Wood on Wine

My wine journey is a continuing experience. Not only have I learned to enjoy a variety of wines and foods with wine, I have developed a keener appreciation for the rich tradition that wine enjoys in terms of our culture today. The enjoyment of wine spans time and history.

While I was a student in graduate school, I had a professor who insisted that we had to "deal with the literature" and understand what the great minds wrote about before we could be effective in our chosen area of study. We vehemently argued that some of "the literature" was outmoded and irrelevant to our issues and concerns. I later learned that both my professor and we were correct. However, the only way I could have known this was to have "dealt with the literature."

The Bible is full of references to the importance of wine during the life and times of Jesus. The Last Supper was indubitably served with wine. Jesus often visited the vineyards and used the vineyards as a place to think and teach his disciples. One of my favorite books is "Secrets of The Vine" by Bruce Wilkinson, the author of "The Prayer of Jabez."

During the last night after the Last Supper, Jesus and eleven of the disciples took a walk through the streets of Jerusalem to the garden on the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane. Along the way, they stopped in the middle of the vineyards - row after row of neatly tended grapes that had been bearing fruit for a long time. It was here that Jesus chose to share his "secrets of the vine" as he said as reported in John 15:1 while holding a branch of a grapevine in his hands:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit. By this, my Father is glorified, that you bear fruit"

The parable of the grape vines contains some very important lessons for us all as we endeavor to understand what life is about and why we are here and enduring the trial and tribulations that life presents.

The lesson of the message in the vineyard is not the theme of this writing. Rather, I share this simply to point out that wine has always played a significant part of my development as a man and has helped me to be a better person. Moreover, I like to think that the older that I am fortunate enough to get, the better will be the fruit of my branch.

I have been enjoying a wonderful book written by a happily married couple, Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher - "Love By The Glass - Tasting Notes From a Marriage." They are the well-known wine columnists whose "Tastings" columns appear regularly in The Wall Street Journal.

The dustcover notes on the book sums up the essence of their book and the essence of what I believe wine is all about - it reads:

"You'll discover the joys of wine along with them, but you'll also discover that wine is really about good times, bad times, moments shared with loved ones, and new friends. It's about memories. It's about life."

Indeed!

The book begins with a description of the very first wine they shared together as a young couple - André Cold Duck - a wine that sold 2 million cases in 1971 that was produced and marketed by the E & J Gallo Winery. I, too, remember drinking Cold Duck on one of many special occasions in the early 1970's. I thought it was Champagne then - and it was - for me and with whomever I happened to be drinking. Their point was that it does not matter what you are drinking as long as you enjoy it and especially if you are blessed enough to be able to share it with someone special in your life. I agree wholeheartedly.

In Chapter One they transcend from Cold Duck to Chateau Lafite- Rothschild. They relate how they found immense pleasure in searching for wine values. It seems that they discovered a case of Chateau Lafite- Rothschild just by chance while shopping at one of their favored places. This was a first-growth Bordeaux and, to their amazement, a bottle cost a mere $8. Then they discovered that the reason that it sold for so little in 1976 was that it was a 1968 vintage. They go on to explain that 1968 was reportedly a disaster year for wines in Bordeaux due to way too much rainfall in August such that the grapes never were able to ripen. The so-called "wine experts" castigated the Lafite for even daring to put such a terrible vintage on the market at any price. Undaunted, Dorothy and John bought three bottles of the 1968 Lafite.

Reading how they savored the moment of this "find" is what makes their book so enjoyable. They planned to drink one bottle and "cellar" the remaining two as they had begun a modest collection. They planned every aspect of the meal with which they decided to open and enjoy their Lafite. As they uncorked the wine once the meal was ready and the table was set, this is how they described their special moment:

"We'd never pulled a longer cork. It seemed to take forever to come out. But the second the cork came out, we knew we were experiencing something unforgettable. There was no turning back. This wine was about to touch our souls, take us to another level.

"A bouquet of cedar, leather, and the richest fruit we'd ever known rose from the bottle. We poured a small amount into our glasses and smelled it. It was pure heaven, with a complexity of aromas we never could have imagined. Demestica and Bull's Blood were delightfully simple and rough. One whiff and you'd smelled it all. But this was different. With each swirl and each sniff, we could sense something new, a different nuance. Finally, we clinked glasses. 'To your face,' said Dottie. 'To your bottom,' said John.

"Cedar, vanilla, cherries, blackberries, and all of the wines we'd ever tasted seemed to be captured in that glass. Each sip seemed like a whole new world."

For me, this passage captures the essence and the simplicity of their book as well as the reason why I drink wine. I am always looking for and hoping to have that same kind of experience - every time I open a bottle of wine. Every time! While I know that this is a sensation and an experience that is rare, I also know that every wine experience is different.

Moreover, I, like Dorothy and John, have never been one to put too much stock in the raves and the rants of the experts - especially when a wine is panned badly. We all like different things. However, when I discover that a particular wine writer has tastes that seem to mirror my own, I am going to be more inclined to follow their suggestions as opposed to another. Had they blindly adhered to the "experts" and passed over this wine, imagine what they would have missed. This, I tell you, is the key to being passionate about wine. It's much like the way that Forrest Gump describes life - "it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."

Dorothy and John's book describes their joint wine journey. Each chapter sheds a little bit more light on their life together as a couple through the crystal of their shared wine glasses. From Boone's Farm Apple Wine and Mateus rosé to Taittinger and Cristal; from DeLoach White Zinfandel to Kunde Estate Merlot and many many more stops along the way, they share their wine experiences and their likes and dislikes in a well written and easily read story. This is a must-read and must-have book for anyone who enjoys wine or books. Their passion is infectious!

Oct. 21, 2002

Click here to order Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher's Love by the Glass: Tasting Notes from a Marriage, from Amazon.com for $17.47 (a 30 percent saving).

Click here to order their Wall Street Journal Guide to Wine for $17.50, also saving 30 percent.

(Using these links to buy will return a small commission to WineLoversPage.com.)

All contents © copyright 1981-2008 by Robin Garr, www.WineLoversPage.com

Cliffwood Organic Works