In Vino Veritas

I've been gradually getting back into the habit of wine lately. I never really realized how much I missed it until I began reading Wine & War. It's such a riveting homage to the wine culture in France and its role in European history. The Kladstrups have beautiful prose that paints a vivid picture of the strife that French Winemakers faced during the Nazi occupation but also moments of intense patriotism that rise up defiantly in the face of adversity. As a budding oenophile, I also experienced some disheartening moments when they described the looting and greedy consumption of France's treasures such as the late 19th and early 20th century vintages of great houses like Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Chateau d'Yquem, Pol Roger and Taittinger. But at the same time, imagine having the remarkable experience as one of De Nonancourt's men in the French 2nd Armored or being in the 1st or 3rd Battalions that discovered Goring's stash of Wines, Champagnes and Liquor in Berchtesgaden!

That's actually one of my favorite scenes in Band of Brothers. The utter awesomeness that Nixon experiences when Winters takes him to Goring's wine cellar and allows him his pick out of anything there. How incredible would that have been?!? One reason why its one of the best mini-series ever. EVER.

Speaking of wine... had a fabulous bottle of Vouvray tonight. A little sweeter than I expected, but the full body balanced it out nicely. Excellent none-the-less. Hints of pear and peach would go nicely with dessert items.

I've also had a sudden impulse tonight. All of a sudden I had an inclination to up and move to France and work in the vineyards for a year or so. I know there's plenty of opportunities for that here in the States, but once you start reading and drinking French wines, well, there's something different about it. Like a whispering longing to see where it all began. I don't know why, but I really wanted to get up at the crack of dawn and walk up and down the vines, pruning, checking the grapes growth... I wanted to really get to know the terroir first hand, learn about wine making from the bottom up, immerse myself in the French language and participate in hundreds of years of tradition. Maybe I will someday, but for now I'll let the inclination linger in my heart and see if I still desire it a few years from now.