Greetings to all. I hope each one of you is well. I know a few weeks back Pastor Paul shared about Driving with Hope. And I tried to look at wine tasting from a similar perspective. It actually provided a nice refresher to the art of wine tasting, so here is a quick summary of the principles of wine tasting and driving to Hope!
Red Light: It is there on the road to get us to stop and look, make sure we do not crash, become aware of what is around us. So to the first step of wine tasting is Look & Observe the wine. We look for the accepted hues for red wines as Purple, Ruby, Garnet and Tawny. White wines express their hues as Straw, Yellow, Gold and Amber. And yes we can touch upon the Rose Wines which use Pink, Salmon and Copper. But we want to know more than just the hues, what is the intensity of the color, does it change as we observe the hue from the edge of the glass moving towards the center. I know if something has tinges of brick red, it really is time to drink this bottle of wine! Our third point of observation is checking out the Tears/legs on the side of the glass once we give our wine a swirl. Do they form quickly, or not at all? Oftentimes, this lets us know about the alcohol content of the wine. Does the wine look thick or thin, translates to the possible sweetness of the taste. And finally we introduced the idea of clarity; is the wine clear, cloudy or turbid? This provides us with hints at the wine making techniques employed liking fining and flitering.
Green light: we all know this means Go! Move forward and smell that wine! Believe it or not this puts our brain in the game and gets us ready for the next step of tasting. Smells are so often associated with memories from our childhood or other experiences in life. We are looking to experience the most obvious aromas from the wine, followed by the less obvious and identifiable. Try doing this part with your eyes closed to help you focus on what you are actually experiencing. We will be looking for the 5 unique aromas found in a glass of wine. They range in groups:
Fruit, flower, or herb aromas, indicative of the grape varietal
Baking spices and vanilla or other similar aromos caused by oak aging.
Organic or inorganic earthy fragrances created by the yeast that often indicates the wine’s region style
Yellow Light: Pay attention and taste . . . it is all about the texture of the wine. Think well about what is there in front of you, nothing fancy just what is there. This experience is often prompted by asking about 4 distinct experiences happening upon your pallet.
Body: Does the wine fill your palate or is it barely there?
Sweetness: This will be found on the tip of your tongue, (literally). For a white dry wine we will experience this as oiliness (butteriness)
Acidity: Does this wine make my mouth water, meaning is it tart or sour tasting, which reflects the acidity?
Tannin: This drying effect between the lips and teeth, or an astringency often accompanied by bitterness. For me it is like cotton mouth...it comes from the skins of the grapes. Try chewing on the skin of a Santa Rosa plumb!
The Signal Itself: Putting it all together and Think! Always take a few minutes to think about the balance of the wine. We might answer the following types of questions:
How did the initial taste compare with the finish?
How long did the flavor last on your palate?
Was the wine complex or simple?
Overall, do I want to buy it again, was it memorable, or perhaps not?
On this Thursday evening, we came back around to the concept of Driving with Hope and getting to the destination safely. Perhaps it is not a glass of wine, but looking at Red Lights, Green Lights and Yellow Lights hold the keys to moving forward with Hope and touching others along the way. For us the Red Light is there to have us stop and remember who we are! Yes we are chosen, a royal priest, a holy nation, God’s own possession and most importantly this child of the Creator of the Universe. When I remember who I am, where I come from, my history in God, I am a safer person to be around, perhaps a freer person is a better description. I love others better, I listen to the needs of others better, and perhaps I am actually a little kinder. From this position of knowing, I can move into the wonder of the Green Light! Yes that is the Go Forward with God’s purpose, meaning the kindness I interact with others actually demonstrates the goodness of God, of Jesus! And yes there is the all important Yellow Light, step back and evaluate my choices and actions with the simple question ~ am I living like Jesus in such a time as this? We taste wine and we experience life, both are done with purpose and honesty. So go forward and drive that race car towards Hope and bring a passenger along for the ride.
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