bottle shock...


that green stemmed glass is an alsace wine glass. i really regret not buying alsace wine glasses when i lived in france. someday when i take matthew back there... i will buy some.

when i was in france i bought several bottles of wine from the brobecker family winery. i gave them as gifts to family and supporters upon my return. i saved one bottle. i was trying to save it for the day i got engaged. but it took matthew so so so so long to propose to me, i gave up and drank it one year on my birthday. i kind of wish i would have saved it. i kind of wish i brought home 4 more bottles. i wish i had a bottle of alsace wine to celebrate the birth of our baby b. i wish i had a bottle hiding away for a rainy day. but i don't...


http://winetripping.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/rsz_bottle_shock_movie1.jpg

last week matthew and i watched bottle shock. mostly, i watched bottle shock, he cruised the internet. i loved this movie. loved it. it takes place in 1976 and shows napa valley's climb to becoming truly recognized in the wine industry. it more specifically follows the chateau montelena, and the barrett family, and how they shocked the world with the best wine in a 1976 french and american wine tasting in paris. the glowey shimmery sunshine in nearly every scene of this movie made me crave the west coast, crave wine country. the story made me wish i knew how to make wine. i loved alan rickman, i love alan rickman in anything, but he was really funny in this. dennis farina was funny as always. bill pullman and chris pine were great as an at odds father and son. and freddy rodriguez played my favorite character, gustavo. i recommend this movie to every wine enthusiast, or movie lover.

i would really love to take a trip to napa valley someday, and i would really love to try chateau montelena wine.

i wish i were the kind of wine connoisseur who knew good from bad and terrible from horrible. i wish i could sniff the wine and tell what was in the ground, i wish i could taste the grape and tell what kind of wine it would make. i wish i knew a little about wine. i wish i went to wine tastings, and my opinion on wine was coveted. but the great thing about wine is... it doesn't have to be about that. wine doesn't have to be about knowing what flavors make it more intense, or how expensive the bottle is. it can simply be about what you like. about what is good or bad to you. about how that first sip settles not just in your mouth, or how it feels going down your throat, it isn't how it sets in your stomach, it is how that drink makes you feel when you close your eyes... how it can touch beyond the taste on your tongue, and touch you to your core. and it doesn't matter if it is one of the worlds best wines, or can win a blind taste test, it only matters if it tastes good to you.


Summer Picnic Art Print
Summer Picnic
Lowell Herrero


and that is why i think i love wine. and why i loved this movie, and why i wished i bought those extra bottles of wine in france, why i really wish i had those alsace wine glasses. because every bottle, every drink, can be a memory. can mean something different. good or bad, or expensive or cheap, it could be a memory and a meaning for me.


Comments

  1. i have a bottle of wine we'll crack open upon baby b's arrival. it's definitely not fancy, but it is from costco's wood bins, not the shelves. that's something.

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  2. I love that movie too. So fun to watch. And if, no, WHEN you make it to Napa let me know. I'll meet you there (it's only 2 hours from me) and we'll wine taste at Chateau Montelena. :)

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  3. holly, wooden crates at costco is high class wine for me... and i can't wait!

    courtney, i will you keep you to that. someday... i might be middle aged by then, hopefully you are still living close by.

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  4. Axelle the french reader07:49

    Aaaaaah, wines ... I spent a day in a Domaine, one year ago, to try to learn all you say : What kind of wine it is, what kind of perfumes there is in the wine, is it dry or sweet ...etc ... And I was very surprised because it's VERY difficult to recognize all that ! It's really hard and needs a lot of concentration and knwoledge !
    What do you prefer, dry or sweet wine ?

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  5. Axelle the french reader08:00

    Dear Melinda,
    I'm so sorry. I asked you if you prefer dry or sweet, thinking to send you, from France, one bottle of the wine of your choice.
    But, I just spent time on Internet to know if it was possible to me, to spend wine in States and it seems to be VERY complicated and very controlled ... And we're not even sure that it won't be confiscated (?) at the arrival.

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  6. axelle, that is so sweet of you. i think sending a bottle here, is not worth the hassle. i once tried to see if i could order wine from our favorite vineyard there, and i could not, it must just be too tricky to send to america. and i usually prefer sweet wine, by the way.

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