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The Value of the Wine Label

Week 2 Thursday Review:

 The Value of the Wine Label. 

If you missed the Thursday Evening Gathering, no worries, we have you covered, on the wine side that is. 

We talked about wine labels and all the little parts that provide us interesting information about the wine. The label provides us hints of what the wine might taste like because we will know when it was made, the location of the grapes, the alcohol content and who actually made it.


Roses R Red represents The Producer of the wine. Not all grape growers are producers, and not all producers grow their own grapes. The Vintage, represents the year the grapes were harvested. This is important information because the weather from that year will have a great affect on the harvest.  For instance, often times a drought will stress the vines in such a way, that the grapes produce a more intense flavor for that year. Of course we love to know The Variety, 'What kind of wine is this'. In the USA wine named after a specific grape must contain a minimum of 75%of that grape.  In this case, the above label tells us that at least 75% or our wine is from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. The same goes for the Merlot, or Pinot etc.... Knowing The Region where our grape comes from is very important.  Some areas are better suited for specific grape varietals. Have a basic knowledge of this can be helpful when you are not familiar with the wines being offered to you. In this case I will look to the region, and choose one that is best suited for the type of wine I am looking to enjoy.  The Alcohol Content is very important, knowing the more alcohol in the wine, the bolder and brighter the flavor of the wine. (sorry guys, it is not about getting tipsy faster). Sulfites are often added to wines, in the area of 10 - 200 ppm, this presence must be included on the bottle. The sulfites provide wine protection from bacteria that will ruin the wine. Some people think they are allergic to sulfites, but their symptoms of a headache is most likely due to dehydration rather that the sulfites.  Fine wines use a minimum amount of sulfites in the mix. And finally lets touch upon using real cork or some type of screw cap for our wine bottle. Today many wines both inexpensive and expensive are switching to the screw cap. Perhaps this switch will become an old school vs new school concept. I have been told by a very very good wine maker about the value of using good cork ~ the cork provides a pathway for micro exposure of the wine to air, which as you know aides in the aging for wine. This is part of the process of storing wine over several years in some cases to bring about a beautiful complex flavor.  Have you ever sipped a 30 year bottle of wine, it is amazing, smooth, delicate flavors and depth upon the palet. 

Now you may be wondering what does this have to do with the 7 concepts Peter defines about a trial?  A lot actually. Take a look at my new label with the information I just discussed about each informative part of the wine label ~


The Producer for our trials can come from all kinds of sources and affects everybody at some point in their life.  Today we have Covid-10, tomorrow a job loss, and who knows what else. The Vintage can remind us that Trials R Temporary, although for some of us it seems like a long time. The Variety of trials are multi colored, all kinds of different types, even more than the types of grapes that exist all over the world.  The Region represents Who Am I Really, this is the test of our character and faith. What shows up when I am under the pressure of a trial? The good thing is we can reach out to others in the pressure, where as a grape is crushed.  The Alcohol Content represents our relationship with Jesus.  Just as alcohol adds boldness and flavor to a wine, so too Jesus enables us to live bold lives of faith, to have a litany of interesting stories and experiences in life because we have that relationship. Just as Sulfites keep the bad bacteria at bay for wine, Trials Refine Us, make us like pure gold. Cork or Screw Cap, parallels the concept of Outlasting the Trial or Outsmarting the Trial (which does not always work in the long haul). I think we just need to remember, God gives us grace to outlast a trial, wait and see that the Lord is Good.

My toast for each of us today, is may the labels of our lives reflect the goodness and kindness of God.  See you all on Thursday at 7:30


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