Meditation By The Glass: The Mindfulness of Wine Appreciation

(images: all from Joe's house!)

Although I was raised in the shadow of Roman Catholicism, I am not by any stretch of the imagination a religious man.

In fact, after attending an Oblate grade school, a Franciscan high school, and a Jesuit university for undergrad, I ended up totally religiously-confused. Not exactly a poster-child for American religious education.

Still, despite being (more-or-less) totally religious-averse, I would consider myself a spiritual person. Over the last few years, my wife has introduced me to Zen and Buddhist principles that we have tried to integrate into our lives, with some great results. I don't claim to understand any of the universe's mysteries, but there is no denying (for me, at least) the powerful & moving experiences of communion I've felt when meditating.

"This small word - witnessing - contains the whole of spirituality." - Osho

And by "meditating" I don't just mean the familiar image we have of someone sitting on a pillow silently exploring the depths of their witnessing (though doing that is great and I'd highly recommend it to anyone). I mean going about your daily life activities and truly witnessing each moment of your life - trying to be "in the zone" and really living, treating every action you take as sacred - whether you are washing the dishes, walking the dog, negotiating an important business deal, playing music...

...Or tasting wine.

It's by truly being meditative when tasting that we can most maximize both our enjoyment of wine and our wine appreciation skills...

I've written a few "glasses of zen" articles in the past, but I've never really explored how the simple act of witnessing can enhance the enjoyment of wine.

Some of the greatest noses in the wine business follow a similar "witnessing" tasting method, though they themselves may not call it meditation.

Take the love-him-or-leave-him wine critic Robert Parker, for example:

"When I put my nose in a glass, it's like tunnel vision. I move into another world, where every bit of mental energy is focused on that wine." - Robert M. Parker, Jr.

A similar tasting ethos has been expressed (quite eloquently) by the venerable Christie's wine critic Michael Broadbent:

"You do not need to be an expert, or even that interested in wine to enjoy drinking it. But tasting is not the same as drinking... The important point is that there is a reason for every colour, smell and taste. Every facet of a wine's effect on our senses... is meaningful. Exploring and understanding these facets helps us to appreciate a wine more fully." - from Winetasting, by Michael Broadbent

Those are some serious big-league wine-tasters, whose opinions have been known to make-or-break sales for virtually any wine that they happen to taste. So, you don't just need to take Dude's word for it!

I could wax philosophical on how the quality of our focus may or may not increase the quality of our wine appreciation. But I'll leave that one to the book Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine which has already explored it in great detail.

Instead, I will simply leave you with another quote, and then request that you do just one simple thing. Here's the quote:

"Meditation is not something that we just do for 20 or 40 minutes every morning and then forget about. Meditation involves a principle of awareness that you can practice in every moment of your life." - Wildmind.org

Here's the simple request:
The next time that try a glass of wine, really taste it, don't just drink it. Don't think, just taste.

If you find yourself marveling at how all the disparate aspects of nature have come together to allow you this moment of real, focused living - connecting you to the small miracle of how the fruit of a wild plant can end up producing the complex and pleasure-giving drink in the glass in front of you - well, my friend, then you "get it."

Nothing left to do but sit back, relax, and offer up a small prayer of gratitude to the universe for the gift you have received.

Well, that and finish your glass, of course.


Cheers!