Wine is so much more than just a drink. It is unique. It is a moment in time and space, bottled for future reverie.
Every day of sunshine, every drop of rain; warm days, cool nights, frost, wind, and changes in soil quality combine to provide exponential variations of flavour expression from every single grape.
This variability makes each vintage unique, never tasted before or again. And this may be the magic of wine, the mystery, the romance. And the challenge.
Whereas beer, whiskey and even some popular commercial wine producers strive for consistency, the same taste year on year. It almost feels like blasphemy to gag wine expression in this way.
For wine, the characters develop, as our memories fade.
But it doesn’t end there. Changes in harvesting, processing, barreling and blending add a whole new layer of nuance to the taste. The final iteration is in the hands of the consumer. How they store it, pour it, serve it and what meal it may accompany.
Each glass may be a bold new adventure into a unique moment in history. Top this with the wine-makers personal experiences of that year’s wins, losses, sales, celebrations, sins and tragedies, and they hold unique significance with each passing vintage.
The Cellar Door is the Front Line
The wine-lover could say the same. I still remember where and when I first drank a Petaluma Shiraz (2006); that opened my door to vine appreciation. Never had I tasted a drop so soft.
I remember the surprise meal I sprung on my partner in the now-closed Sirens restaurant in Hobart, Tasmania where I first tasted a Penfolds 138.
A moment in time.
And these moments are attached to wines for the experience along with the taste. For wine, the characters develop, as our memories fade.
The winery entourage can play a unique role in these memories. They can cement positive connotations with warming experiences. As a result, the cellar door is the front line—the infantry in a battle for wine-lovers’ hearts and minds. Many warming occasions of cracking the top on a favourite bottle can be associated with my first experience of that wine. And the wineries themselves have played a big part.
Meeting Damien of Tscharke wines in South Australia and hear him talk so passionately about his mission still brings me joy with every bottle. The personal experience extended to us by Antonio’s Wines, Rosnay’s dedication and Brown Hill’s welcome. Sarah’s charm at Lake George Winery, and Emma and her crew’s warmth at Dryridge in the Blue Mountains make memories. Being entertained by Dekka and Aaron of Brindabella Hills Winery, while sampling an unorthodox matching of artisan chocolate and wine; all place more significance in each drop we take home.
Wine Close to the Heart
The wine pictured here is the Arete Ethos Shiraz 2010 from Marananga. A wine close to our heart. Richard Bate of Arete wines provided us with our first in-depth winery experience. He talked to us at length and in detail about the process, showed us the barrels and let us taste wines at different stages of development. We came away feeling part of Arete.
Not surprisingly, it was a magical experience for us. One that we relived tonight as we opened this deep, dark mocha 10-year-old wonder. And sadly, our last bottle.
I would not suggest that every winery has the time or capacity to provide extensive wine tours to each visitor, charm, entertain, and romance. But held as dear as the taste, is the experience and the memory. If appealing to wine-lovers, not just drinkers, we need the ‘love’ in the experience.
You only get one shot.
For in many, many ways, wine is but a moment in time.
