|
All’s Fair in Love and Wine
I thought long and hard about what topic to talk to you about this Valentine’s week… ‘The Most Romantic Wines’? ‘Best Pink Wines’? ‘Best Wine to Buy For That Special Someone’? And I didn’t get excited about any of them.
So instead I thought I’d speak from the heart. Because what is Valentine’s Day for, if not for that? So here’s the story of my love affair with wine…
The reason I fell in love with wine in the first place was, because, well, I fell in love. Yes, I had worked in restaurants for nearly a decade and yes, I had decent wine knowledge and could talk about wine capably enough… but I wasn’t into wine. I wasn’t geeking out on it. And I certainly wasn’t making it my career.
But we all know the story - you meet a special someone that makes your heart do cartwheels and suddenly your interests and priorities have a way of rearranging themselves.
See, he also worked in restaurants. But in wine specifically. So all of the sudden wine became very interesting to me. Wine was suddenly a way to connect with him, to learn with him, to explore the world with him, and a way we showed love to each other.
And even though that relationship ended (though we are still dear friends), my eyes had been forever opened to the fact that wine could be a vessel of connection for anyone I love.
Suddenly gifting a bottle to a bestie on their birthday was a way to show them how special they were; bringing wine to a dinner party became a launching pad to reminisce on past adventures and dream up new ones; going tasting with girlfriends became less about the winery and more about sharing laughter and creating memories; and telling guests wine stories at the restaurant was a way to delight, welcome and care for them.
Yes, on a physiological level, wine lowers our inhibitions and can make it easier to ‘open up’ but it’s also an incredible conversation starter. There’s so much to discuss about any given bottle - where it came from, who made it and how, what the deal with that particular grape is, what it’s traditionally paired with and so much more. I’ve lost count of how many great stories I’ve been treated to thanks to a cork being pulled. I can’t tell you how many friendships I’ve forged (and deepened) through visiting wineries, planning dinner parties, and simply just sharing a great bottle together.
My hope in this wine education endeavor is, of course, to empower you with knowledge so you never feel daunted or alienated by the world of wine. But, if I’m being honest, my real intention is to help you feel more connected. Not just to the world around you - helping make the foreign feel familiar–but to the people you love most in this world.
There’s a reason humans have been sharing wine together for 8,000 years and it’s not just because it tastes good. It’s because it’s a vessel of connection.
Maybe this was an usual spin on the typical Valentine’s Day subject matter, but the heart was where wine started for me. And it’s where it still lives today.
So on this overly-commercialized, often-superficial national holiday, my wish for you is to cut through the noise, tap into what’s real, and express your love (romantic or otherwise) with a beautiful bottle of wine.
I suppose you could say wine is my love language. And maybe today it can be yours too.
What’s your wine love story? I would love to know! Tell me about your love affair with wine…
Share Your Story Here
|
