A Wine Journey

A Wine Journey

There’s a certain aspect to wine that has no boundaries. There’s something special about wine that brings people together from all walks of life. For the people that share a passion for wine, its actually more than just about the taste. Its also about the place where the wine is made and by whom.

Its about the winemaker and the philosophy that has created a certain style of wine. Its about the vigneron that has toiled all season, dealing with the challenges that mother nature presents in the vineyard, to produce the best possible fruit to make the best possible wine. As the saying goes, you can not make good wine from bad fruit.

I remember being in Champagne a couple of years ago and I had a meeting with renowned grower Didier Gimonnet from Champagne Pierre Gimonnet. He was a down to earth type of guy, who made time to see me around 6pm, after having worked in the vineyard since 7am that morning. It was June 2018, and they’d had continuous weeks of hot conditions and the fruit was growing like crazy. In fact fruit was growing so well, that they had to thin out the bunches on the vines and he instructed his staff to cut some off, to be left on the ground.

One of his staff was perplexed by this and he said to Didier “ I don’t understand boss. All winter you make us prune so that you can grow lots of fruit and now in the spring you make us cut it off and leave it on the ground”. Didier replied “ My friend, that is because our job is to grow great wine and not to just grow fruit”. The reason for cutting the fruit, was of course for the vine to direct its energy into the remaining bunches, to gain maximum concentration and flavour.

I learnt a lot on that trip about the Champagne region and it was more than just drinking the good stuff. I also learnt about the people and their challenges, their history, their cuisine and culture. The people of Champagne were some of the most open and friendliest I have met and the shared passion for wine, has created valued personal relationships for me.

The thing is, that you could be travelling to beautiful cities like Rome, Paris or Venice, spending hours looking at their amazing attractions, but generally you won’t get a feel for what makes the people tick. When you start having conversations with local wine people, you start to get a picture of the country’s culture and you start to get a sense of place.

So, I’ve made some references to BudBurst being about joining a new journey of wine. For me, my journey does not just refer to drinking many different styles of wine and learning from those wines. A big part of the journey also refers to how some wines can be a conduit to great conversations, with old and new friends. It’s a journey of lasting memories and at its best, they are shared with others.