Wine Moments

Have you ever had a wine moment? I've had a few. And they're not at all what you're quite likely thinking!

My effort to learn more about wine kicked off in late 2009, when I joined a group of friends in starting a wine tasting group. There were 12 households in the group, with most of us starting in the same place as wine novices. Our goal was to learn the fine points of wine tasting, in a safe environment where no one would feel silly for their lack of knowledge. We still meet, although the group’s members have changed a bit over time. Each month we meet in a different home, and the host and/or hostess present six wines to the group. Some people choose a theme (celebrity wines, perhaps). Others choose wines from a particular region, or serve all one varietal.

As I tried to decide which theme or wines to include at my wine tasting, I realized that there were a handful of wines I could bring readily to mind.  Most of these had a particular memory or story attached to them. Thus, the theme for the wine tasting night became the unoriginal “Wines I Like”.  Each of the wines served was accompanied by the story or memory it invoked. With apologies in advance to the vineyards and wineries (and, in some cases, people) for my rather silly associations:

• A low priced, but tasty, red wine that I first drank at a friend’s wedding. This friend is now married to my ex-husband. But I’m not bitter! Really! (People may not remember the name of that wine, but they sure remember the story associated with it. We call it the “but I’m not bitter wine". LOL)  Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages
• A waitress-recommended Merlot that a friend and I were served at dinner on the way to a concert. The concert turned out to be laugh-out-loud bad, featuring a famous 70s band that played off key and forgot their own lyrics. We still joke about that night, and agree that the Sterling Vintner’s Collection Merlot was the highlight of the evening.
• The wine brand that I remember by associating their name with frozen chicken pot pies.  When deciding to purchase that wine, my thought process goes something like this: “Uhhh… the pot pie maker… starts with an ‘S’… no, it isn’t Stouffer’s… Swanson? Yeah, Swanson Sangiovese!”
• My all-time favorite:  Stag’s Leap Arcadia Vineyard Chardonnay. No funny story here. Just a great, full bodied, buttery chardonnay. The wine that got me interested in wine.
• A zesty zinfandel that I remember the name of by singing the song “Wild Thing” in my head. Carol Shelton’s Wild Thing Zinfandel. (Which,by the way, comes in an atractive bottle.)
• The “Oops! I drank the two bottles that I bought for my mother!” Elio Perrone Sourgal 2011 Moscato d’Asti.

Now you know more than enough about my crazy memory triggers and some of my favorite wines. And I hope I have also illustrated my point that enjoying wine is not a formal, stuffy process. It is about pleasure, shared smiles, and great times spent with friends. And these are a very good kind of wine moment!