Whine of the Month : August 2010

Hey Everybody! This month I’m reprinting (without permission) an article from an un-named wine shop in New York was was sent to me via email. Needless to say, I think it’s great and exactly in keeping with my own feelings about wine. A little cruel? Perhaps, but sometimes the truth hurts… Enjoy.

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Wines change. Unlike stamps, coins or art, people who collect and drink wine are used to change. Sometimes a case of wine will contain twelve bottles that will not hit you in the same way. Change the food, change the mood, serve it too cool, too warm, leave it in the basement and take the last bottle out a decade later…each time it will be different.

The other relative factor, the other dimension of wine, is its place of origin. Where we differ from other stores is recognizing that we are intruders. We are looters of foreign countries. We are importers of slices of life from small towns and villages from around the globe. We do not want them to make wine for us, we want to take THEIR wine.

One time while teaching a class on wine, a staff member was taken aback by the comments made by students about a dry, sherry-like wine from Sardinia. The general consensus was that the wine was bad. Like Muscadet is too sharp, or Rhone wines are too heavy, or Italian wines are too bitter…”You don't like it?” said the staff member, “well too bad. The wine was not meant for you. This wine was made for a bunch of old farmers with flat caps on an island off the coast of Italy. They drink it out of tumblers on a Sunday afternoon as they play Bocce. We pull the wine from their life. We take this little token from a different existence and ship it across the globe. You should feel lucky, but instead you want to feel comfortable with what you already know. If you are content with drinking Chardonnay that tastes like pineapple juice and Merlot that has as much character as an auto registry clerk, then leave this class now. Wine is not for you. Wine is about differences. It celebrates individuality and originality. If you recognize this, you will realize how lucky you are to live here, in this time and place. You can get a taste of the whole world without ever leaving your home town.”

No one left. And although few in the class were converted to liking the taste of that particular wine, they at least understood it. They understood that wine was not only understanding your own taste, but understanding the taste of others. That is the central point.

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Harry here again. Sure wish I knew what store this came from. I'd make everyone shop there.

Harry “Stomping On More Than Grapes” Orlove