Good Morning!

Earlier this week, I helped a winemaker do some blending and it was the strangest thing I have ever seen, at 9 AM all these wine bottles, glasses and notepads out, but no spit buckets or even an extra glass. I did not notice until the second taste, then it dawned on me, I was hungry and I would be hammered in no time if I did not spit.

I said, I am gonna need a spit bucket and one of the guys called me an amateur, I started laughing. I said are you serious? He said he never spits. I felt a little ashamed but I still found some thing to put my just tasted wines in. Then I was interested in how he kept from getting drunk. I watched him as we started through the wines and the process of blending and we went through 35-40 blends before we created the perfect flavor profile, perfect nose and perfect tactile sensation. If I would have drank all that wine I would have needed a nap or at least been way past having the giggles.

I made a point to watch this winemaker and he did not seem affected by the alcohol one bit, he was not bubbly or buzzed, no tired behavior, nothing. So I ask, how do you not get at least a small buzz from the wine? He said, I learned at a young age that alcohol, if you do not allow it, you will not feel it’s after affects. I said really???? I get the whole mind over matter and I have read enough Anthony Robbins to understand the whole, if you do not give a thought any power it can not control you, thought. But to me alcohol is sort of like medicine, it does something (something wonderful) to my brain. I feel it and I like it!

Anyway, this was a topic of conversation for the rest of the day, as we were pressing wine and barreling the reds, he tasted each barrel and each different tank. I swear I could feel the sugar lift after each sample I tried, but he swears he feels nothing. I guess I will never know the answer to how he does it, but I am glad I do not have this problem, I am glad I enjoy the alcohol and all it’s benefits.

So, this brings me to the thought if he was a wine judge, could he still be sober by the end of the day? I would love to be a wine judge, but my palate is not ready for hours of sipping, swirling and spitting. I need more practice and I need to be able to handle my alcohol and I would of course need a reliable driver.

I know this is not as wine related as some might like, but I am still so intrigued by this days’ events, I had to share it with you!

Have a great weekend!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi