Hanover Park Vineyard

Sharing Wine with Friends

What is it about opening a bottle of wine and sharing it with friends?  The toast, usually for something good, a special event, something from our past, something for the future.

Recently visiting with friends we enjoyed a little Pearl on the porch and some 1897 with our dinner.  Sitting around the table we shared stories and adventures, recipes and memories. It is times like these which are special in our lives.

There have been many times over the years where we make a toast, sometimes the occasion is special, other times it is just for us.  People often say they will hold a bottle for a special occasion.  Gathering with friends is that special occasion.

Every year on the inside cover of my new calendar I copy the following.  It is from the Wall Street Journal from 2002.

“Open a really good wine and be attentive to it.

Let it speak to you of its origins: the character of the fruit, the earth in which it was grown, the climate that nourished it.  Wine is a song of the earth warmed by the sun, best enjoyed with a friend or a few friends.”