Valentine’s Day came and went quickly, just like every other holiday. With our busy lives, we barely have time to appreciate and enjoy these moments. Fortunately, we can celebrate love everyday of the year and we don’t need a holiday to express our feelings to the ones we love. Besides, isn’t Valentine’s Day based on a pretty gruesome story that happened sometime in the third century? But somehow, we still find a way to turn an ancient barbaric anecdote into a symbol of consumerism with the materialistic gifts that accompany it. Swell isn’t it? Forget the flowers or the Sees candy! We need love and wine! Because love IS wine, and wine IS love.
Alright, stick with me here for a moment.
Wine has been around for thousands of years, way before Christ even existed. It didn’t taste like it does today according to some historians, and a few books I’ve read along the way. And yet, wine has brought balance in our lives and it is time we recognize that. We go out to a nice dinner with friends, there’s wine on the table. Two business people have a lunch meeting to discuss an important merger, there’s wine on the table. A record label discusses a new deal with a rock band, there’s wine on the table, and perhaps a little cocaine. I just got fired from my job… Guess what, there’s wine on the table for that, too.
Wine Is Love
Love and wine have been driving our social interactions in both business and pleasure. Belle Gloss, a winery from the Napa Valley embraced the concept, choosing love and passion as their main branding thematic. Named after the owner’s grandmother, Lorna Belle Glos Wagner, the winery’s Pinot Noir from California’s most sought-after single vineyards exudes class and elegance. Each bottle is sealed with the winery’s signature red wax, making the wine exceptionally cheer-worthy.
The act of cheering is not one to be taken slightly. It’s an act of confidence and reliance in one another. People have a toast with wine to celebrate and to settle. One of Winston Churchill’s most memorable quote is “Never trust a man who doesn’t drink.” Churchill was a bon vivant. His favorite drink was Champagne, so much so that a winemaker produced a special Champagne in his honor, Pol Roger Cuvée Winston Churchill. Anyway, while Churchill may not have been the most suitable example due to his excessive drinking habits, I stand by my observation when I say that wine remains the heart of our civilization in all of its conviviality.
Wine – A Constant Quality?
As I said earlier, wine didn’t always taste as good as it does now. When was the last time you actually opened a bottle of wine and it wasn’t good? Has it ever happened? Thanks to science and all the knowledge we’ve acquired through the many centuries of winemaking, the quality of our wine is extremely consistent. Yes, the taste of wine will vary a bit from one year to the next – mostly due to weather patterns – but for the most part, we know what to expect before we pull the cork. A wine’s taste is consistently good and yet sometimes, it has a different outcome when we drink it. One day we love it and two days later we don’t. Why is that? What changed? It’s not the wine… It’s us!
Taste Is An Emotional Experience
We forget how emotionally exhausted we can be after a full day at work. On top of that, we add a two hour commute in bumper to bumper traffic. We’re tired, tense, grumpy… Wine might feel like a good idea at that time but it will NEVER taste as good as if you were drinking it under better conditions. This brings me to these words: “Wine is only as good as the people with whom it is shared” – That has been my mantra for many years. It implies the right people (obviously), the right time, the right place, and the right mind. Every single one of these elements will greatly affect your own appreciation of a wine, better yet your perception of its taste.
If you’re a regular of Wine Ponder, you’ll know that my true passion is wine pairing. Wine pairing is hard and the result is often unpredictable but it is so much fun trying. That said, there is one pairing that I do successfully every time I open a bottle of wine, because it just makes sense… I pair it with love. Love and wine because THAT, my friend, is the best wine pairing you will ever achieve.
Wine is friendship, it is laughters, it is tears of joy. In the end, wine is people… Wine is Love.
OK, that was a little sappy but hey, who doesn’t a good love story… Especially when there’s wine involved! Here is another Wine Ponder exclusive that will bring out a smile, and perhaps a giggle or two…
