When I Need a Little Bounce in My Step

Yes, I know I just wrote a blog post 2 days ago, but I had some thoughts.  I realize that this blog has become more a philosophy and how wine sort of parallels things in our lives (or at the very least in my own life), and how I relate to wines, as opposed to the tasting notes and pairings that it used to consist of almost exclusively.

And before I forget, I’m sipping on a Bordeaux blend (mostly Merlot) and I’ve got a favorite Sherlock Holmes episode on in the background.

I was thinking today - if I’m having a difficult day, particularly an emotionally trying day, I crave Pinot Noir.  Pinot is something with which I connect so well, because it is honest yet unobtrusive in terms of fruit and earth, and it’s thin skinned, telling me that Pinot has feelings too, which is why Pinot has both the duty and privilege to express its own identity in terms of fruit, but also its soil type and climate, including variations in rainfall, temperature, sunlight, etc.

Pinot, for its sensitivity, is, for me, an ideal shoulder to cry on when I’ve had a rough day.  But Pinot isn’t one to be uplifting, in spite of its sometimes bright acidity.

But what about a personality like Champagne, or another sparkling wine?  They’re liquid joy, happiness in a glass.  Champagne, it seems, has a bright and lively smile, a positive outlook, and a bounce in its step.  I suppose most would find it hardly appropriate to drink something like Champagne on a difficult day - but why not?

Someone once told me that we should not open special wines (and he included Champagne) on just special occasions - in fact, he suggested that we should drink a special wine and make it, therefore, a special occasion, just because we opened the wine.

He’s right, of course.  And so why not open a happy wine to make it a happy moment?  I’ll drink to that!

We all have those people in our lives who let us cry it out on a rough day - they let us hash it out over and over and while we appreciate their lending an ear in our time of sorrow, that’s all they can give us.  Personally, I’m not sure how much better I feel after that, actually.  Yes, the sensitivity is good and serves its purpose, but there’s still something missing.

And then there’s the person who sees we’re feeling down.  The person says or does something, be it large or small, with the purpose of chasing away our sadness or discouragement.  They put the bounce back in our step.

Champagne.