“Reading through my wine notes, I do not find some perfectly written scored analysis of wines consumed, but instead, a journal of where I was and with whom I shared the wine…”

While I am as much as a palate geek as the rest of those who purchase a bottle of juice - for me, wine is about relationships - forming them with the folks who make the wine and ultimately with the folks with whom you will share this wine. Buying wine is not about collecting and obtaining a trophy. Nor is it about hoarding away a secret cache of bottles so that they can gather dust and ultimately be forgotten. Reading through my wine notes, I do not find some perfectly written scored analysis of wines consumed, but instead, a journal of where I was and with whom I shared the wine. In short - for me, wine is about memories.

About a 1996 bottle of Alsatian Riesling: “Had with Dad to toast a long, late night of lowering the water level in the basement, courtesy of Hurricane Floyd, including the three inches in the wine cellar. Probably served this a bit too warm - with the power out for three days, the cellar went up to its ambient temperature of 63 degrees. Not blown away as I expected to be. Elegant. Long, rich, but not sweet. Let the other two be. (9/99).” Although eight years ago, I remember drinking this with my father as if it were yesterday.

This one having to do with a massive bottle of Champagne that we opened at my second daughter’s naming party: “A big bottle for a beautiful little girl. Cork came out with a loud “pop!” and George H. hoisted the bottle up to pour in to pitchers. Sunny day, 73 friends and family. Beautiful wine, aged, toasty and waxy. (6/02).”

And also a note about an old “off” year bottle of Bordeaux that I saved to have with a close friend. “What can I write? While Dad probably has a few more of these tucked away, I finally opened my last bottle with Henry, Kiddy, Mike and Jerri. A while ago when Mike heard that I had opened a bottle of this, he thought it “bold.” That comment struck me and I decided to save this last bottle for a dinner with him. With the introductory history of the sad storage of these bottles, and apologies for problems that, in light of the last few bottles, were almost certain to manifest themselves, I went down to the cellar and decanted this last bottle. Upon pouring - thought I saw a brown color. Damn. I smelled the wine though and it was not bad. Brought the decanter upstairs and realized not brown, but tawny. In the glass opened beautifully to allow Mike to exclaim “that’s Laffite through and through!” This last bottle shone and we all enjoyed it immensely. This is why I cellar and share these wines. (6/98).” This note is made all the more poignant in that this very friend, Mike, unexpectedly died just last month.

Sometimes, a note can barely even mention the wine but help me remember why some relationships are not the ones I want to maintain. This about two bottles of Champagne that a “friend” grabbed from my collection at one in the morning after our group had had more than enough to drink: “Two bottles on the heels of all else. After essentially lighting the driveway on fire with an overly aggressive bonfire, David even felt it important to use the back of one of our kitchen knives as a “scabbard” to open one. (1/01)”. I believe this was the last time David was invited to our house.

And finally, a wine can highlight a relationship that is rich both in the present and the past. “Opening this on a quiet day. Just back from our vacation (returned this morning after waking at 4:20 am). Tonight, to be alone with Jerri, my love and center, I’ve chosen a Pasmados. This, to bring us both back to a beautiful room in a Portuguese pousada and an open bottle of the local wine. Honey, red cherry on the nose, somewhat closed on the palate, though delicious tart, red fruit. Not overpowering tannins, could age a little longer, but just delicious 20 minutes into this bottle. Gorgeous honey nose. (10/96).”

While the wine may be good, it is ultimately about the people with whom you share it. Good luck as you uncork your own memories.

Andrew Falk



This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2007 at 11:29 am and is filed under RECORDING. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.