I ask myself this both as a winemaker and as a person who loves experiences – and giving experiences to other people.
Like most guys in their 20’s and early 30’s, I loved spending money on ‘things’. But as I discovered that things quickly tarnish and depreciate (I mean intrinsically as opposed to financially), I also discovered that experiences actually ‘appreciate’.
As a family, that’s how we tend to spend our ‘disposable’ money now. Sometimes we might buy a ‘thing’ but usually only if it’s part of an ‘experience’.
By ‘doing’ things like going to music events, short breaks away, walks, looking at exhibitions, camping, boating – ‘experiences’ – the four of us end up with four sets of memories – some the same, some different.
Later on – sometimes years later – one of us will pluck out a memory and we will ‘re-live’ it.
In this digital age, I reckon the best $200 you can spend is on a digital photo frame. They hold hundreds of photos so you can choose your ‘best’ and they circulate while you are in the lounge or wherever. It is amazing in our house how an image will stir up a recollection or story.
So in our case at least, experiences both magnify AND appreciate.
What has this to do with wine?
I think wine can be both a ‘thing’ and an ‘experience’.
You can buy a ‘great’ (read ‘expensive’) wine with tradition and prestige (and therefore usually a story) on your own, and it can be a magical experience.
You can buy a cheap wine and share it with someone at a magic spot, or in a plain spot with magic people.
Either way it takes a ‘thing’ and turns it into an ‘experience’.
On Saturday night we enjoyed a fabulous bottle of Grgich Hills ‘Yountville’ Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. The wine was a taste experience for sure (in fact it was awesome!) but I also recalled the experiences of the whole day we spent in Napa when we tasted and purchased it. What Bridget was wearing (a cool red top and jeans), the weather (hot, blue skies), every winery we went to, and what we did at the end of the day (saw Neil Diamond in concert – amazing!).
A bottle of wine won’t be an experience unless you want it to be, but with minimal effort you can transform wine from a ‘thing’ to an ‘experience’.
Bridget’s nana passed away last year. She was a great old lady who had amazing experiences throughout her life. She left Bridget a bit of money, which was very kind.
We decided not to buy a ‘thing’ with it. We used a little for a short break in Raglan (an awesome place to escape to).
We spent the rest on tickets to go and see U2 this Thursday night. Good seats. With the kids. They know all the songs. It will be their first ever ‘rock concert’.
Do you think in 10, 20, 50 years time they will remember Thursday night’s experience? I bet they do because I bet you remember your first concert!
Will they remember the things they got for Xmas last year? Probably not.
So the next time you buy a bottle of wine choose to make it an experience… even a small one!
Tags: Cabernet Sauvignon, Grgich Hills, Napa Valley, Neil Diamond, U2, Yountville
