A Nose Less Traveled

"I drink it when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and I drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it, unless I'm thirsty."
-Lilly Bollinger

Denise and I love wine…BIG BOLD REDS! And we’ve tasted at maybe fifty or sixty wineries. But as interesting (or boorish) as that may seem, the truth of the matter is that our nose for wine has come mostly in the past two years. And with a few notable exceptions most of the “wineries” have consisted of one or two bays within an industrial park metal building or renovated airport hangar. Decent enough wine but they could use some sound advice on capital improvements from a reputable Architect. Maybe I know one.

And in all our travels we’ve never been to Napa, Sonoma, Lodi, Santa Cruz or Monterey. Nope…we’ve taken the road less traveled; and indeed it has made all the difference. We’ve learned slow and enjoyed every minute of it. We’ve been to wineries in Woodenville WA, Redmond WA, Walla Walla WA, Prosser WA, Coeur d'Alene ID, Louisville NE, Amana IA and Montalcino Italy. And our desire is to tour Napa and Sonoma in the coming years.

Since our college days, Denise and I have often ordered wine with dinner and have always kept a bottle or two on hand in the event that the moment commanded something other than soft drinks or beer. However, the “enjoyment factor” of our previous wine drinking was negligible and the “anticipation factor” was non-existent. On the other hand, the “affordability factor” of our wine in years gone by was off the chart. It is surprising (although it probably shouldn’t be) what kicking in an extra $10 or $20 or $30 per bottle has done for our sense of anticipation and enjoyment. And doubling that…forget about enjoyment. Try ecstasy!

We’ve also found that good wine (and bad) comes in different price ranges. And dollar spent does not equate to dollar earned. We’ve had fine $20 wine and ghastly $60 wine. Our challenge (or adventure) has been in finding good “every day" wine that can be enjoyed consistently and equally upon nose, tongue, palate and wallet. And fortunately we both seem to enjoy the same qualities in wine. Perhaps as our awareness ferments, we will “grow apart” in our tastes but that too could offer some rewards.

Today it seems that a $16 to $22 bottle of Red Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa or Sonoma has become our sweet spot for a high likelihood of every day balance; although it’s really more like every other day. Well, ok maybe sometimes it IS every day. And on the weekends we really look forward to kicking that up a notch. What’s another $10 or $20 on a Friday or Saturday night with friends. I can’t wait for those late summer nights on the deck…mmm-boy!

We fully realize that we remain in our infancy of wine knowledge but we have come to thoroughly enjoy the learning process and look forward to many more years of continuing education.