Which Wine is Perfect?

Zinfandel or pinot noir? The indecision has haunted me for hours. What will pair best with tonight’s main dish?
I have company coming for a summer’s eve meal on the patio. Though these are all good friends that I have known for years, this is a momentous occasion for me. See, I have recently been re-bitten by the wine lover’s bug and my condition has advanced.
Since covering a recent gourmet Food and Wine Festival, my interest in wine has risen to the top of my passion list. And it wasn’t just the flavours and smells - it was the people. I felt like ‘one of the gang’ - at peace with my closest friends, and we are all at the right place at the right time.
Those of you who think wine is just an alcoholic beverage are missing the boat. Wine is not about getting drunk, at least not to me. Taking a single sip of wine that suits you, is a transporting experience; visions, sensations and memories you didn’t know you had come rushing to the surface in a seductive welcome as though the wine itself has missed you. One does not want to get drunk and miss anything.
Growing up around artists, collectors and wine drinkers, I often wondered why people that liked wine also liked art, travel and reading. What is it that these things have in common? I loved all those things but still didn’t feel like I belonged in the presence of wine aficionado’s.
What changed for me that night was the depth of my love for wine, in particular pinot noir, my favourite. It was like finally having the courage to let go of the side of the pool, use what I had learned and swim like a fish. I loved it! I was not, of course, swimming in wine, I was immersing my attention into the effort the wine maker had put into this creation, listening to the plant that grew the fruit, being at one with the soil that nurtured it. The unabashed openness of the drink allowed me to join strangers in an eye-to-eye tasting and expose my rapture, noting they too were in my shoes. Instant friendships were forged. This is the secret of wine – the secret of life; knowing and appreciating our fellow man…er men… and women… oh, you know what I mean. This kinship is why we are here – to be with others, to share our experiences, and to discover our world together.
To say that this was an ‘ah ha’ moment is an understatement. This was an epiphany of life altering importance for me and I am grateful.
Ah, I hear a whisper - my answer has arrived: a 2008, J Vineyard’s pink tinged pinot noir from the Russian River Valley will do nicely.
Perfect.
Wanna join us?

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