I wouldn’t say I’m one of those people who had a lightning bolt moment when I discovered wine. You know the scenario…Jenny drank a glass of 50-year-old Château Lafite Rothschild at her Uncle Doug’s retirement party when all of the sudden time stood still, angels sang and she knew from that moment on she would dedicate her life to wine. Definitely not me. That being said, there have been a couple of wines that made an impact on me as I have navigated through my stages of wine enjoyment and learning.
…And it’s not that the wine(s) were necessarily grand. It’s more they spoke to me at the perfect time in my wine journey to make an impact. So you wanna know what they are?
The first “A-ha” moment was when I tasted a bottle of Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia. I was living in Italy, it was my anniversary and I was dining with my husband at an oceanfront, rooftop restaurant in Possilipo. It was dusk when we arrived and the setting was…well, you can probably fill in that blank, it was movie-edited romantic. I realize that is a pretty impactful package even if I was drinking milk but I believe the memories tied to wine play a big role in the way we look at wine. Our waiter helped us decide on the Sassicaia. I had heard of this illustrious wine but wasn’t ultra familiar with it. I knew it was iconic and special but not sure what grapes were even in it or why it was so special. In fact, I can’t even remember the vintage we drank, thinking it was either a 2002…or 2005. I do remember taking my first sniff and first sip. It was so incredibly complex, unlike anything I’d ever had before. It was the first time I had ever smelled or tasted what I call a “meaty” wine, it was a wine I could almost chew. It was like drinking the best spicy beef stew I’d ever tasted with loads and loads of earth-driven aromas and flavors all gushing forward like kids pushing their way to the front of an ice cream line. It was the first time I realized wine was capable of actually sparking emotion.
My second impactful wine was a 2007 Petite Sirah from Niner Wine Estate. The moment was not fancy or special, I was just meeting my friend, Jen, for dinner. I was the mom of a then 7-year-old (whose 17 today) and my husband was in the midst of a seven-month deployment so this was honestly a “morale dinner” (one of my survival mode tactics). We went to what was then a relatively new restaurant in Coronado, CA called Leroy’s Kitchen + Lounge. I don’t know what I had to eat nor why we chose the Niner Petite Sirah but I do know, it was the first time I had ever heard of and drank Petite Sirah. I could not believe how it felt, how it tasted and how classy the bottle looked – I’m a sucker for a good looking bottle. The wine felt like velvet had turned into liquid magma and coated every nook and cranny of my mouth. I became keenly aware of the role weight played in wine. Prior to that, I had not thought of wine having weight or mouthfeel. The wine tasted sensational. Because of that bottle, I’ve been a big fan of Niner Wine Estate ever since. Not that all of their wines fall in the “sensational” category but it’s easy to sit in their corner when their wine made such an impact in my journey.
I will never forget either that Sassicaia or Niner Petite Sirah. My experiences and palate have changed and broadened a lot since then. I’ve been fortunate to have tasted many more fantastic, high-quality wines. But the fact remains, those two wines had stand-out moments for me and will be preserved in the halls of my brain that are dedicated to wine. Assuming brains have halls…and dedicated spaces for things like wine.
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