It's a funny thing about the best wine. The story of the grapes that make it is interesting. Grapes destined to make great wine are not planted in the most fertile areas. They are not fertilized. They, in fact, are intentionally stressed; denied access to water. Given enough to keep them alive, yes. Enough to stay healthy. But not instant and easy access.
You see, if the grapes don't work to ripen, they develop no character. Given all the water, fertilizer, and great earth they can handle, they get fat and watery, a very thin shadow of what they could be. The juice is diluted. The vintner loves his grapes, but he sees the potential of what is to come, not lavishing them in their youth. It is here that the foundation of a truly great wine is made.
Once the grapes become all they can be, they have struggled to hit optimum ripeness, they get picked. The hard life a grape continues. They get destemmed, taking away the parts that still hang on and contribute nothing but bitterness. Now you have beautiful, ripe grapes, ready to be made into wine.
But then comes the crush. Just when you think the grapes look pretty good, they get crushed. Put through a violent process of turning them into something even better. Here to is a difference between fine wine grapes and stuff given to jug wine.
The crush is kinda the end for the jug wine grape- In the hands of a vintner who doesn't really care about the final product, just wants to get a product on the shelf to intoxicate the masses, the crush is a necessary step to create alcohol. Nothing magical happens after the crush, just fermented, bottled and sold. Ah, but in the hands of a careful, loving vintner, this is where true metamorphasis occurs. The crush is a crucial part of extracting the essence of the fruit; all the labor that occured in the vineyard, the pruning, the painstaking watering, making sure just the right amount was given, the careful harvesting by hand, destemming, and even the crush, happened for this. The lifeblood of the fruit is spilled, given for a purpose. The vintner lets his work, and the work the grapes have done, start to come together. Giving his juice the perfect conditions, he watches as the sugar is converted. He tastes as the grape juice blooms into something more; that very lifeblood of the grape develops character, depth, and personality. He adds just the right touch when necessary; raises or lowers the temperature, puts the wine in oak to develop more character, even structure; let's it age to become perfect. You see, in grapes worked by a master, the unique character of the grape is allowed to shine, once honed and transformed under the careful care of the winemaker, but all the while bearing the unmistakable signature of the master who created it. The final product, the result of much work, patience, and pain, was worth the effort.
What a metaphor for life.
Anyway, signing off for now...
You see, if the grapes don't work to ripen, they develop no character. Given all the water, fertilizer, and great earth they can handle, they get fat and watery, a very thin shadow of what they could be. The juice is diluted. The vintner loves his grapes, but he sees the potential of what is to come, not lavishing them in their youth. It is here that the foundation of a truly great wine is made.
Once the grapes become all they can be, they have struggled to hit optimum ripeness, they get picked. The hard life a grape continues. They get destemmed, taking away the parts that still hang on and contribute nothing but bitterness. Now you have beautiful, ripe grapes, ready to be made into wine.
But then comes the crush. Just when you think the grapes look pretty good, they get crushed. Put through a violent process of turning them into something even better. Here to is a difference between fine wine grapes and stuff given to jug wine.
The crush is kinda the end for the jug wine grape- In the hands of a vintner who doesn't really care about the final product, just wants to get a product on the shelf to intoxicate the masses, the crush is a necessary step to create alcohol. Nothing magical happens after the crush, just fermented, bottled and sold. Ah, but in the hands of a careful, loving vintner, this is where true metamorphasis occurs. The crush is a crucial part of extracting the essence of the fruit; all the labor that occured in the vineyard, the pruning, the painstaking watering, making sure just the right amount was given, the careful harvesting by hand, destemming, and even the crush, happened for this. The lifeblood of the fruit is spilled, given for a purpose. The vintner lets his work, and the work the grapes have done, start to come together. Giving his juice the perfect conditions, he watches as the sugar is converted. He tastes as the grape juice blooms into something more; that very lifeblood of the grape develops character, depth, and personality. He adds just the right touch when necessary; raises or lowers the temperature, puts the wine in oak to develop more character, even structure; let's it age to become perfect. You see, in grapes worked by a master, the unique character of the grape is allowed to shine, once honed and transformed under the careful care of the winemaker, but all the while bearing the unmistakable signature of the master who created it. The final product, the result of much work, patience, and pain, was worth the effort.
What a metaphor for life.
Anyway, signing off for now...
