Wine opens and frees the mind

"WINE is about people."

That was the first piece of advice I was given when I began my interest in fine wine - short and sweet! It did not take me long to understand its significance. Mother Nature provides and determines the production of the wine - its type, quality, character and volume, etc. A well-made wine reflects its origins; its grape varietal/s; the soil and terroir on which it is grown; and the weather during the growing season. Each wine also reflects the character and personality of the wine-growers, as well as their tastes. When you have visited their wineries, met them, gone down into their cellars with them and barrel-tasted their wines, memories come flooding back of the wine-makers in their cellars, talking and discussing their wines with you as you taste from barrel to barrel. These memories remain, packed into the recesses of your mind to be revived whenever you drink their wines. The wine becomes even more alive and meaningful to you. Yes, wine is about people.

The significance is even greater if you have walked the vineyards and navigated your way around the barrels in the cellars like those of Château Certan and Le Pin with the Alexandre Thienpont and his cousin, Jacques Thienpont, whose families own the Châteaux. A glass of Vieux Château Certan brings back memories of Alexandre with his soft, shy voice discussing the current vintage, the growing season, the specific qualities of the vintage and comparing it with past vintages.