Wine as Art

Visit Us On The Web

WWW.WINESELECTING.COM

WINE TIPS

http://www.wineselecting.com/

Wine Selecting - www.WineSelecting.com

Wine as Art

What is art? For me, art is any stimulation of the five senses whose unique and complex arrangement
and interplay incite an emotion in the observer. Miraculously, and thankfully, certain combinations of
these stimuli are able to arouse feelings within us.

How is it that we can be brought to tears by a certain melancholy melody or our passion fueled by a
particular combination of colors painted on a canvas? Yet, not all that stimulates the senses is art.
Inexplicably, only certain combinations of stimuli performed in just the right way become greater than
the sum of its parts.

No one is moved by a single note, yet, in the context of a greater work and played just so, a string of
simple notes turns into an otherworldly tapestry that seems impossible to be the creation of a single
man or woman.

That being said, not every piece of art is art to all observers. Depending on their particular situation
and perspective, what one-person views as a beautiful and emotional moment may be lost on the next.
This can be the result of a variety of factors. That person's emotional state, their history, their
relationships, their experiences up to that moment in life, all help to shape the perspective from which
they view this stimuli.

Additionally, subtlety plays a crucial part in shaping emotions and responses to art. The experienced
viewer who has analyzed and studied thousands of paintings may understand the subtle crafting that
goes into a particular piece and can "see" its nuances and feel the statement it is trying to make,
whether consciously or unconsciously. The naïve will miss these subtleties and thus the art will fail to
inflict its full emotional impact.

Underlying all of these types and means of art, there is a common thread. All true art has a soul, an
intangible vibration of life and individuality that holds all its components together and gives them
presence. If the sounds, the colors, the words and/or the tastes make up the rim of a wheel, then the
soul of art is the hub and spokes holding it all together. It is not something that can be described or
pointed at. It is not a color or a taste or a sound. It is an ethereal shimmering personality that shines
through and one cannot help but notice it lurking in the background. It may take experience to
appreciate.

It is not difficult to create physical stimuli that are pleasing and these may be misinterpreted by the
uninitiated as true living art. Salt and sweet taste good. A major cord sounds good. A happy ending
makes us feel good. Yet simple sensory satisfaction does not true art make. The stimuli must be
tempered with a unique personality and life in order to transcend to that elusive realm of art. Behind
this soul is always something real and familiar that makes the emotion poignant and genuine.

Whether it is the fond memory of an experience, the familiar pain of love lost, or even the recognition
of natural beauty, something in true art touches us and will not let us look away. It is so natural and
innate that it is as if it is an eternal truth that will endure for all time. Who has not felt that Mozart's
Requiem Mass must have always existed, that it was not created by a mortal man, that it is a part of
this earth and universe that we discovered and have cherished? The religiously inclined may describe
it as god speaking through that man. For no mortal man could possibly create such a pure expression
of emotion and truth. Such is art.

Yet, art can come from such diverse sources. From the learned and the self taught, from the rich and
the poor, from the happy and the sad, from those who struggle at it and those for whom it is second

Wine Selecting - www.WineSelecting.com

nature. Art can even be from a natural source as filtered through man's manipulations.

So how does all of this apply to wine? Wine, unlike most generally accepted forms of art, is not
entirely man-made. It is an expression of the Earth (not soil, but Mother Earth herself). Is it not
therefore that much closer to being a true and unadulterated expression of a natural truth? Yes, it
certainly is.

However, just as it is infinitely difficult to create from nothing a true work of beauty, so is it a
daunting task to let that natural beauty shine through in a wine unadulterated and pure. At so many
steps in its evolution there is the risk of meddling with that natural expression and marring it with
artificial and wholly un-artistic (un-soulful) taint. Therein lies the true art of the winemaker, to allow
the wine to fully express itself without hiding its true personality and life behind the masks of
manipulation.

The great winemaker recognizes that life and uniqueness in his wine and struggles from vine to bottle
to preserve and protect that natural beauty. For, to strip a wine of its ability to express itself is a crime.

Just as all sound or color is not art, not all wine is art. Only the perfect combination of grape varietal,
site, climate, upbringing and storage allow the true soul of a wine to shine through. How often does
this happen? Rarely. It is easy to make a wine that tastes good. Make a wine taste like fruit or butter
and you will have people singing its praises. For who is not pleased by fruit or butter? But when one
is searching for a wine experience that transcends the rest and that evolves into something more than a
simply tasty beverage, we look for something more than these easy wines. Tasting good is no longer
the goal.

Not to say that simple, tasty wines don't have their place, they do. But making a wine that is soulful
and shimmering with life is not easy. Nor is it easy to appreciate. We must have tasted a thousand
non-artistic wines before we can recognize the thrilling burst of energy and presence that hits your
palate when it is presented with a truly artistic wine. It is something deep at the wine's core, apart
from its flavors and structure and balance (yet all great wines will certainly have that, for what defines
balance if not nature) that you feel, not taste.

This brings us to the notion of terroir. As most describe it, terroiris the unique profile with which a
wine is blessed when it truly expresses those things that influenced the growing of the grapes, the soil
type, the exposure, the elevation, the microclimate, the surrounding wildlife, etc. However I see it
slightly differently. To me, terroir is the absolute and ultimate necessity of a great wine.

Only when a wine truly and fully expresses its terroir (be it in Burgundy or California, the Mosel or
Australia) do we see a wine with passion, soul and grace. Manipulation can make a wine from
Burgundy taste like a Bordeaux. Yet it will be bland, one-dimensional and without depth and interest.
When a wine is accurately expressing its place, only then, the natural beauty of that site can shine
through and speak to the observer. A Chevalier-Montrachet has nothing to tell you about Hermitage
and visa-versa. Would you ask an African bushman to teach you about life in the Australian outback?
We cannot force a wine to make a statement it is not prepared to make without obliterating its soul.
We would strip it of its spirit, personality and individuality.

Some tasters simplify the idea of terroirby saying that it lends an earth or dirt flavor to wines but I
disagree. The terroir of different sites will have profoundly different flavor profiles. Yes, some of
these will include earthy aromas and flavors but not necessarily so. The presence of earthiness in a
wine does not necessarily imply it has more terroir than another, they are just different. Terroir
implies a particular personality and flavor profile unique to a specific vineyard, not any one exact
smell or flavor that is universal for all wines.

Wine Selecting - www.WineSelecting.com

Continue Reading Here...

Wine Selecting - www.WineSelecting.com