Wine

by

Agnes Wall

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"The bouquet is complex with cedar and new leather tones, rounding out the berry and mint flavors. The texture is soft and mellow with silky tannins, making the finish long and memorable," I read in one of the glossy brochures available in a California winery.

Tannin? The dictionary describes tannin as "any of several astringent substances got from oak gall and various tree barks used in preparing leather and making ink."

Hal and Pinky had taken me to the Napa Valley because they wanted to restock their wine cellar. It's too crass to say the wines in this valley go on sale. They're released and the release is announced. There are limited releases as well, such as in one vineyard where Pinky and Hal had to wait for several years before they were put on the list as customers.

We joined a group of people who were bent on tasting the wine in the Seven Oaks Winery. Hal bought us each a goblet and we walked into a huge room where we could sample a variety of wines. As long as a person held out her or his glass, someone was happy to pour wine into it.

Experienced tasters went through a distinct ceremony. First they rotated the goblet so the wine swirled around and around. Then they sniffed it for a while, and looked thoughtful. Then they swirled it about once more and held it up against the light to give the eyes a thrill as well. Finally they sipped it and held it on the tongue for a minute. Then it gyrated inside the mouth a little. Eventually came the moment of truth. The Adam's apple moved up and the wine gurgled down the throat. A look of ecstasy appeared on the face of the connoisseur.

I imitated the procedure but I'm not sure if I did it right. The drink slid down my gullet and made me very happy.

To my relief none of the wines I drank tasted like leather or ink.

I'd learned something new this day. I watched rich people tasting wine in the Napa Valley. It was hilarious!