A Game of Thrones & Girl and Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon
Welcome to the 52nd pairing of PageFiftyNine- which, in all honesty, is really the first pairing. A full calendar year ago, I saw a wine stain in one of my books and had a silly but meaningful thought: what if instead of pairing wine and cheese, I paired my two favorite things- wine and books? How many times had this combination been the highlight of my evening, or my afternoon, or my weekend?
That little thought grew into a passion, which I hope will continue to grow in 2019. But, instead of looking forward in this post, I want to spend some time looking back.
This journey has been incredible, so much so that picking out the highlights proved difficult. A few, though:
- Pairing Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time and then learning of his passing a day and a half later.
- My friend Garret risking life and limb to position my mountain-themed pairing on the edge of a cliff.
- Creating a business plan only to realize starting a business costs more money than I can afford (or afford to risk), but being totally okay with that because I wrote an entire business plan on my own.
- When the staff at Total Wine remembered me and my project and enthusiastically helped me find the perfect wine for The Light Between Oceans.
- Every time a friend or family member snapped a picture of something that inspired them to see if it inspired me (it almost always did).
And so the year's end brings us here, full circle. A book that had a perfect stain on page 59. I couldn't tell you what wine caused the stain, but the new match is a pretty good contender. Finally, I get to present:
The Final Pairing
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and Girl and Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon
All you need to know about A Song of Ice and Fire is: yes, they are very long and difficult to read... but YES, you should dedicate the time to reading them. Yes, there are a million characters and it's hard to keep track of them all, but that is the beauty of the universe George R. R. Martin has created. Sometimes the really good stuff takes time and effort, but it's worth it in the end in this case.
Which brings us to the Girl and Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon... I sat with a glass of this wine for awhile, sniffing and swirling and tasting, to see if I could pick out any of its elements. Alas, after a year of wine exploration, I am no closer to being truly knowledgeable than I was at the start.
When I close my eyes and smell this wine, I don't really catch hints of allspice or vanilla or blackberry. I instead get whiffs of nights on the couch with great friends, or fancy meals in fancy restaurants where we spent too much money. I smell bookclub meetings. Autumn evenings on the deck with a blanket around my shoulders. Christmas Eve with my family.
When I taste this wine, my brain tells me nothing of its structure, or its complexity, or its tanninsalcoholsweetnesssalinityfruitiness. My brain tells me: "This wine tastes incredible, and we are going to enjoy the hell out of it."
Perhaps wine will never reveal its hidden treasures to my curious palate, but I've realized that, to me, wine is not a standalone experience. Wine is a part of the life I've made for myself, and the people I've been lucky enough to know.
And sometimes- many times- wine is the taste of a really, really, really good book.
That little thought grew into a passion, which I hope will continue to grow in 2019. But, instead of looking forward in this post, I want to spend some time looking back.
This journey has been incredible, so much so that picking out the highlights proved difficult. A few, though:
- Pairing Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time and then learning of his passing a day and a half later.
- My friend Garret risking life and limb to position my mountain-themed pairing on the edge of a cliff.
- Creating a business plan only to realize starting a business costs more money than I can afford (or afford to risk), but being totally okay with that because I wrote an entire business plan on my own.
- When the staff at Total Wine remembered me and my project and enthusiastically helped me find the perfect wine for The Light Between Oceans.
- Every time a friend or family member snapped a picture of something that inspired them to see if it inspired me (it almost always did).
And so the year's end brings us here, full circle. A book that had a perfect stain on page 59. I couldn't tell you what wine caused the stain, but the new match is a pretty good contender. Finally, I get to present:
The Final Pairing
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and Girl and Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon
All you need to know about A Song of Ice and Fire is: yes, they are very long and difficult to read... but YES, you should dedicate the time to reading them. Yes, there are a million characters and it's hard to keep track of them all, but that is the beauty of the universe George R. R. Martin has created. Sometimes the really good stuff takes time and effort, but it's worth it in the end in this case.
Which brings us to the Girl and Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon... I sat with a glass of this wine for awhile, sniffing and swirling and tasting, to see if I could pick out any of its elements. Alas, after a year of wine exploration, I am no closer to being truly knowledgeable than I was at the start.
When I close my eyes and smell this wine, I don't really catch hints of allspice or vanilla or blackberry. I instead get whiffs of nights on the couch with great friends, or fancy meals in fancy restaurants where we spent too much money. I smell bookclub meetings. Autumn evenings on the deck with a blanket around my shoulders. Christmas Eve with my family.
When I taste this wine, my brain tells me nothing of its structure, or its complexity, or its tanninsalcoholsweetnesssalinityfruitiness. My brain tells me: "This wine tastes incredible, and we are going to enjoy the hell out of it."
Perhaps wine will never reveal its hidden treasures to my curious palate, but I've realized that, to me, wine is not a standalone experience. Wine is a part of the life I've made for myself, and the people I've been lucky enough to know.
And sometimes- many times- wine is the taste of a really, really, really good book.
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