Valentine's Day!

Hello Wine Lovers!

Well it’s Valentine’s Day, the day for lovers, the day you tell your sweetie how much you love him or her, whatever the case may be. It’s the day to say “I love you” to say “How much you mean to me”. All of the romance caused me to think about the romance of wine. So that is what I’m writing about today.

The romance of wine… people have been romancing the opposite sex for centuries with wine. Traced all the way back to the Romans! What is it about the magic of the grape? All the care and love that goes into the vineyard, the painstaking energy of the grower to check each row of vines as they awake from their winter slumber to see the first buds appear. The worry of late frost that would kill the new buds, or too much rain, or one of the countless insects that could attack the vines and buds. Keeping the foliage cut just right to allow the sun to hit the grapes, but not too much to turn them into raisins. The early days to watch the sun rise to see which way it kisses the grapes, the afternoons spent watching the sun move across the sky to see how it hugs the vines. The countless hours spent tasting wine as it ages ever so elegantly, to determine what kind of oak to use French or American, toasted or natural, young or old. How long to age, when to bottle, do I blend or don’t I?

There is something about nature too,how it takes the water to nourish, the sun to flourish, the days to heat them up and the nights to cool them off and Mother Nature turns a little bud into a beautiful grape cluster, and then someone turns the grape clusters into nectar of the Gods! Then it arrives at your favorite shop or grocery store, you make a decision to purchase and home it goes!
How does the romance continue? Let’s talk! You take the time to cook a great meal and you want the wine to match perfectly… your thought of the match. You make your choice, cut the foil, screw in your cork screw into the cork, pull slowly and “pop” what a sound! You choose just the right glass, thin, stem, correct shape and then pour an ounce into the glass. You slowly swirl the wine, smell and then taste… how is this not romantic and sexy? The feel of the bottle in your hand, the feel of the glass in your hand, the nose of the wine, the taste, don’t you just feel the love? The flavors paired with food, the conversation with friends and loved ones, the gathering of friends, the universal language to break bread with! This is all so romantic!

Wine to share with your sweetie... what could possibly more fun?

The wine today is Hope Estate Chardonnay from Australia. Some dear friends called me up last week and asked me if I was interested in tasting a bargain wine possibly for my blog. After much arm twisting... I gave in! They arrived with this little Aussie number. At $5 a bottle this is crazy good! It has just a touch oak with fresh pineapple, melon, and peach touches with a crisp finish. This wine is a must buy!

Cheers!

J