A pivotal moment in my life happened in the Burgundy region of France. At a lovely dinner in Beaune, I was chatting with Philippe Drouhin, Estates Manager of Maison Joseph Drouhin, when he asked me where I saw myself in 10 years.
I quickly answered: “I’ll be part of a great winemaking team.”
I then froze, shocked at myself. This was the first time I’d ever declared this particular dream out loud…and I’d just announced it to a member of Burgundy wine royalty.
Philippe’s initial reaction was surprise, but then he smiled, lifted his glass to me, and replied, “You’ve chosen a wonderful profession.”
Lifting my glass in turn, I toasted him — and his family’s kick-ass wines — for inspiring me to look to the future.
Though I adore Titus Andromedon’s signature anthem, “Peeno Noir: An Ode to Black Penis” (which triumphantly manages torhyme caviar, Myanmar, mid-size car and pop-u-lar), my heart belongs to actual pinot noir.
Maybe I identify with grapes that are famously thin-skinned, notoriously finicky to grow, and at their most expressive when given a spotlight. Perhaps I simply find comfort in wines that can require decades’ worth of lying down in order to reach their full potential.
