Wine Making Memories

When people ask me what my favorite wine is, my mind races. For me, it’s a really tough question to answer. There are so many over the years that are on my greatest hits list. They make the list for the incredible taste and smell of course, but the ones that always stand out the most are connected to an amazing memory. I’ll give you an example. 

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In December of 2018, I was about to leave one of the greatest wine bars on Earth, Augustine in Sherman Oaks. I was paying my tab and Omar who was serving and chatting with me all night stops me and says, “Wait. You need to try one more.” He pours me a small splash of a 2017 Chantereves, "L'Intrus" Syrah. I take one sniff and I am instantly transported to my childhood. As a kid, single digit years, I had a collection of scented pencil erasers. I kept them in a simple Ziplock bag. It was pretty full from what I remember and the bag sealed in all those different scents really well. Once I opened it though, I was blasted in the face with a wild mix of artificial fruit and flower scents. I swear to you, this Syrah had a near identical smell. The wine connected me to a memory I had long forgotten and created a new one that I’m writing to you about now. Of course, I had to have a bottle. The empty bottle sits up on a shelf in my kitchen. 

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The greatest wines of my life so far are almost all connected to an experience or were able to conjure up a memory. The people I drank them with, the place I was when opening it, a random encounter, the conversation that took place while sipping it are all just as important to me as the wine profile. Wine is truly meant to be shared and the interaction that happens when doing so is just as much part of the joy you’ll have drinking it. 

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Wine is a time capsule that tells a story. It is a representation of a time, place and people that all came together to make that bottle or glass you’re enjoying. The terroir, meaning all the environmental factors of the vineyard, are represented by that wine you’re drinking. How the changes in climate might have affected the vineyard that year are represented by that wine. The people harvesting the grapes during long hot days or sometimes in the middle of the night are part of that wine’s story too. And by enjoying it, you’re connected to that origin tale and continuing that wine’s story by attaching your own memories to it. Or like my Syrah story, the wine is attaching itself to you by conjuring up an old memory.  

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