let's make wine fun, shall we?

a mystery date with a delicious bottle of wine

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the wine world - my place in it, how wine is communicated, how the wine world can feel like an echo chamber sometimes, blah blah blah. I’ll likely have more to say on all of that, but I keep coming back to the same thought:

wine should meet people where they are

Instead of focusing on bringing people to the wine, wine should be brought to the people. Now, what does that look like? I’m not entirely sure, but I can tell you of a wine that met me right where I was.

Martha Stoumen (based in Healdsburg, CA) recently released her “Mystery Date” wine. The wine is just that - a mystery date. There are no identifying factors on the label. No vintage. No grape. No location. Just a beautiful bottle meeting you where you are.

I had the pleasure of tasting this in the tasting room. You better believe that I spent a good twenty minutes scrolling through my Diploma notes and digging deep into my mental archive to figure out what it was. Ultimately, I was incorrect but that doesn’t even matter. I loved the wine. I loved it so much that I bought a bottle to share with friends at home. So, in a few weeks, a few of us are gathering to share the bottle and figure out what it is.

If you guess the wine correctly, you may win a prize.

To me, the prize is the wine. It’s a fun little adventure for drinkers of all levels. If you’re an absolute nerd like I am, you’re sifting through all of your theory knowledge to narrow down possible grape varieties. If you’re a casual wine drinker, you get to enjoy the wine without any leading information. If you knew the grape, how would that change your perception of the wine?

A wine like this invites you to experience it and enjoy it. Plainly and simply, that is what wine should be doing. It is the companion to great conversations with even better company.

Do yourself a favor and buy a bottle of this wine, if you can. Experience it. Enjoy it. Enjoy it with friends. Whether you guess the grape correctly or not is irrelevant. The most important part is in the experience. Let it meet you where you are.

here’s to the delightful unknown,

-j