"Why do you like wine?"

I frequently visit the erobertparker bulletin board to check out the latest thread from fellow wine enthusiasts. Last Friday morning, I was in front of my computer surfing the bulletin board when I saw this thread "Why do you like wine?" posted by someone named Charles Johnson. Several people responded to the thread and Mr. Johnson posted a reply quoting a piece of writing by James B. Sanders, a founding legend in Atlanta wine. I was so touched by this piece of reading that I thought I will share this with you.

IN VINO VERITAS
Reflections on a Glass of Wine
by James B. Sanders

The silver-haired gentleman gazed at his glass of rare old Chambertin so hard and long that the young American wine enthusiast who had traveled far to drink and talk with this world-renowned authority on all things vinous and gustatory finally asked, "What do you see?"

Continuing to swirl and stare at the brick-red liquid, the venerable wine sage replied, "When I look at a wine of this one's quality, charm and provenance, I get a glimpse of the best of man and his struggle through civilization for wine is older than any record of man's existence on earth, but as young as the next harvest."

"I see an unfolding panorama of history and the people who made it. Cave dwellers sketching vintage scenes on the walls of their grottoes, great pharaohs being interred with amphorae of wine for refreshment in future life; Noah planting the first commercial vineyards; Jesus turning water into wine as His first miracle and the disciples gathering for the Last Supper."

"I see Julius Caesar and his legions teaching the semiferal Gauls and Teutons to row grapes and make wine; busy alchemists working with wine in their primitive laboratories and practicing the only science known at their time; and fervent young Crusaders marching off to the lands of the Saracen and bringing back the grape varieties that distinguish so many fine wines."

"I see Cortez and his conquistadors decreeing that wine should be a principal endeavor of the New World; Jesuit and Franciscan brothers spreading the grape and their version of the word of God throughout the new land of California and the Hungarian nobleman, County Haraszthy, bringing European grapes to the sunny West Coast to found the American wine industry as we know it."

"I see men and women of destiny - George Washington amassing one of the finest collections of ports, sherries, and Canary Island wines ever assembled. Thomas Jefferson journeying through the famous vineyards of Europe to assess their quality and devising the dumb-waiter to convey his wines from cellar to dining room at Monticello. Benedict Arnold, incidentally, was never known for his love of wine."

"I see Marie Antoinette crying because Louis XVI would not give her Chateau Lafitte; Talleyrand gaining favor with his diplomatic adversaries by serving his Chateau Haut-Brion at the Congress of Vienna, and Napoleon Bonaparte lugging barrels of Chambertin along on his marches to Moscow and Waterloo."

"I see an obscure wine chemist in eastern France seeking new techniques to aid the struggling winemaker and thereby discovering pasteurization and the germ theory of disease."

"I see Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill sharing many classic bottles at their momentous meetings at Casablanca, Teheran and Malta while their Nazi and Fascist counterparts practiced teetotalism."

"I see great celebrations, the launching of a thousand ships, the liberation of countless French villages in two world wars, victory parades down the Champs Elysees, joyous greetings of the ever-promising New Year, and the wedding parties of millions of pairs of lovers."

"I see generations of Jewish fathers conducting seders at Passover, and the first and last communions for untold generations of other faiths."

The old gentleman paused and took a sip of his wine. "Forgive me," he said, "I ramble. But, if you will pardon my verbosity, I'll continue."

"One should never believe that the glory of wine is all in its past. The best is now and yet to come."

"I see modern-day wine lovers gaining greater joy from life through the pleasures of the glass and achieving the desirous habit of moderation for these nectars map out the surest most pleasurable route to temperance."

"I see young couples learning to dine - rather than simply eat - because of the bottles of wine on their tables. And as they share intimate moments over wine, I see them learning to communicate with each other - an art I'm afraid is lost to those who limit their imbibition to hard spirits."

"I see a greater appreciation of the gifts the Lord has given us. Since wine sharpens all our senses, music sounds fuller and richer, literature is more potent, great paintings gain dimensions, friendships are fonder and there is deeper meaning to the touch of a loved one's hand."

"When I look at this fine old Burgundy, I see a most valuable contributor to civilized living and gentility."

"I see the Good Life."

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