in the sand as you walk by, so do other things leave their imprint in the wine we drink. Perhaps it's what terrior really speaks to rather than soil type and geology: perhaps it's the taste of that vineyard's bugs, the taste of that man's sweat and blood. You're absolutely right about headaches, memory loss and ED in every glass, and I appreciate the painful reminder and warning!
Lovely piece. You and Ron need to do a collaborative effort :)
But you forgot a few more things: sulfur addition, oak chips, mega purple, beet sugar, inoculated yeast, fish protein (for fining).
:) Not all wines, of course!
i just stumbled across your blog. what a beautiful piece you wrote. nice to see an honest perspective next to all the fluff out there.
Joe, Thank you!! I love your additions, how could I have forgotten to include those? And as far as doing "something" with Ron, I'd love to, but the Hosemaster of Wine is definitely a one-man show.
Gus, I'm glad you found me and I'll keep doing my best to keep it real! Please come visit again… often!
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