Peter Gago, the former chief winemaker at Penfolds winery has frequently stated that we can get together to celebrate the bottle inferring that this applies to the meal, the place where we are, the sun coming up, or even the gift of rain. Don’t limit yourself (or your restaurant guests) to the frequency of holidays or special family events – celebrate the moment, celebrate life.

Last week, I gathered with a few great friends (which in itself is a celebration) to recognize a great bottle of wine. It was a 1995 Carruades de Lafite Pauillac         uncovered in a friend’s cellar. This thirty-year-old bottle was a story with a cork. There was anticipation of remarkable flavor, but realistically we knew it could go the other way. There were plenty of smiles and warm greetings when we gathered in a friend’s kitchen while the meal came together, but all eyes were on the label on the bottle. Everyone in the room loved wine and wine’s story, but none of us were experts in assessment. We know what we like, speak the language, and understand what to look for, but we are still students of the bottle.

The meal, the conversation, and the wine were spectacular and each person around the table shared their feelings about the wine, how it stimulated our olfactory senses and palate, how the wine changed over the course of the meal, how mellow the tannins and the finish that lingered for quite some time. We raised a glass and celebrated coming together, but underneath it all, we were celebrating the bottle and its history as well.

Having time to reflect on the experience a few days later, I started to think about the date of bottling, thirty years prior. I asked myself: what was happening in the world in 1995, what was I doing in 1995 – the year that fermented grape juice was transferred to the bottle for a healthy three decades of aging?

So, the experience continues to have an impact as I did my research. In 1995, for some strange reason, we were glued to our televisions watching a dozen police cars chase a white Ford Bronco tooling down an LA highway with O.J. Simpson in the rear seat. Remember? The World Trade Organization WTO was formed. Over 6,000 people died from an earthquake in Kobe, Japan. How could we forget? Michael Jordan left retirement and returned to the NBA. Forest Gump won the Academy Award as Best Picture and Tom Hanks as Best Actor. “Life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get.” Timothy McVeigh parked a vehicle outside the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 innocent people marking the beginning of domestic terrorism in America. The Unabomber followed suit. Simpson’s lawyer Johnnie Cochran proclaimed: “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” Windows 95 was released by Microsoft. American Airlines Flight 965 went off course headed for Colombia. The plane crashed into the side of a mountain, killing 160 of the 164 people on board. Not much good world-stage news in 1995.

Then I thought about myself and what was happening in my life in 1995 – the year this bottle of wine went to sleep and hid away from the trials and tribulations of life.

In 1995, I was entering my 16^th year as a culinary educator. It was the third year offering an extraordinary internship experience for students in the Bourgogne Region of France. Over the next seven years, more than 150 students would have this three-month, life-changing experience of working in Michelin restaurants, laboring in the vineyards of France, and immersing in the culture of another country. My wife and I were close to raising (or maybe they were raising us) three teenagers under the same roof (enough said). I completed a master’s degree at The Rochester Institute of Technology while my wife and I experienced the loss of a parent for the first time.

Over the next thirty years, while our bottle slept comfortably in a friend’s cellar, the world changed in so many ways. Our bottle was oblivious to terrorist attacks, financial downturns and near financial collapse, fourteen sporting Olympic Games and seven Culinary Olympics in Germany, changes in the American diet, many miraculous medical achievements, the dominance of the internet and social media in our lives, two pandemics – one threatening life on the planet, the advent of artificial intelligence, political turmoil and polarization, threats to democracy, six U.S. presidents, scientific advances that boggle the mind, the world population growing exponentially, changes in geo-political borders, another evolution in music that saw rap taking control and other forms like jazz, blues, traditional rock, and metal hanging on to the breath of aging populations, and families welcoming babies into subsequent generations with a fresh outlook on life and world order.

All of this changed while our bottle simply relaxed and aged with grace. So, yes, Mr. Peter Gago – the bottle is the occasion. We gathered to celebrate the sensual experience of drinking a perfectly aged wine and well-prepared food, but more importantly to remember all that took place while we waited for the right moment to pull the cork, raise a glass, tip the rim towards our nose, and savor every drop of history.

Create your moments to celebrate – today will always be the right occasion.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

“Work Hard and be Kind” – Dick Cattani

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