Solace in Wine

When I started my journey, I had no idea that I would find solace in wine. This magical elixir had me under its spell. After all, I didn’t need a reason to drink it. I just fell in love.

Now, I won’t ramble on with the new phrases in our everyday lexicon or speak of the challenges we’re all facing. Instead, let’s talk about the pleasure that wine brings to our lives and how it can be the proverbial light leading us from dark times.

I’m reminded about a wonderful quote from the movie, “Sideways.” No, not that one. It’s this one instead.

“I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing; how the sun was shining; if it rained. I like to think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes. And if it’s an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now. I like how wine continues to evolve, like if I opened a bottle of wine today it would taste different than if I’d opened it on any other day, because a bottle of wine is actually alive. And it’s constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is, until it peaks, like your ’61. And then it begins its steady, inevitable decline.”

I enjoy Merlot, BTW.

Living in the Moment

If you think about it, wine is the ultimate way to live in the moment and let yourself ride a wave of unbridled thoughts along a path from the glass to the vineyard.

It’s my happy place.

When you contemplate a wine, research its origins, and read the tech sheet, you gain a deeper understanding. Taking it to the next level with a geography lesson is even better.

You’re transported and can find solace in wine.

How to Live What’s In the Glass

Our journey begins with a place, the AOC, WO, or AVA where the wine was born. The “World Atlas to Wine” is our guidebook.

I can also recommend Oz Clarke’s “World of Wine.” You’ll feel like you’re in the car driving alongside him.

You’ll learn about the land and its people. Terroir becomes evident. Explore the grapes or at least the ones in your glass.

Are they thin-skin picky or thick-skin easy-going?

Do they like it warm or cold?

What makes them shine? Acidity? Unique aromas? Complexity?

These aren’t questions to answer in a moment or even five. Each wine has the potential to be cerebral if given the attention.

Finding Solace in Wine

I’ve poured my glass of Beaujolais Cru, Molin-A-Vent, to be precise. I look at its beautiful color and take it all in to enjoy.

The first aroma I get is cherries, and immediately, I’m transported to summer. I let her rest and get to know life out of the bottle.

Ah, then strawberries come to the surface. I’m reminded of my grandma. She was an immigrant from Hungary, or the Austria-Hungarian Empire at the time. She fled the old country at the start of World War I.

After her third husband passed, she lived with our family. I remember this dish she would make for an occasional dinner. She made what she called were Hungarian pancakes, aka crepes.

She’d make a stack of them. We’d take them and slather a heaping spoonful of Kool Whip on them. Yes, Kool Whip. Then, we’d add fresh strawberries that had macerated in a bit of sugar.

The wine takes me back to my childhood dinner table and Hungarian pancakes with strawberries. And I feel fine.

Associating Memories to Find Solace in Wine

Memories are so powerful, especially if you can associate them with particular scents or sights. My Beaujolais did just that.

For a moment, I was wandering the landscape and feeling the granite soils of Moulin-A-Vent. I was feeling the breeze lift my hair and caress my face. I smiled thinking of my grandma.

It made me love wine even more. I’ll find my solace in wine and let it be my succor. I’ll let it refresh me and revive me. It will be my light.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash