I'm sipping a 2002 Pride Syrah. We decanted the bottle because we know from experience that a Pride Syrah will have sediment, be a little tight, and need some time to warm up from cellar temperature to reach its full potential. It's a beautiful wine, nuanced and rich, it brings to mind dark chocolate, not just any old dark chocolate but high end, high percentage dark chocolate. The wine and the chocolate can have many of the same notes, truffles, olives, earth, velvet, blackberries, smoke, and leather. All of which can be easily missed by someone who's not focused on the experience. Good food and beverages are like that. Easily dismissed but absolutely amazing if you only take the time to appreciate the nuances. Great books, beautiful music, fine art, these experiences are all similar and yet very different. It's all about how you approach the experience. When I was in culinary school I went through phases when I took my classes seriously and when I did not. Afterwards I realized the truth in the statement that the return of any educational experience is all about what you put into it. I would argue that's true about any experience at all. My resolution for 2010 is to live consciously and in the moment in order to extract every bit of knowledge and pleasure from my life's experiences. They may not all be good, although there is always something to be gained if I remember to pay attention.
