Wines to Take Into the Next Decade
A couple of days before Christmas, Jason, an old friend and drummer I used to work with contacted me out of the blue. It was a welcome surprise, and reminder about my previous life as a singer songwriter. It took me down a rabbit hole of old photos and MP3 files, as I started to remember all the musical experiences I had as well as the people I had met and worked with. Many whose shoulders I stood squarely upon on this crooked path to the wine world I now work and live in. Giving up my music dream was hard, but I am very fortunate to have found something else that I am equally passionate about. I also believe there are many similarities between music and wine.
Wine, like music, represents several of the things we value in our ‘civilized’ society; history, culture, beauty, art and pleasure. Wine and music both are the result of years of hard work and they bring people together to connect and celebrate. Wine can make you ‘feel’ a certain way, and I don’t just mean the alcohol. Like music, it can make you relax into the moment you are experiencing, creating a memory. That singular experience can transport you to another time and place in a flash; just like music can.
It has been over 13 years since I have seen Jason, and stepped off the stage for good, but our conversation made me stop and appreciate it all. Looking back made me realize that I have lived and learned so much this past decade, and wine has been a great teacher; I have so much to learn and understand about the world. It has made me feel more connected to the earth that we live on and the people that we all share it with. I know that I want more of that for the next 10 years. I will bring the amazing moments I have experienced with me, as they are now part of who I am. I want to stay grounded in the present, so I don’t miss a thing, and be open for whatever new surprises the future holds. We can’t live in the past, but I’m sure most of you would agree that looking back every once in a while, to see how far we have come and remember the people that made it all matter, can be a good way forward.
So…what wines do I want to take into the next decade? Too many to list, and truthfully most have been tied to an experience that I had at the time I tasted them. I am not going to list a bunch of tasting notes and anecdotes for each wine; just include the link to the winery and/or wine. We all have our own palates, and you have indulged me enough on my reflective tangent down nostalgia lane.
Just for fun, I am also including links to several artists that were part of my background track these past 10 years.
Oporto, Madeira and Sherry
A history lesson in a glass; created essentially by the British, for the British, during frequent volatile periods with their main wine source, France. Three different regions of the Iberian Peninsula that create world class wines, fortified with grape spirit and made to savor slowly in small amounts. They are historic, and due to the current fad of not drinking sweet styles of wine, losing ground. I must bring them with me, as I would never want to see them go away. All of these are available in the Tennessee Market.
Burgundy and Bordeaux
Classic Old-World Wine Regions that are firmly rooted in the past but can offer so much for the wine lover in the next decade. Wines that evolve and change and like humans, can become more complex over time. Their rough edges soften, they become more transparent as the tannins fall out, and expose more interesting flavours than just fruit. I have some of these in my wine cave that will follow me into the next decade:
Bordeaux:http://www.pontet-canet.com/en/ Biodynamically farmed
http://www.chateau-de-bellevue.com
Burgundy:https://www.kermitlynch.com/our-wines/regis-bouvier/
https://www.chablis-gueguen.fr/en/
Champagne. The ultimate celebratory drink for ANY important moment in your life, and any other day you wish to drink it. Here are just a couple. There are so many, as this is one of my favorite beverages.
Champagne:
Italy
New World Wines
Oregon & California
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Now the music…
Here’s hoping your next 10 years are filled with much laughter, adventure, great music, and memory making wines.
I would love to hear what some of your favorite wines and music were this past decade. Feel free to shoot me an email!
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