Dragonfly In

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I’d like to think I’m in tune with much of the universe, my surroundings, nature, animals, people, and everything in between.  Not even close. But if that were truly the case than I think the point and purpose of my life, your life, or anyone’s would be lost.

We’re not supposed to know everything.  Why would we want to either?

This is not so much a post about wine, but more about the symbolism and meaning in the things we do, how we live our lives, and how everything affects us.

I wasn’t aware of the dragonfly’s significance and meaning until events starting happening to close people in my life.   These events usually tend to lean towards sadness and hardship.  It’s our proclivity to seek meaning and information in times of difficulty, confusion, and heartache.  I do it too and know this far too well.

Something has happened again where events and energies are affecting me deeply.   But I can’t be egocentric or self-serving.  The world does not revolve around me, or you, or anyone in particular.  Actually in a positive sense it does revolve around me, you, and everyone else.  We are all one.  And events in our life, our dear friends and family’s life, and maybe with people we have yet to meet all affect us.   Whether we realize it or not.

The fact that I know this might mean I’m a bit ahead of the curve, but again what do I really know?

What does this have to do with wine?  I’ll get to that I promise.

As advanced as we are humans, we continue to feel things that on the surface may feel uncomfortable forever, but it’s all temporary.  Even if that temporary negative feeling lasts much longer than a temporary joyous one, it’s all short-term.   We want to feel good, in harmony, in touch with everyone ad everything.  We want to feel that everything will go right for us.  And it most instances it does.  But when it hurts.  It truly hurts.  And those feelings of sadness can feel like an abyss, like an eternity, with little to no end in sight. But it’s still temporary.

Animals, whether they’re dragonfly’s, dogs, cats, and all our other amazing friends have feelings to.  But they’re either mostly all loving, all knowing, and know what’s important in life to survive.  They know they don’t need much.  But a feeling of zen and/or love is the common theme.  Actually a feeling of peace, acceptance, appreciation of life, and knowing there’s something bigger than us is the main message.

The dragonfly is now something I like to research about whenever I can.   As the weather is improving they may across our paths a lot more frequently than we will acknowledge.

I noticed that when I was more aware and self-aware of my surroundings they were showing up in the most unlikely of all places (or was there something more).  They were telling me something.   They tell us all something whether we see them or not.  Whether we realize they’re there or just ignore them, they are sending us messages.

In my own way, I wish I wasn’t always aware of all this.  It can drive a person (i.e. me) crazy to know that in a way we’re being watched, warned, or being served messages on a regular basis from these highly advanced creatures.  Yes they’re smarter than us.

They might be sending us signals of love, hope, peace or maybe a warning of something that is to come.  Maybe it’s just a message to relax and appreciate what we have.  Because so many things we love will not be around forever.  And as we get older, grow up, and experience happiness and tragedies, we will ultimately know what’s important.  I would like to think I’m getting there.  I would like to think we’re all getting there.

I would like to think that many of us put things into perspective and to appreciate life when things are going great, not just when times are difficult and the patches are rough.

We’re all so vulnerable aren’t we?

Some of us might be stronger than teflon and carry ourselves like nothing can stop us. More power to you if that’s working out for you.

But for the rest of the world (at least in mine), something has been going on that I can’t describe.  It’s like a domino effect of events affecting so many people close to me, close to us, and I would like it to calm down.

Again, it’s temporary, it will resolve itself.  But I root for my friends, my family, and most of all our individual selves to become stronger because of this.  We will. It may take longer for some things to resolve over others.  But they will.  We have to believe that.

Our dragonfly friends are giving us signals of that.

After all that, again what does this have to do with wine?

I take it all the back back to last September and the Maryland Wine Festival.

There was a stranger energy in the air than previous festivals.  Again, we all see it differently, but this is how I saw it.

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From one booth to another, it just felt like something was more off than usual.  Than my initial visit to the Far Eastern Shore Winery tent felt a bit eerie.  For my first of what I would assume would be repeat visits to this and other booths, this one had an aura about it.   And I’ve sampled their wines before, at many an event or tasting.

Maybe it was the plants and flowers on display, maybe it was their famous swans on the labels, or maybe it was something bigger.  But this initial visit was all about a minute.  The lines were long all over the venue.

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After several hours of wandering, I didn’t realize it until after the fact, that my last visit of the day was back at their tent.  How about them dragonflies?

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And I only tried one  of their wines.  I only needed to try one.  It was this one pictured above.  I know right?

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It may not mean much but everything is a sign, everything is energy, everything is everything.  To say I’m freaking out in remembrance of this and writing about it now would be an understatement.  I’m slightly shaking.  That’s an energy bigger than me saying this.

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To complete this I will say that this wine does not fit my palate.  But it doesn’t matter.  In this or all instances it doesn’t really matter does it?  It’s a blush wine with a white Shiraz base that many will adore.  It contains raspberries and yummy dragonfruit (yes!), that works perfectly in the warm weather months.  And actually it can work whenever you want it too.

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It’s not a wine I would truly seek out but it now has huge meaning to me that I feel I need to have it stored at home in a safe (the fridge of course ha) place to remind me of things, to remind me of energies, messages, and all that is here and all that might be coming.

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I’m not a clairvoyant but I sense something bigger is going on in our universes that has always existed but is finally scratching the surface, and we will be up to the challenge.  Yes this is about all of us.

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But for those interested in contacting the winery (and I am one of them) to learn more, click here.   Info on their tasting room is here.

And here is where you can find their wine locally in Maryland and where you purchase it across the country.

I hope to chat with the winemakers about this remarkable experience I’ve had, because if it wasn’t for them I wasn’t sure how I would be able to share this with you.  There’s a huge meaning right there.

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There’s a deeper meaning in everything.  I believe that.  Many people close to me believe that.  There’s something bigger than us but our energies are also so big, full of life, full of potential, and full of amazing life experiences to come.

Thank you dragonflies.

Ideen

 

 

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Bordeleau’s Brightest

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Nearly one year to the day when I first wrote about Bordelau Winery, it’s with great honor that I get to write about them again.  And as an added bonus I helped volunteer to pour wine at their booth at the most recent Great Grapes Festival.   This was a joy.

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I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Tom at various festivals, including this very one, a year ago. He’s always been so laid back and easy to dialogue with on all matters vino.   Through mutual people and a little assertiveness, I got in touch with his wife Lisa, and after a few light-hearted  e-mail (and other electronic means) exchanges I find myself on the other side of the tables on that Sunday.

It’s a different animal but one I’ve fully embraced.  On many occasions I’ve been a patron and taken advantage of all the tastings and samples I could get my hands on.  It’s a slippery slope. And after a while the appreciation of what I’m drinking goes out the window.  All the crackers and water to cleanse your palate either fall by the wayside, or we forget to even partake in that necessary ritual.  Both of these scenarios are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

What I failed to see is the supposedly not so glamorous side of these festivals.   Nothing could be further from the truth.

This felt genuine, sincere, and I could be more myself.   I like to talk to folks and see what makes them feel good.  The wine is the catalyst but it also become the backdrop.  While I got the occasional pretentious question, most folks just  want to sample and have a pleasant conversation.  Nearly 100% was the latter.  That’s a good number.

Another full circle and serendipitous moment came to light.  I wrote about their reds last year, and even made mentioned of how I never got around to the whites.  So what table did I end up stationed at?  Well I’ll be…

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I’ll get the ones I didn’t love out of the way.   The Sauvignon Blanc, 2013 Pinot Grigio, and the Wicomico Blush are still not my speed.  They’re not as dry as I’d like.  The latter is nowhere  near on my radar of wines I’d prefer.   I’ve included links to all three for your edification. Many of the attendees loves these three and that’s what makes these events great.  If we liked all the same wines that would significantly take the fun out of this event.

The journey is about seeing what we like and appreciating how our palates evolve over time.  I can see it first hand with me.   And speaking of which…

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I never loved Chardonnay but that’s the progression.  The 4 Chardonnay Barrel Fermented was the winner for me.  I may have shown just a little more enthusiasm while pouring this one versus the others.  Yes the vanilla and apple on the back end is a bonus but that oak.  Oh my goodness I could drink bottles of this.  Well not while volunteering and obviously not too much or the savoring goes out the window.  But I think you get the gist.  At $15.00 this is a steal.

One thing I learned is that this Chardonnay is not meant to be too cold or it will lose the flavors and the nose that we deserve to observer.   That’s an art I would like to perfect with time.  So there were times I took this bottle off of the ice.  Temperature is everything.

The rain came down and and we had to move things around rather swiftly, to protect everything from the storm.  I noticed as we were packing this bottle was placed on ice for a while.  And I just had to try it again.  Something was lost.  Maybe it was the elements of the outside world, maybe it was the colder than appropriate temperature, or maybe the universe threw everything off kilter.  It could be everything or nothing.   But yes, temperature is so key when it comes to wine.

Man this was fun.  I will be doing this again.

For more on Bordelau, here is some info on their winery, where you can find their wines in Maryland, contact, and online shopping info.   I think I’ve dissected their website enough.

The next time I talk up this fantastic winery will hopefully be on location.  I referenced this a year ago and I have to own this one.   I can’t plan this too much.  I just have to get there.

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More from Great Grapes very soon.

Best,

Ideen

 

 

Home Is Where The Wine Is

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I know this title is cheesy but from me that’s to be expected.  I wouldn’t want it any other way.  And I didn’t realize until later, but how fitting to do this specific post on National Wine Day. I love when something unplanned comes to fruition and fits together perfectly. This is destiny.

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For the first time or in the longest time I can remember, I volunteered at a wine festival. And the setting was meant to be.   The location, Merriweather Post Pavilion this past Sunday for Wine in the Woods.   And it’s only fitting that my indoctrination into the other side of the tent would be the namesake of where I live, Harford Vineyard & Winery.

Now I contacted a multitude of wineries, they were one of only a few to get back to me. And they were the first.

My one and only visit to this fiesta prior to this past Sunday was back in 2009.  I didn’t fully appreciate it.  I wanted to sample and drink everything in sight.  The tastings are unlimited so I treated this like a race (or a buffet) and not a marathon. I did not fully appreciate what I was a part of.  Oh and the hangover the next day was a tragedy.  I did seem to have fun, from what I remember.

Time flies and with time we hope to grow, and grow up.  This is not some full circle dramatic message here.   I just got to see it from the other side and loved every second of it.

I said hello to the owners and staff, and after a couple minutes of slip ups and nervousness, I was left on my own.

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What was available for sampling were these dry whites:  Chardonnay, Traminette, and Vidal Blanc.

The semi-sweets were the Blush and Sweet Harmony.

The sweets were the Peach Kissed and Piedmont Pleasure.  The Pain The Town Red was sold out before I even started my volunteer shift.  And somewhere along the way the Piedmont Pleasure was sold out as well.

The only dry red was the Malbec, and that was an extra $1.00 for a premium pour.  For obvious reasons that was my favorite.  As much as I’ve had a sweet tooth lately, the sweet wines are not for me.  However, an exception, and a close second would be the Traminette, as I gave this to a dear relative as a birthday present a couple of years back.  This is purely based on sentimental reasons.

All the wines I mentioned are listed here.

Now that’s out of the way, I want to get to the essence of why this event was so fun.

Most of the people in attendance have very little care about the type of grapes, the region where they’re from, whether it’s aged in steel or oak, the notes, the hints, or even the vintage.  They just wanted a wine that that tasted good, made them feel good, and something they could identify with.

If you see some of the names of the wines, you’ll understand why so many folks were drawn and sold on certain bottles.   This was a down-to-earth and vino friendly crowd. These wines were user-friendly as many of the wineries intended to be.

The weather was appalling but that didn’t deter people from passing through in mass quantities to taste.  I can only imagine how busy it would be if the rain held off.  Sunday has always been known as the more laid back day, with more families than the frenetically paced Saturday.  I chose Sunday to volunteer for that reason alone.  But now I’m comfortable.

Approximately 100% of the attendees I poured for were grateful and happy to sample.  The reviews for the most part seemed positive.  Even if they didn’t care for certain wines, they were appreciative to get to try.  Many of these visitors were trying something new for the first time.  And that’s what makes this event so awesome.  You get a cheat sheet or CliffsNotes (remember those?) version of some of the best that Maryland has to offer.

I think in the two hours I poured wine, my knowledge grew and memories of some of the wines I’ve had myself, returned.  For the few attendees that asked more specific questions about the wine itself, I either asked one of the winemakers or has the base knowledge to help them.  This is not a fake it till you make it scenario.  I want to make it and then make it some more.

It’s ok not to know everything.  If I do, then I’ve done something wrong.  The wine experience is one where I’ll forever be thirsty for knowledge.   To me this will be everlasting, eternal, and enduring.  Here I go with my notorious alliteration again.

Most importantly, I’m happy I got to do to this.  I felt shaky at first but gained confidence by the minute.  I like to think I’m good to people.  I’m more of a listener than a talker.  So I enjoyed meeting some great folks, some friendships might have been formed, and even if there’s some people I’ll never see again, I may see them in the next life, or the next wine festival.

This is a great community.  The majority of us are here for the same reason, to share our passion and joy for wine.  It’s really that simple.  It’s a genuine comradery you just don’t find anywhere.  I was on my own but did run into a few friends.  But for the most part it was easy to engage with anyone because the setting and energy was authentic.

And Columbia, MD has always given me the warm and fuzzies.  I have some idea but can’t point my finger exactly as to why.

Here is more information on the winery , where to buy their wines, and a link to my previous reviews of their wines.

Finally, I want to give a huge thank you to the Mooney family.  I would be honored to do this again.  The whole point of this was to have fun and  met and exceeded all my expectations.

I did have time to enjoy the festival before and after, so more is coming….

Best,

Ideen