The Passion of Wine -- A Love Story

For those of us who have a passion for wine, describing that allegiance is difficult to the person who thinks wine is a beverage that comes in several colors.

Depending on where you are in the wine lover’s spectrum, the following story can make you laugh or cringe. It is a true story about a wine gaffe and only the names have been fudged to protect their identities.

When Rich and Martha, a Seattle area couple, told me their honeymoon story about wine, I knew they would be the example I would always think of when describing the differences in wine perception..

Rich is a self-employed urban planner raised in New York City. Martha is a kindergarten teacher from rural mid-Michigan. Despite very different upbringings – he was raised in Jewish home and she was raised Catholic, the couple shared a passion for music and outdoor recreation. She grew up involved in 4-H projects and Future Homemakers of America, and he grew up exposed to Broadway and the best ethnic food on the planet.

Shortly before Rich met Martha, he began his first serious wine collection. Each bottle he purchased was meticulously researched. Inexpensive wines he thought would be “discovered” as gems in the years to come were stored in the basement. His prize wine, more than two-dozen bottles of 30-year-old Chateau Lafite, Letour and Margaux, along with some rare California wine, was stored in a wine rack just off the kitchen.

Right after their wedding, Rich left for a six-week road trip on business, checking in nightly to see how his new bride was coping with life in a new city. It was summer and the school teacher had lots of time on her hands. They arranged for her mother and sister to fly out to Seattle for a visit.

Martha was unaware of Rich’s passion for wine.

“I didn’t know people collected wine,” Martha later recalled. “I thought he was the kind of person who always wanted to have something on hand for company. It never dawned on me that someone could think of wine as art.”

Martha repeatedly opened bottles of wine from the rack near the kitchen while her family visited. By the time Rich returned, most of his prize collection was gone, consumed by those who didn’t recognize the labels or the significance of the collection.

It was discovered right away when Rich added two new bottles he picked up on the road.

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