Story
previously on farm stories
Special Bottles
So, I have this bottle that I have been holding on to for a while. The name and from which area of the world it came from are no matter. But needless to say this bottle came to me from a faraway place and has moved with me a few times. I think that almost every person who enjoys wine has a bottle like this unnamed bottle. The one bottle that we are holding onto for one reason or another. The one that is “special” for one reason or another. The question is always when is the right moment to consume this cherished bottle? The pondering, the mathematical equation of bottle equals moment to be consumed, never reaching the point where the bottle and the moment will solve for X.
I have become really good at hiding these special bottles of wine from myself. I tend to think that the art of collecting wine falls more into the category of being able to outsmart yourself. From time to time, I will unearth one of these bottles that I have hidden from myself. I will usually hide the bottles in a place that will require more work than the other bottles. This will usually prevent me from drinking a bottle in a state of mind that might make regret it later.
When I found this unnamed bottle, and I looked at the label I was reminded as to how to bottle came into my possession. This unnamed bottle came into my possession as a gift. Which prompted me to make a phone call to the old friend that gave me the bottle. We talked for a little while, our lives are both busy, he was amazed that I still had the bottle and ended the call with “you better drink it soon.” It had been 7 years since I last shook his hand and that was to thank him for the bottle. It was a parting gift, for a tough wine dinner that we both worked. It was great to catch up with an old friend, and also to pick up right where we had left off.
These special bottles can contain more than just wines. There are stories that accompany every bottle. How did the bottle make it onto your possession, was it a gift, is it from a vacation in wine country? The miles that bottle traveled just to rest in my wine fridge. I don’t know why I haven’t reached for that bottle yet as there have been plenty of occasions to open that wine, yet I have not. That bottle has survived friends visiting, birthdays, and career advancement. Yet there it sits, developing just like me. I often think of myself as a work in progress. I don’t know if a time will come when I won’t view myself as a work in progress. But there will come a time when I will consume that unnamed bottle.
Jason Drotar, Sommelier