The practice of wine tasting . . .

I wanted to write about wine tasting as an art and an activity that is almost divine and sacred: In the old times it was a tradition throughout Europe and the South Americas, but as cross-cultural interactions grow so does the sharing of the culture of wine drinking. The practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production. For ten years prior to relocating to the United States, I went wine tasting to countries like France, Italy and mostly South Africa. When I lived in England, I replaced wine tasting with fun running with the Hash House Harriers. I relocated to Arizona to a little town called Sonoita, and there I had my first wine tasting in the United States at the Callaghan Vineyards.

When my friend Tim the astronomer called me on Friday evening after what seemed like a never ending day at work, I was so glad to spend an hour on the phone catching up on what has transpired in his life for the past eight months since we last danced. His narratives were not any different but it was nice to talk to him. Tim was dog sitting for his friend who was out of town, he was at home with the dogs on Friday night and thought of calling me - how heartwarming huh! Tim called to ask if I wanted to go dancing for old time’s sake.

Cata Vinos wine tasting is owned and run by Yvonne a charming and graceful lady. It was Saturday and word of mouth, referrals and marketing made Cata Vinos the place to be at this evening. The crowd was reasonable considering this is a small wine house on Grant and Alvernon. Yvonne had an under water photographer/ artist exhibiting during the wine tasting. We decide to sit on the patio where the air was crisp and cooler than I wanted it to be. There were two groups of six or more outside; we joined the one nearest to the back door. Tim and I sat next to John and his wife - a couple from Colorado who came down to bank for the winter. They were such a cheerful couple, John shared so many jokes I could not believe he had so many in his head.

A list of six wines chosen for the tasting were printed on a list describing the ingredients. The first two were white wines and the rest were red wines, two of which were Spanish wines. I look forward to the next tasting scheduled for Dec 13, 2008.