Aaron Berdofe's Wine and Food Experience

TNS #2

Another example of how loquaciousness would get the best of me if I wrote tasting notes.

It was mid-morning by the time we set out on horseback with the smoke of the morning fire still tussling our clothes. Open plains were spreading before us, rising into the mountain range beyond as the sun began to beat down through the painted clouds that dotted the sky. The day wasn’t particularly hot though as the fall of the autumn leaves was approaching; just enough to warm your back and easily fight off the overnight chill. With the sizzle of a match, one of the caballeros lit a rich cigar. The aromas encapsulated my entire olfactory experience briefly before giving way to the more delicate scents of the dark fruited berries and wild thyme lining the path. In the dryness, the horses’ hooves kicked up the earth, casting a gritty and somewhat muted tone on our surroundings.

The group was quiet, as if contemplating the finer intricacies of life’s greater mysteries. Therefore, the only sounds to be had were that of our equine companions trotting along and the soft breeze rustling through trees. If I had been a simpler man, I may have let the rhythm of the journey lull me into a blissful sleep, but I have seen just enough of the world that my mind stayed on alert, casually scanning the horizons for anything with less-than-noble intentions. Fortunately, our band remained untroubled by any potential interlopers and my mind soon began drifting through the rich history of the land that lay before me. A certain nostalgia crept in, but lacking the bitter-sweetness of yearning for yesterdays gone by. Instead it was a feeling of completeness with the greater world. An emotion of being connected and impossible to describe with mere words any further. To do so would diminish the grandeur of the moment.

A great wine is one that not only connects you to a place, but to a moment. The rise of emotions, regardless of what they are, is the mark of a wine well crafted. This wine has achieved that in spades.