Every year, starting January 2, Jonathan and I go dry for at least 2 months, with maybe one or two planned treat days. This year, we took it through March and are still not drinking much during the week. Under normal circumstances, we drink a bottle of Brana Harri Gorri rose every week at least - 59 bottles last year, some shared with friends and family. It goes with so many meals we love, and is consistently delicious and satisfying, day after day, year after year, bottle after bottle. I suspect we love this wine more than it truly deserves, though it deserves a lot.
But this year, we havenât had a single bottle until tonight.
I started this thread to share the emotional impact of returning to a beloved wine after a few months away. Itâs akin to a great conversation with a dear friend after not seeing each other for too long. Every sip was special. The bottle was no better than any other Iâve had - no worse either - but it was elevated to another level through separation and reacquaintance.
This story, to me, my friends, is the only reason one might need for buying a quantity of lovely, inexpensive wines you adore. We get 5-6 cases of this a year and have never regretted it. One lone leftover bottle of 2009 went in tonightâs sauce for mussels.
Treat your beloved wines like good friends. Talk to them often.
There really is something deeply personal about drinking those beloved frequent bottles.
I buy about 3-4 cases of Trimbach Gewurztraminer to have around for my mom as thatâs one of her favourite wine and varietals. Comes in handy in coaxing her into a night of convivial family wine drinking when sheâs on the fence. Itâs tough not to smell a Gewurztraminer and think of her and the rest of the family. Itâs in part the wine of my childhood
Sandrone Le Vigna 1997. I am down to my last few bottles, and hoarding them, so when I do open one, it makes it a special occasion.
It is not a wine that I would normally expect to love. Sandrone is considered a modernist; I think he is somewhere near the middle of the continuum, and 1997 is thought of as overly rich and opulent. Generally his flagship is the Cannubi Boschis; this is a careful blend of nearby vineyards. In 1997 , I found greatness, a far more beautiful wine than the Cannubi. It is classic Barolo with precise, defined deep layers of flavor, a controlled opulence and a beautiful finish.
What a lovely and thoughtful story. I too have similar relationships with some Roses, mostly from WA state â Rotie, DeLille, and Virage 2016.
I also find that when I donât drink for even a few days, much less a few weeks, the first sip of wine can capture echoes of that transformative experience that I think attracts many of us to this passion. It is why I shy away from blockbuster tastings â they have their place, and can be very educational, but they do not provide the contemplative enjoyment that is really what drives my interest in good wine.
Beautifully put, Sarah; I feel this way about a rose as well - Eric Kent Rose. It, besides being delicious, is familiar and comforting to me whenever I open a bottle.
Great story Sarah! I think this way about wine in general if I go a stretch without having a glass, maybe we are just not drinking or I go on an G&T kick but returning to glass of wine is always magical. Certain regions can be like that to. Trying different wines from different regions, some can get lost in the shuffle. I âdiscoveredâ OR Pinot a few years back and then for various reasons went a stretch without having much. Returning to it was just fantastic and reminded me how much I love the wines, and especially certain producers.
off topic but Jerry Hey and I visited Brana years ago. They make ageworthy reds and whites. Didnât know about this wine. Hard to find much Brana. Thanks for the thread. Lovely sentiment magnified by the fact that Iâve had wine only once past 40 days due to diet. I want to reacquaint with my good friend Ramonet Batard.
I always liked the idea of visiting the same bottle (loved ones) often.
But for the last 10 years of my drinking, I rarely visit the same bottle of wine (same vintage) more than 3 times. It is probably just one way my personality plays out, lack of focus and persistenceâŠ
May I point out that Sarah mentioned wine as being like a good friend, yet then someone made a comparison to wine being like a lover. This is the same on the recent Nebbiolo thread, where Nebbiolo is contrasted to Pinot Noir as being two different types of girlfriends (one that is more easygoing and one for whom it is worth suffering). It is perhaps superfluous to mention that these post are always made by men. (Of course, I realize most posters on the board are men, so that could be simple probability, but I doubt it).
Wine for me can give me many things including companionship. I understand how wine can remind one of friendship. I donât understand the focus on wine as analogous to sexual relationships that more than occasionally comes up in these threads. What gives? (And before someone asks, yes I am married and I have had both types of relationships, the easygoing and the kind that, at least at the time, I thought it was worth suffering for).
A lover doesnât have to be sexual. It could be agape, as it could be ascetical. That being said, certain wine feels either more feminine or masculine to me. Think of that trip you had years ago along some distant shore with memories associated with it. Is that love, or merely brain-cells and synapses making connection? You can describe by emotion or spell out with scientific rigor.
iâve emailed Brana in French and gotten nowhere. They seem to think their importer does a great job yet they donât. I got some once from Fass, a one time offer. Someone needs to take charge and import them properly.
I also had a âwine reunionâ yesterday after not drinking much wine in the first quarter of the year. For me, it was the 2014 Roilette Fleurie (not Tardive). Perfect match with lamb burgers, onions, and peppers grilled over charcoal. Needed some time to open â not a pop and pour wine.