Sunday, March 27, 2011

The Art of Seduction - Try Penfolds Grange

what do I know about wine a friend once asked. not much was my immediate reply, but I do know it is all about seduction.

I mean, wine doesn't always make the meal but you don't invited a woman home for a six-pack. wine tasting alone is an art full of sentuous story telling. making wine is a study in patience. and from my experince, a man educated in wine is best prepared to lure hot chicks. that's why I went into the wine business any way, the seduction of it.

but to truley seduce someone it takes more than wine. seduction is all about knowing them. likes, dislikes, taste in music, true hair color, etc.; you know the things that are important to her. a fool turns to money for seduction, but it takes more than money. admittedly at times money can get a woman in bed but the question then becomes who was seduced; the prey or the person happily parting with their money.

beside, seduction is more than its latin roots would imply, "to lead astray". sedcution done well, and I'd argue done properly, is understanding one's wants, desires and needs. seduction therefore becomes the gateway by which a new expereince, a new realm of understanding can open up for a person. when I was first exposed to Penfolds Grange that's all it took. The inky deep color, overwhelming aroma and flavors of ripe, dense, sweet fruit, mouth-flooding tannins, I meet a wine of rare dimension. seduction complete, my life was changed... for the better. that's all I know about wine.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Am I First or Was I Last - Times are Chang'n

The New York city skyline rolls in the opposite direction through my cab window. From my prospective, the city and I travel in different directions. Rooted firmly in hard earth, most people believe this city, like most cities, is going nowhere. On the other hand, I am speeding as fast possible through this snarling traffic in an uncertain direction. If you ask me I don't know where I'm heading. Other than an address, all I know is I'm meeting an old friend for a drink. The bottle of wine I brought along isn't going to make it. I decided to sample a drink while I waited for my cab but now it's remnants are being sacrificed to calm my nerves in this rat race of a town. If you ask most people they'd likely agree, I have no clue where I'm going.

As the world rushes forward, chasing technology, I appear rooted in the past. Cities seem more and more foreign to me, choosing the mountains as my home and a farm as my passion. Ask me and the future I see is clear, at least for me. The direction of the city concerns me. As I move forward to change with the times, the city stands still, unwavering in its opposition to change. I see the people on the other side of the cab window, continuing to go about with a business as usual mentality, but they like me already know these are unusual times. A ballad of truth sings out from my ipod, "the times the are a changing".

Another tragedy in the news, more civil unrest and stories upon stories of baffling disturbances in world we once referred to as natural. "for the times they are a chang'n."

Shortly, I'll be deposited curbside. Leaving the solitary environment of the cab, I will once again be in the city.  I will begin walking in my direction as the city stays committed beneath me. Around us others will glide past in their chosen paths, but little of that concerns me now, I have an old friend to meet.  I'd better grab a new bottle of wine so I can greet them properly.