I just purchased this 2004 Rioja and according to the dude in the wine shop it shouldn't be opened until 2013 or 2014. This is my "Do Not Touch" wine for 3-4 years!
A bottle of Sciacchetra dessert wine that I drank following Dammapalooza. Probably should have saved this for a better occasion but it was sure an amazing, sweet white wine.
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Complicated and complex. Simply incredible. Thirst-satisfying. Palate-confounding. Beautifully crafted. Nectar of the gods.
Wine, at some point in many of our lives, becomes a sort of soundtrack to some of the great moments.
We remember the great bottles of wine not necessarily for the wine itself but for the memory it evokes.
The glass of Chianti Classico at the Poggio Asciutto vineyard in Italy in the middle of my 60-mile bike through Tuscany.
The Schiacchetra dessert wine in Cinque Terre, Italy, with my dad and sister as we looked out at the Italian coastline.
The Pinot Noir at Francis Ford Copolla's winery in Napa Valley -- sitting outside with the wine, smoking a cigar and pretending like I was on the set of The Godfather with Al Pacino and Marlon Brando.
A glass of champagne in Lima, Peru, as the Alfredo Baertl family celebrated the birth of the first member of a new generation of Baertls.
Countless bottles of wines with labels now long forgotten as friends and I sat around summer campfires in Forest City.
I will never be above drinking a Busch Light on the golf course or having a bottle of "Two Buck Chuck."
But the dynamic, unique wines of the world have become something that I now happily celebrate.
The wine defines moments of life like songs define a scene in a movie.
Tears for Fears in Donnie Darko. Sam playing the piano in Casablanca. The haunting melody in Pan's Labyrinth. The theme from The Godfather.
The local grocery store provides me with my "go-to" wines that I love to fall back on. The Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec. The Chateau Ste. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc. The various Pinot Noirs.
But as I look across the room at my 12-bottle wine rack, I can't help but think of the moments that will soon be attached to the unopened bottles of wine.
Most of them will probably just insert their flavor into a long night of drinking with friends.
But I'm sure that in those 12 bottles, one of them will connect with another one of life's great moments.
A bottle of fermented grapes attaching its flavor with a day in my life.
Making its mark. Hitting the right notes. Helping me remember the day.
Affectionately allowing you and I to...
Enjoy the ride,
Damm
Complicated and complex. Simply incredible. Thirst-satisfying. Palate-confounding. Beautifully crafted. Nectar of the gods.
Wine, at some point in many of our lives, becomes a sort of soundtrack to some of the great moments.
We remember the great bottles of wine not necessarily for the wine itself but for the memory it evokes.
The glass of Chianti Classico at the Poggio Asciutto vineyard in Italy in the middle of my 60-mile bike through Tuscany.
The Schiacchetra dessert wine in Cinque Terre, Italy, with my dad and sister as we looked out at the Italian coastline.
The Pinot Noir at Francis Ford Copolla's winery in Napa Valley -- sitting outside with the wine, smoking a cigar and pretending like I was on the set of The Godfather with Al Pacino and Marlon Brando.
A glass of champagne in Lima, Peru, as the Alfredo Baertl family celebrated the birth of the first member of a new generation of Baertls.
Countless bottles of wines with labels now long forgotten as friends and I sat around summer campfires in Forest City.
I will never be above drinking a Busch Light on the golf course or having a bottle of "Two Buck Chuck."
But the dynamic, unique wines of the world have become something that I now happily celebrate.
The wine defines moments of life like songs define a scene in a movie.
Tears for Fears in Donnie Darko. Sam playing the piano in Casablanca. The haunting melody in Pan's Labyrinth. The theme from The Godfather.
The local grocery store provides me with my "go-to" wines that I love to fall back on. The Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec. The Chateau Ste. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc. The various Pinot Noirs.
But as I look across the room at my 12-bottle wine rack, I can't help but think of the moments that will soon be attached to the unopened bottles of wine.
Most of them will probably just insert their flavor into a long night of drinking with friends.
But I'm sure that in those 12 bottles, one of them will connect with another one of life's great moments.
A bottle of fermented grapes attaching its flavor with a day in my life.
Making its mark. Hitting the right notes. Helping me remember the day.
Affectionately allowing you and I to...
Enjoy the ride,
Damm
Beautifully stated, Josh. Just reading through this post brought back a wave of flavorful memories, sips of life's wonder in far away places with far away friends. So good! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHave you ventured to many wineries around Iowa?
Have you gotten one of those beautiful brochures with a map and descriptions of each of Iowa's wineries? Would make for an interesting bike trip for you.
ReplyDeleteChase and Joy,
ReplyDeleteI've only been to the local Forest City winery and haven't really ventured out to the other vineyards in Iowa.
I do have a brochure with the wineries and might be fun to take the bike trip....although I haven't been a fan of the wines I've had from Iowa so far.
Too sweet!