Whine on Wine

When asked about drinking status in any questionnaire, I often check the box for a "social drinking". According to Wikipedia, social drinking refers to casual drinking in a social setting without intent to get drunk. That's a close description because either of the two is true: 1) When I got drunk in a social setting, I didn't intend it; 2) When I intended to get drunk, I preferred a non social setting.

In the recent years, I seem to have broken the social drinking status with wine: I’ve had it in private moments, many times over. It’s quite enjoyable drinking a glass of wine, paired with cheese and crackers, either meditating on my own or conversing with good company. I can no longer play the drinking blame game on the temptress - usually the party hosts (They made me. I only said “yes please”); or on the social pressure - the pressure of being sociable (I don’t want to look like an uptight misfit). Since I can not blame anyone, I’ll just whine on wine.

As the saying goes, “In water, there are bacteria. In wine, there is wisdom”. Wine has some common wisdom with other alcoholic drinks, one of which being the tipsy effect, it loosens you up and makes you an eloquent speaker. Alcohol is said to have a damaging effect on the brain, especially if it's drank heavily. However, wine, especially red wine, when being drank in moderation, helps your brain. Not that brain power is important to me. If I'm really serious about improving my brain (for what I don't know), I have a better chance achieving this by working on the brain use percentage. Most of us use only 10% of our brains. Unless you are striving to be the next Albert Einstein or a rocket scientist  (even Einstein used only about 15% of his brain), then your brain should be the least of your worries. On the contrary, for most of us, drinking is a pain medicine in exchange of the awareness of our intellecture waste. Isn’t it painful to realize that a big portion of your brain is never to be utilized to better yourself and mankind?

One time, I read an article about rosé wine in an in-flight magazine. It says rosé does not get old. It only ages. That’s some inspiration for a woman whose self reflection in a mirror starts to show signs of gravity pull. Now I not only like its pretty pink color and its pleasant flavor, more than ever, I like what it stands for. That's a doze of rosé wisdom some of us could use. We just age; We don’t get old.

Like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, in the hands of mastercraft wine makers, grape transcends into wine. Wine takes a culture (or may we say religion) of its own. Wine is differentiated from old world to new world according to region; from Pinot Nior to late harvest ice wine according to cultured grapes; from oak wood to stainless steel according to barrel; from aged to new according production year. Different wine goes with a different size wine glass. Different wine is also supposed to pair with different food in order to best bring out its flavor. Difference aside, all wineries have one thing in common. They all have beautifully construed grape vineyards and the equally beautifully constructed architecture. If you have never been to Italy, a trip to a fine winery gives you the closest impression of what Italy might look like. "Arrivederci Roma".

Against my better judgment, so far what I have written is an ode to wine. Am I supposed to whine on wine? Here I come. Have you been to a wine tasting in an estate winery lately? If you have not, mind you this is how it goes. All the wines in the wineries are award winning wines from different years. Before the staff pour you some sample wines, they go on speaking their sophisticated wine vocabulary, and I would not know how to repeat them. The only words that came out of my mouth during my many wine tasting sessions are the boring: "strong", "mild", "bitter" (this last one is often felt but rarely spoken), and then they tell you the wine you are about to taste has a hint of apricot, peach, pear, passion fruit, lychee, smoky, oak, peppery, cedar …in one word, any flavor except grape flavor. Are we tasting wines fermented from grapes, grapes, nothing but the grapes only? Has anyone truly and surely tasted any of those imaginary flavors, provided you are still sober? In case you don't know, here is how wine should be tasted: Swirl the wine in the glass; Close your eyes; Bring your glass underneath one of your nostrils; Breathe in deeply; Smell the aroma; Take the full wine amount in your month; Swirl the wine in your mouth; Swallow it (Thank God. Finally!). Every wine tasting room even has an empty bucket on the counter just for those who would do all the above, except instead of the last action, the only one action that counts -swallow, they spit the wine out in the bucket. Aren't we wine people among the snobbiest kind of all people? Wine, which is glorified grape juice at its best, is put on a pedestal for us classy but ignorant tasters to worship. Try that on beer people with their beer. I suspect they will either storm away from the tasting room or dump the free wine from the spit bucket into their stomach.

Some of the wine gift shops sell the banners which read “Whine a little, you will feel better”. Yep! I feel better already.