I have done some self-reflecting on my relationship with wine. I grew up in a moderately conservative Christian home. Alcohol wasn’t necessarily banned, but wine was never a dinner table staple. Nowadays, my parents lean further away from wine and my sister is completely against it. This has led me to do some self-examination as wine has become my life’s passion.
When a person says they love wine, it seems most people imagine someone who can drink a half bottle or more a night or someone who can hit 5 or more wineries on a wine tasting trip. Of course, I genuinely enjoy (most) wine but by all accounts, I’m an anomaly in the wine world. Make no mistake, I am fairly consistent with my glass of wine at dinner most evenings but beyond that I rarely stray. I have to carefully drink red and white wine if both are part of an event and cannot really throw sparkling wine into that mix. If I go wine tasting, the perfect day stops with 2 wineries and even then, I’m spitting most of my wine or sharing with my husband. Yep, I’m a wine wimp!
So what is it I love about wine then? I love the story of wine. I love that wine starts with grapes in the vineyards, vines that farmers optimally want to struggle but baby at the same time then pick on the precise day they are ready. I love that once in the cellar, the winemaker carefully takes over nurturing the grapes from fruit to juice, then fermenting and patiently waiting, aging the wine to perfection before letting go in hopes the consumer will find true enjoyment from his labor. In the hands of the consumer, I love that wine has the gift to bring people together, making ordinary meals extraordinary events and searing good times into lifelong memories.
Basically what Andre Simon says:
“Wine makes every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, every day more civilized.”
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