Aging Like Fine Wine

There is nothing like a birthday to make you think about aging and any changes you have noticed about yourself since last year. This could be depressing unless you use the analogy of "aging like fine wine" which we know brings grace and complexity. Sounds good to me!

Some wines ferment in high tech stainless steel tanks, are bottled and "age" in the car coming home from the retailer. These are the wines for our fast paced, instant gratification world. They remind me of a busy New York street. Their aromas, flavors and tannins can be an assault of your senses. Sometimes, it is exhilarating and other times it drains you.

I like the methode champenoise method of aging. Careful harvesting of your desirable assets, gentle pressing to extract your essence, filtering away extraneous matter, small doses of reserve (best advice), blending with another different variety for added strength (marriage), careful handing and turning, small additions of sugar for energy, lying on your "lees" to rest and develop your character and finally, bursting out of your bottle on a special occasion to make people smile.