…everybody wants happiness. Round and round
we all do race, everybody looking in a different place.
Yeah, pretty much how it seems. I see so many wine professionals rushing all over the globe, living their best life.
Living large!
And I remember when I was in that stream. It rushed, all about me. I was caught up in it, just as they are now. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But it is not forever. It is not permanent. Just like wine, it peaks. And it has a time when it is perfection. And a time when that moment has passed.
I say this as if I am speaking to any one person in particular. They might be laid up right now, healing. But this also applies to all of us in one way or another. I’ll speak for myself.
Lately, I’ve been working on excising the desire to be relevant, to be needed, to be seen. My youthful wish to become invisible has been granted. I am not sorry for that. It aids me greatly in my artful pursuits. And seeing as that has been one of my goals (the pursuit of my marathon) and am happy with that. I am not an extrovert; I don’t need the attention. I don’t need folks to see the daily exposition of what I drink, what I eat or who I eat and drink it with. Some folks need that, especially the extroverts in the wine trade. They’ll figure it out sooner or later. Or maybe not.
What I do know, from this perspective, is a lot of this stuff is distraction. We are on the ride of a lifetime, so some of it is also fun. Whee!
But, in my case, to mistake it for something significant is to be steered away from the essential, which is always knocking on my door. In the morning. In the afternoon. And especially after midnight. You’re lying in bed reading this? You know what I mean.
Oh yes, there is always a great meal and a great bottle waiting for you. That’s part of the reason we got into this stream.
But in no way does it convey the meaning of life - at least to this soul.
The sculptor Brancusi once said, “What is real is not the external form, but the essence of things.”
Indeed, the essence - in this moment - is of the essence.
I opened up two wines this week. One was a white Burgundy and one was a white wine from the Langhe.
The Langhe white, a Cortese, serviced and sufficed. It went well with the meals and was pleasant, crisp and perfect.
The Burgundy, a Bourgogne Blanc from a vineyard 100 meters from the Puligny Montrachet AOC, came with loaded expectations. I’ve been jonesing for a Puligny for as long as I can remember, of late. Don’t know why, but I think it has something to do with a reminiscence from my time working in Hollywood (hey, these things just bubble up and I go with the flow).
The Bourgogne Blanc – I kept waiting for a recognition of some terroir that never quite showed up. Not to say the wine wasn’t well made. In my opinion, they probably are making better white wine in Burgundy now than I can recall ever. The wine was clean and rich, and well-balanced. But there were no fireworks. I think my expectations put the kibosh on that. Hey, I didn’t have grandiose hopes for the Cortese, why the Bourgogne? I think it had more to do with a sentimental yearning than anything based in fact or critique. I wanted the Bourgogne to give me a certain palpable effect and it didn’t. I didn’t expect that from the Cortese. That is one of the mysteries of wine and humans. Everyone sees (and feels) things differently.
It brought to mind another drink I tried this week – a sample – it was a Delta-9 hemp derived beverage. An article in the paper about a similar product, the proprietor was quoted as saying, “The 60-plus generation loves it because they don’t have to smoke it. Many of them can no longer drink for health or personal reasons…This allows them to continue the ritual of having a cocktail while still having some euphoric effects without having to drink alcohol.”
Euphoric effects without having to drink alcohol? The 60-plus generation? Are you bullshitting me? Is that why we drink wine? I assumed we drank wine as a complement to the food. As a mild mood lifter. And a conversation easer. And as an artisanal product that can and should be appreciated artfully. But as a gateway to euphoria? I don’t think so, Mr. Delta-9 salesman. I call bullshit, again. Yeah, some folks just want to get stoned. Yeah, that stuff will stone you. And yeah, that’s not why I drink wine. Yeah. Got it?
See? I still can get riled up. Seems like that is the currency of the day. But never, ever, have I seen wine to be a gateway to euphoria. To culture, to conversation, to friendship, to community, to livelihood – “yes I said yes I will Yes.”
Maybe that’s the reason why the young’uns are carrying on and traipsing all over the world and popping bottles and living out of suitcases for a good part of their young lives.
Carry on - Follow your bliss.
