One early spring morning, my Bride and I arose early. We dressed quickly, jumped in our rented red convertible, and made our way to the heart of the valley. The parking lot was filled with soon-to-be inflated balloons, one with our name on it. We climbed into the basket, slowly ascending into the light morning air. It was peaceful, we felt as if we were the sun rising to greet the <?
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lace> wine producers. Landing in a small community park, the neighbors rushed out to lend a hand furling the balloon, loading the basket, and putting our morning adventure to memory.
The journey began for me that spring morning. Looking down upon the rows and rows of perfectly primped grape vines, I couldn’t help but wonder about the process of making a simple fruit into a delicate drink. How does a fruit go from plant to my wine glass, and more importantly, why doesn’t it taste like grape juice? I was inspired, I was a beer drinking convert engulfed in a quest, I would not rest until I tasted every wine in <st1:City><st1
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lace></st1:City> and determined what made it special! Well, needless to say, I failed at tasting every wine in <st1:City><st1
lace>Napa</st1
lace></st1:City>. But I did learn one important thing, every wine is different, and every wine drinker has a unique taste. Okay, you caught me, that is two things I learned. Sorry, I’m a slow learner and it is just now catching up with me.
I started studying wine, eventually developing affection for <st1:State><st1
lace>California</st1
lace></st1:State> reds. I found the Stags Leap district offered the most complex, and in my opinion, most appealing reds. I was in the throws of becoming consumed by newly acquired taste in this delectable refreshment.
With no experience in what makes a good grape into a great wine, I decided to just tour several wineries and vintners in the Valley. We stumbled onto Nickel & Nickel through a recommendation by the cutest two honeymooners you ever saw, who happened to be staying at our <st1
lace>Inn</st1
lace>. Upon arrival, we decided on the private tour. A young man with dark hair, cowboy boots, jeans, t-shirt, (I’m not sure but I think he might have been chewing tobacco), you know the type I’m talking about, not only gave us a tour of the vineyard, but also taught us to taste wine. I was completely taken by the work, artistry, and chemistry involved in making the wine. He left me wanting to learn more.
Now, not so terribly long ago, I stumbled on this forum. I think I was researching wine for my annual nine-course tasting dinner I prepare for my Bride and a dozen or so of my (her) girlfriends. I was immediately drawn into the art of bringing your individual and specific tastes into a six gallon plastic bucket, putting in your own effort, artistry, and chemistry together to produce a beverage that represents the very soul of who you are. Yes, I’ll admit it, it was love at first sight. Since then, I have made what appears to be some pretty bad fruit wine. Gaining courage to move on to one of the better kits.
So, to answer the question, the reason I make wine is not so much to explore my creativity, or to make great wine at a reasonable price (hey, I’ll admit that commercial great wine is way overpriced), but to learn what goes into a bucket of fermenting grapes that make it into something I enjoy. I want to taste mallolactic(sp?) fermentation and comment, somewhat intelligently, that I understand what it is why it makes a chardonnay buttery. I want to taste and understand how body, abv, and a plethora of other factors affect my pallet. I don’t really give a hoot if Reginald the sommelier tells me a wine has a nice finish, I want to taste the wine and tell Reginald, “Yes it does have a nice finish, because….”
