Article 1                                                                                  July 15, 2009

A First Step in the World of Fine Kosher Wine

by

the Vino-Maven

Here is your first step in the world of fine wine: FREE YOUR MIND.

All the rest is commentary.

The commentary is important, and you will get it right here. Just let me repeat that first step again because it is so central to wine tasting: FREE YOUR MIND! Freeing your mind is not that easy to do, and I think that for us frum Jews particularly challenging. So I hope you will read this little essay before starting your journey into wine tasting. I hope you will find my words useful and enlightening.

Survivalism

As I think back on my younger years and I look at the attitudes I inherited I get the feeling that life is uncertain, and that if you have decent food to eat and a dry place to sleep, that is enough. Be grateful!

Back in the old country, as our parents called it, privation was always around the corner. If your basic needs were satisfied, that was fantastic. Consider this story I once heard about Herschel of Ostropol (for those of you who aren’t up on Yiddish folklore, Herschel was a notorious jokester and prankster of whom a great many stories are told. It is even said that he was jester for the Baal Shem Tov’s grandson, Rebbe Boruch of Medzybidz)

Well the story goes that once Herschel walked into a road-house and asked for food. The owner noticing that Herschel looked pretty down and out, asked if Herschel had any money. Herschel replied “You had better feed me or else I will do what my father used to do!”

“I would prefer if you paid.” Said the owner

“If you don’t feed me” said Herschel in a loud voice “I will do what my father and my grandfather would do!”

“You know” replied the owner, sounding a little sheepish, “People usually pay in restaurants…”

“IF YOU DON’T FEED ME” yelled Herschel in a crazy, booming voice, “I WILL DO WHAT MY FATHER, MY GRANDFATHER AND MY GREAT GRANDFATHER WOULD DO!!!!”

The owner, not wanting a scene, gave Herschel some food. After Herschel was done eating, the owner asked. “Tell what would your father, grandfather and great-grandfather do if they didn’t get food?”

“Oh, that’s simple” replied Herschel “They would go to bed hungry”

So my point is this: most of us are children and grandchildren of people who often just survived. Our ancestors could not be certain about anything in life.  What’s more, they managed under those harsh circumstances to reach many great heights. Once again, if you have food to eat and beverages to drink, that is enough, and who are we to think there is anything more?!

Unhealthy…

The attitude of Survivalism brings about a certain kind of separation between mind and body. When we focus on surviving, we let our bodies fulfill their needs. While the body is getting its needs met, the mind is someplace else. So we end up eating thoughtlessly and without focus. Now, back in the old days people didn’t have that much to eat! But today, guess what! Thoughtless eating is almost always excessive eating. We eat and drink in a haze of inattention and wonder why we eat too much. But wise people understand that in order to eat and drink within reasonable limits we have to enjoy our food! Bringing the mind and body together in a pleasurable experience does not make us gluttons! It makes us more balanced and healthier! 

The alternative is to allow ourselves to experience pleasure instead of just bodily satisfaction. When you experience pleasure you are really appreciating the beauty and wonder of creation, the wonder of a beautiful day, the joy of seeing something amazing, the brilliance of a great piece of music, and yes, the complex tastes and aromas of a really fine wine. Having pleasure is not some kind of low down obsession with physicality. It means refining your personality and your palette to appreciate subtle tastes and aromas. It means becoming a cultured and sophisticated individual with an open mind and a depth of feeling. These are additional dimensions of life and they are uplifting, even if they are connected to physical experiences. They begin as physical, but they take you beyond the physical.

My re-birth as an appreciator of wine happened the first time I drank a glass of truly fine dry wine. Of course, I had been gulping down good wines before then, because I was expected to drink good wine, even though I was dismayed by the lack of sweetness that my tongue expected. One day I decided to really taste the fine wine I was drinking. I remember thinking to myself “How revolting! Why would anyone drink this stuff?” But I was smart enough to take a second and a third sip, to satisfy my curiosity. Suddenly I realized that the taste I was experiencing, while not delicious to me at first, was exhilarating, vibrant and somewhat shocking. My taste buds woke up suddenly up to a tingling sensation. It was definitely not yummy in a childishly way…it was invigorating, zesty and full of vitality. Once I got past the initial phase of this experience I continued to discover new sensations, tastes and aromas. I could taste the sun on the grapes, and the cool breezes blowing in the evening, the chill of midnight mists, and the aroma of fruit ripening on the vine. This was far beyond anything I had imagined possible. At first I was certain that I was imagining these things.  Much to my surprise, a person across the table, who really was a wine expert, made a comment I’ll never forget: “Excellent! What a sunny fruity wine…earthy and vibrant!” It turns out that I wasn’t imagining this! It was really in the wine! I am fortunate that this happened for me in a spontaneous way. Many people have to be taught how to taste a great wine and appreciate its subtle joys. I will be doing my best here to pass on these skills to you!

Our ancestors had a very well developed wine culture that was both pleasurable and spiritual. During our long exile we lost this heritage. This heritage is now being restored to us little by little. It is my intention that out "Kosher Wine Club" will do more than make us more sophisticated wine tasters. It will restore our physical and spiritual wine tasting heritage. We will research many forgotten and neglected practices and halachot of wine drinking, as well as exploring the many varieties of kosher wine available to us to enjoy.

I welcome you to join me on a journey of kosher wine tasting, a path of delight and discovery!