The nasty wine
Did I tell you about the time when I lost one of my girlfriends to wine? It was her birthday and I had planned a surprise party for her. Not a party in fact, but a table for two in a restaurant with cake and some flowers. I had reserved a table in a café and I was expecting two, three hours of smiles, romance and good wishes, nothing more. It was always difficult to make a date with her, she was always busy with something and that day was no exception. Anyways, we met at last and went to the café. Well, it didn’t go so badly; we spent some half an hour with formalities. I gave her the flowers and the gifts, she blew out the candles, and the usual stuff you all know about. We also took some pictures although she didn’t like to be in pictures much, something I never understood at all. A typical birthday, huh? Well, not that typical. It was almost half an hour in the café when she decided that she had to leave. Her friends had apparently organized a birthday party for her and they were waiting. And why couldn’t I go to the party? Well, you will need a bit of a background on this and I don’t think you will have the patience to hear it, what you need to know is that I couldn’t go. She just got up and left. She was very excited and for some reason, I had the premonition that our relationship was over. We were having some problems in the relationship those days, though, but I wasn’t expecting a breakup.
And my premonition happened to have been right. A few days later we ‘officially’ broke up. I don’t know why but for some reason I irrationally blamed that party for our breakup. And I was right, later on I found out that they had bought her a bottle of vintage wine as a birthday present. Who had bought it for her? I don’t know, but I will always blame that wine for my breakup. Foolish, I know, but that’s who I am_ I don’t take responsibility for my own actions!
Life is a process of decay
Why celebrate your birthday at all? I don’t see any reason why people celebrate a day that marks their aging. I am one step nearer to death and there is a day to remind me that every single year. It doesn’t make sense, right? But no so fast, hold your horses. Life is in a sense empty and we all know that. However, we were not thrust in this world to think of that, there are a thousand things we are living for and that’s beautiful. Things every single one of which has a specific meaning for us; as a matter of fact, we have basically created meaning in this world. All in all, we have been given one life and we must do everything to make this lifetime pleasant. So in this way, your birthday can turn into a special day for you, it can actually be transformed into a distinct occasion, an occasion that has a specific meaning for you and you alone. You can try to give it meaning in various ways and wine is an option. A bottle of wine, whether drunk or given as a present, brings with itself an aura of mystery, romance, and intimacy. A beautiful bottle of Nik Pegasus Black, for instance, could mark your birthday an occasion to be remembered for a long time.
Here are a few ways you can give meaning to your birthday through wine.
Let’s start from top
1- Age matters
You definitely tend to have different feelings at different ages and you certainly possess a distinct attitude to every age you’re passing through. Your 20s, for instance, are a period of investigation and adventurous activities. It is the time when you are exploring the world and yourself, it is also the time when you should start your wine exploration journey, so take it easy to feel free and try as many different wines as you can, whether it be red, white, dry, sweet, or any other variety that you enjoy. However, your 20s are definitely not the richest period of your life, so you will probably go for cheaper ones, or home-made ones, which is absolutely okay. After all, as I’ve told you before, in order to develop a taste for wine, you need to be patient and you must try numerous wines, any age you are in. So a birthday is a good excuse to experience a new variety of wine.
As you grow older, the meaning you give your life will definitely change, and so does your choice of wine. As you grow older, you are definitely better-off, so you can opt for popular varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, etc. Even in older ages, you might decide to go for a wine that gets better with age, just as you do! A Cabernet Sauvignon is a varietal that improves with age and it might uplift your mood as you grow older. Some vintage varieties have such a quality as well and they can be your companion in your golden years of retirement.
A note about old age; it is right that a lot of burdens you used to have in young age do not exist anymore when you get older; you have more time, you probably have more of a social life, and you are likely to be richer too, that is, you can afford better quality wine and you tend to be more involved in social occasions where you might drink wine. However, you certainly need to be more careful about your health. Well, the good news is wine is good for your health, especially red wine, drunk in moderation, though. Besides, it so happens that you might be traveling more often as you age and in such case, it is often suggested that you drink local wine wherever you go. After all, it is never too late to experience.
All in all, the way you define your life and your age differs at different times and your choices must undoubtedly accord with how you define that period. There are times when you are rich, times when you are not so well-off, times when you are building up your life and your social status, and times when you just want to be alone; all of these times demand a different choice. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you what to choose, what I’m telling you is just to contemplate over your spirits at that specific age and then make a choice of what to go for, wine or anything else. Wine is an option though, and a good one at that!
2- Friends matter
Unless you are a bad loser like ‘He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’, you will definitely be celebrating your birthday with friends or family. The presence of other people makes it both easy and difficult to create a meaningful experience. It is easy in that the crowd brings meaning with itself, and difficult because things can easily go wrong if you’re a bit careless.
To be on the safe side, you can choose a crowd-pleaser such as a Pinot-Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon, and this is the case if you don’t know your guests’ tastes. If they have brought you wine as a gift, then open it, why not? Your birthday is a day of indulgence so do whatever that makes you happy. Merlot would be a good choice as well; its flavors are quite friendly with the taste of cake too.
Your birthday could be a day for a wine-tasting party as well; a lot of people do it and it’s exciting. Get help from some friends and prepare some trays to put all the stuff on. The sight of a room filled with colorful trays holding various bottles of wine along with chips, fruits, cherries, and different treats can make up a memory to be remembered. Besides, a wine-tasting party is all about interaction and why not have an interactive night on your birthday? This is of course apart from all the music and dance you will have.
3- Cake matters
Who would celebrate a birthday without a cake? Maybe some do, but good or bad, this is another way people have given meaning to their birthdays, it’s a tradition. So if you go for wine on your birthday, you’d better be good at matching it with the cake. There is no hard and fast rule though, but there are always some obsessed ones who would want to know everything about everything, and in detail too, so I’ve put together some suggestions for you.
- Red Velvet: A famous cake and it is highly likely that you have it on your birthday. You can have Pinot Noir with a Red Velvet; it matches well with the cake’s smooth texture and its cherry and berry flavors can accentuate the chocolate undertones of the cake. With its tones of ripe red berries, Nik Pegasus Gold could also be a good complement; a sip from it can relieve a palate sticky from the chocolate.
- Cheese Cake: Another popular type of cake, cheesecake can be well combined with white dessert wine. A white wine like Sauternes or Cêrons can be a suitable choice with this cake. The high fat in the cake calls for a wine with acid after all.
- Chocolate Cake: Probably the prototype of cake in general, this cake commands respect and deserves free will in my opinion; so match it with any wine you feel comfortable with. Home-made red wine is a perfect match, though. Red blends are a good complement to it as well.
- Yellow Birthday Cake with Chocolate Icing: match this cake with Bordeaux. The aromas and berry flavors of Bordeaux have a good contrast with the frosting of the crumbly yellow cake.
4- Wishes matter
It is not always you who needs an occasion to be remembered, it so happens that you celebrate a friend’s birthday and why not make THEIR birthday more meaningful? After all, friends have already given meaning to our lives, and we can return the favor this way. So now we eventually come to the real meaning-creating apparatus_ the language; and in the birthday context, it means the famous ‘birthday wish’. Language could do magic, so I believe it is worth thinking of a good happy birthday wish and send it to your friend, or better still, write it on a birthday card and give to him or her. And in case you want to take wine to their birthday as a present, you can create a happy birthday wish containing the word ‘wine’ in it. Here are some suggestions and you can find plenty on the internet. Although, as you will have guessed, I recommend a phrase you have created yourself; that will be creative and will have more effect. However, just to give you an idea, take a look at these phrases others have written:
“Happy Birthday to someone whose friendship I value almost as much as a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon”
“Just like a good wine, you get better with age. Happy Birthday”
“You are like wine, with every passing year your value increases and you become more precious”
And this is my favorite wish for you “may you age like wine and not cheese”!
And as I told you, there are also plenty on the net.
Wine is not to blame
What happened to the unreasonable guy? Well, as time passed, I realized that the relationship wasn’t really working and that birthday party her friends had organized was just an excuse. And it didn’t really matter who had brought wine for her at that party. Do you really think I still blame that wine for our breakup? In fact, I AM unreasonable, but not THAT unreasonable for God’s sake!
