Tasting Old Wines with Old Friends...
In July 2023, I started developing a game plan for what was in my future. I wanted to bounce some ideas off people I trusted in the industry. I have found the best way (at least in the wine industry) to get ideas and true opinions is to do so by breaking bread and sharing a bottle (or two) of wine.
Two people who have been instrumental in my success throughout my career are Jonas Gustafsson and Olivier Daubresse. We began meeting every couple of weeks and discussed where the wine industry is and where it is going, always with a bottle or two open. But sharing a bottle of wine with them is not as simple as opening a bottle of wine. No, there is always a challenge that goes with it. The “challenge” is to identify blindly the wine being poured – varietal(s), country, region, vintage, producer. Not an easy task especially with those two.
Through these tastings, I learned even more about how wine continues to evolve, develop and change. As Mr. Puig taught me many years ago “Wine is SMARTER than us.” No truer words were spoken especially when you are tasting these older wines from Burgandy, Spain, California and more. I tasted white Burgundies from 1996 which were so alive, vibrant and fresh. And, a Pinot Noir which had evolved so much that it had an amazing bouquet of Black Forest ham. In addition to the “challenges”, we talked about the decades of tasting, finding and selling wines and remembered the good times and challenging times. At each gathering, we always create a new memory which I treasure. This is my 34th year in the food and wine industry and to still be able to create memories like this is a true privilege.
If you take away one thing from this blog, it is this. Like the old adage “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get”, never think a wine is too old -- call up friends, break bread and share a glass or two of wine and create a memory you will not forget.
