As Yogi Bera once said, "When you meet a fork in the road, take it." That is exactly what I am doing. The majority of my adult life has been in the wine business. I can safely say, without checking, that I have been legally over the blood-wine limit in four different continents. I've sniffed, swirled, spit and swallowed more wine than I can remember, literally. So, what do I do now to continue my passion for wines as I enter middle age?
To quote the great Yogi again, "Its like deja vu all over again." When I was 27 and about to be married, I was confronted with a similar situation. I was working in a restaurant at the time, enjoying long hours and being denied my weekends. That didn't seem like a recipe for a good family life. The hotel I was working in had recently held a trade wine tasting. I was one of the poor guys removing empty glasses and full spit buckets. It was then that I realized that I wanted to be seated at those tables, tasting, learning and, dare I say, working. Yes, this was my calling, and I got very excited about it.
15 years later, and a collection of corks you could build a house with, I am turning the page onto another chapter of my life. Still following Yogi's advice of taking the fork, I decided to see what each tine had to offer. Upon examination, I had the following: wine knowledge, cultural knowledge, cooking knowledge and my ever charming personality. I added these to my situation of working with my mother in our produce store and bakery, where we also make our own preserves, jellies, jams, sauces, salsas, chutneys and just about anything that can be pickled. My brain started making noises similar to that of an old lawn mower in the back yard choking to life. Some smoke came out of my ears, and the end result was the harmoneous hum repeating the chorus line, "Wine Jellies"!
Wine Jelly, of course, why didn't I think of this earlier? I did some searching on the internet and discovered that there are people out there making and selling wine jelly. What I didn't find were any "interesting" wine jellies. This is where I thought I could start making a difference in people's lives by giving them a better selection of wine jellies.
My approach is the same as when I was helping restauranteurs improve their wine lists. Sure, I still need to offer the basic varietals of Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvingnon, etc. But as I used to do, I would always like to suggest levels, or tiers, of choices. In doing this, I can offer not just basic wine jellies, but more specific jellies. Jellies that showcase an interesting or less known varietal. Jellies that have a story behind them, be it of places I've been or winemakers I know. Most importantly, as most people search for that perfect wine that strikes a balance between budget and quality, I wanted to do this with our jellies. The bottom line is that I want to offer jellies that dance on the palate and sing their own song. I want jellies with soul!
I know this is going to be a never-ending process, and that is the way I like it. There are so many wines out there, not everybody has the same tastes, nor do they drink the same wines. With this in mind, my list of wine jellies is being created!
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