I drink water, H2O, room temperature preferably. Sometimes I sip wine with food or a (not too cold) soft drink but it always requires an internal audit (Do I really want to do this?) where the come-back is often as not, No! When I was in Chile in 2005 I made friends with wine. I was attending language school (Español) and the young man assigned to after hours activities had majored in Agronomy at university with emphasis on vineyards and orchards, now a buyer for a major grocery chain. He was also the son of the school’s owners, helping out the family business. He made it his personal mission to educate and acclimate me to the culture, which leaned heavily on Vino. I sampled small sips of lots of different wines, rinse my mouth with water and try something else, blind tests to learn what I liked and what I didn’t. Every night for a week our little group soaked up culture while Marcelo kept track of what I did and didn't like, me not knowing what it was. Long story short: I really did not like Cabernet Sauvignon or its heavy tannin relatives. Didn't like Chardonnay either or other too-too dry wannabes. Funny, those two are the most common offerings at social get togethers. But I do like Carmenere in particular and Tempranillo from the red/black grapes and Riesling or Muscat from the whites. The sweet vs. dry range for Riesling depends on when they harvest. Early, before the sugar sets in the grape and it is more dry, picked later it is more sweet and they usually give you a clue on the label. Marcelo told me "Drink what you like and don't pay attention to the crowd." and I took him at his word.
So I come home from Patagonia knowing very little about wine but a lot about what I like and don’t like. The people I associate with now, by choice or by chance, they bring wine to every social function. But if I have questions, all they know is whether it is red or white. If I think I will be sipping wine I take something I know and like. Then I push it back out of sight lest it fall prey to someone who doesn’t look past the color. I am not a wine snob but then again, maybe I am.
I have friends who are scaling down from a typical 3BR home in a comfortable neighborhood to an upscale apartment in a retirement community. They hosted an open house last night. We belong to the same Unitarian Church which is another story all together (not a Christian denomination) and our Christmas open house tradition salutes the pagan roots of the Solstice season. Since they were at a new address they personalized invitations and I felt obligated to go. There is another Unitarian congregation near their new place and I met several of their members. One woman was a retired pharmacist who had been a Catholic nun for eleven years. That drew the predictable observation about recovering Catholics; like many other addictions you can’t simply say no. It takes time and effort to overcome withdrawal symptoms.
Another woman sat down and inserted herself in our conversation. I thought I had met her before but wasn’t sure. Then I recognized her husband from other Unitarian functions and remembered. She was dreadful then and had not improved. If there is a designation, ’conversation bully’ then that would be her; take charge, change the subject, pursue controversial issues with conspiracy theories and change the subject when it suited her. She got tangled up in God theory and switched over to Hillary Clinton’s satanic rituals and child pornography. When I tried to ask a question she stood up and kept talking. It was not a conversation but whatever it was, I didn’t belong there, got up and walked.
I had been drinking (nonalcoholic) sparkling wine but one glass was enough. I went over to the serving counter and there were three tall, long neck wine bottles with hard to read labels. One turned out to be Chardonnay but the next was Riesling early harvest with just enough to fill my plastic glass. I decided to keep my distance from the dreadful woman. She was still going strong. I didn’t need the drink but it gave me cause to get up and move my feet. I thought of the anonymous axiom: Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice shame on me. I will go dry before I drink Cabernet Sauvignon again and I will not be bullied by the dreadful woman again either. Good chance we will never encounter each other but you don’t try to argue with such. I don’t think it occurs to them that they are the one out of sync.
Today is the day after Christmas. I have no plans and it has turned cold. Either way, warm rain or clear sky and hard freeze; it’s just the next day. This time next week it will be a new year and I’ll get used to signing receipts and forms to a different number, but I can do that. There is another open house on the 31st but I doubt seriously the man with the dreadful woman would show up there. It will be a younger, more progressive, spontaneous crowd and they would laugh her out of the room, out of the house. A few days after that I will be on my way to the West Coast. I have no complaints here but a road trip with friends and family at the other end is good reason to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment