Wine and place. Of course you can enjoy wine almost anywhere. You can enjoy it in the company of good friends, or you can enjoy it alone, perhaps while meditating on a thoughtful book or listening to music. You can enjoy it with a grand meal, or with a simple repast, or even all by itself. There are a thousand ways to enjoy a glass of wine and they are all good. But somehow the wine you taste while traveling, especially if it is a wine from the area you’re visiting, seems to come alive in a very special kind of way. It seems that while you are traveling your senses become more open to new experience, your taste buds are keener, and your enjoyment is so much greater. The following are a few travel pics from places that have brought out the best in wine for me.

The town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. Yes, it’s almost always crowded with tourists and the shops are certainly there to cater to them, but there is something about the place that entices me even more than the larger ancient towns and cities of Tuscany. I could sit for hours at an outside table, nursing a glass (or two) of Vernaccia di San Gimignano while watching the world go by. Perhaps because it’s more of a town than a city, or perhaps because the countryside all around it is so beautiful and inviting, the place pleases me greatly and the wine brings a warm smile to my face.

It might seem strange to associate the former summer retreat of Adolf Hitler (which he hardly ever visited – he was afraid of heights) with enjoyment. But the view from the Eagle’s Nest, high atop a mountain near Berchtesgaden in Germany close to the Austrian border, is simply stunning. What a place to enjoy a crisp glass of dry Riesling, forget for a moment the horrors of history and look to the mountains for inspiration and solace.

And then there’s Champagne. To sit in the private gardens (sorry, they’re not open to the general public) of the beautiful Belle Époque mansion of Perrier-Jouët in Epernay sipping on those brilliant eponymous bubbles can make you feel as if you have stepped into the color and beauty of an impressionist painting.

Nothing says Spain, to me, like flamenco and fino sherry. I’d listened to flamenco before on disc, but it wasn’t until I saw it live, saw the movement and the swirl of colors and the emotion, that I was hooked. Fueled by a copita or two of delicious fino sherry, I saw a roomful of restless tourists suddenly stop talking as they became entranced by the fire and passion of the dance.

These are just a few photos from my scrapbook and it only covers a few white wines. Maybe sometime ahead I’ll pair red wine and place. I suppose the real secret is to look at every place as a perfect setting for enjoying wine, even if it’s just your front porch or your kitchen or your back yard. If you make place
special, the wine will become special too.

Bill Stobbs, ABC Wine Supervisor

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