The Civilized Oenophile

September 17, 2008 | by Lorrie LeBeaux | Lifestyle

A bad experience on a popular wine forum prompted me to write this article, due to the uncivilized behavior of the posters. So, I decided to search for “Wine Facts” and the Beekman Wine& Spirits link appeared. I thought how appropriate the picture and caption is to what I experienced lately on this particular blog. The Bear is what our economy is representing, rather than the Bull. The bears in the photo have dined; it appears to be beef, with a hearty red wine. So, surely if two bears can sit down and have a nice bottle of red wine, so can humans, or can we? Since they are bears, I hope the wine is a good QPR (Quality Price Ratio), or what I call a “bang for the buck wine.”

I think that wine is very primitive, mystic and has a life of its own. You can drink it out of a cup, a stem -less wine glass, an Italian tumbler, or my favorite Lenox Tuscany Classic stemware, and still enjoy the pleasures of the wine. The bears even appear to be swirling and admiring the nose of their red wine, holding the wine correctly, to savor it at its correct temperature! How smart are those bears; must be related to Yogi Bear, because he was not your average bear either! Some of you may be too young to remember Yogi, so ask your parents.

It seems that wine has become the snob’s way of uplifting him or herself in society. Wine is not a tool; it is a luxury at any bottle price. The bear in our economy reminds us wine lovers, how fortunate that we can drink a bottle or two with family and friends. The bears in the picture seem to be happy, stomachs full from the meal they have just eaten. They seem to be discussing and comparing tasting notes on the bottle they will finish, and reveling on how well the wine paired with their hunt of the day. Can’t wine lovers see that the bears have got the wine experience, in perspective? Wine is a byproduct of grapes, hard work and trying to bring it to people to experience and appreciate it.

Well, I hope that you get my point and realize snobbery can kill a wine experience or turn a new wine drinker away from a forum. People get on computers to blog and post to learn, share experiences and be a part of the wine community.

There were several wine quotes posted with the Wine Facts article at Beekman Wines & Liquor shop. Most were quite intriguing. I will share a few of the ones that I liked on their website.

“Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.”—Ernest Hemingway

[At his first sip of champagne] “Come quickly! I am tasting stars!”— Dom Perignon

“If food is the body of good living, wine is its soul.”—Clifton Fadiman

“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.” —Attributed to Benjamin Franklin.

To close, these are my own personal wine quotes:

“Wine is a lifestyle that chooses you, and then you marry.”—-Lorrie S. LeBeaux

“Wine is art in a glass, we all see and experience it differently, thus the palate.”—Lorrie S. LeBeaux

Lighten up oenophiles and let wine be wine, not a status tool or competition. Just let the wine flow…

Lorrie LeBeaux writes Life’s Little Luxuries Newsletter @ lifeslittleluxuriesnewsletters.com