Saturday, February 28, 2015

Can Wine Be Romantic?



Each time I buy a bottle of wine I imagine what I’m going to feel after taking that first sniff from the glass. The imagery of feeling really, really good dances in my head. And why not? That first sniff sets you up and gets your senses going and hopefully your excited with anticipation of that first sip. Yes, this is the scenario I have with each bottle of wine I buy. I’m a romantic when it comes to wine. I expect my senses to be awakened and to get from each bottle its purpose for living. High hopes yes, and if you know where your bottle of wine comes from; ie the region, you can pretty much guess the experience you’re going to get because each region has it own wine style.

I picked a wine from the Chablis region of Burgundy, France (the land of chardonnay) to go with our baked cod. I knew, given its northern cool location, it would have the acidity and lightness of body I wanted to go with our fish. What I wasn’t expecting was to open the bottle and be stopped cold after the first sniff. The aromatics flowing from the glass was so beautiful it stopped me cold…powerful floral grassy citrus oozing romance. I couldn’t go any further. I felt like I was in a romance novel and had just walked by the most beautiful man in the world while strolling along the walkway along the River Seine. I gave it a swirl and took a bigger sniff which put a smile on my face because the intensity of the aroma filled my face with such happiness I just had to smile. Finally after swirling and sniffing, swirling and sniffing and imagining creating a perfume out of it, I sipped it and it was just as powerfully flavored as it was aromatic. It showed it purpose for living.

I have to let you in on a little secret…the Chablis region of France is well-known for its racy, completely food friendly, chardonnay wines. This particular bottle is from an area around Chablis called Saint Bris which only produces wines using a blending of two Sauvignon white grape varieties, Sauvignon blanc and Sauvignon Gris, not chardonnay. These grapes are aromatic anywhere they are grown from the Loire, France to New Zealand. Aromatic on all fronts, but romantic? I think Saint Bris has them all beat.

à bientôt (see you soon)

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