If I walked into my little wine closet tonight and wanted to pull any wine, what would it be? I was thinking about that not because I have a lot of wine, I don’t. And most likely what I do have is either too old or too red for the hot summer weather.So an ala carte fantasy. Anything. The sky’s the limit. Hmm…
I’d like it to be red, white and rose. All of them. So that would be a tall order. And highly improbable. One wine – not three.
I’d like it to go with whatever I am having, although I cannot decided what that will be. I am starting to sound like some of the people I talk to in the wine stores, the shoppers.
I’d like to be able to have something really expensive, rare,, and also something that is a great value – a steal. Again, I am taking the surreal track.
If it were a wine that tasted super-natural but also had a great personality, and a sufficient amount of flavor. Nothing overdone, but if it was, I would expect if I were liking it then would somehow be in balance, at least for me. We have folks on the natural wine trail who are often in big jet planes and they seem to be able to live in both worlds, c'est ne pas?What else? Sure I would love for it to be Italian, but I would also love to be surprised.
So far all I have done is dance around it. Do I really have a wine in mid? Maybe tonight we could pin point it a little more.
I’d love it to be red with the delicacy of a white, Italian, but nothing international or even highly concocted. And I’d also like it to be able to be enjoyed tonight. No more cellaring.
It’s not as easy as I thought. There are wines we all favor, but that one perfect one, for one moment in time, how important does it need to be? But for the sake of this exercise, perhaps I could suspend judgment, a little?
I know you all are going to think me a little mad, but when I saw the Italian movie, “I Am Love,” and again saw the Ligurian countryside, those hills, even the little town Airole, I thought of traipsing through the hills and chasing the Rossese di Dolceacqua. And for right here and right now, that would be just perfect. I would describe the wine, but I won’t. What it means to me tonight in the context of the evening and the occasion is enough to have come forth. It is an unsung hero of a wine, with little or no possibility of ever becoming a household name in America. Same for Vernaccia di Serrapetrona, but for other reasons.And just like when I recently let go and just followed my instincts in picking the latest digital camera or notebook, and it all worked out just fine. So with wine, it will work out. There is no testing center telling us we failed when we pick this or that wine.
By the way, if anyone is so inclined to chime in on their perfect wine for the moment, I’d love to hear from you all.
Happy Independence Day!