Free Flow

New York Times wine writer Eric Asimov asks "Should Wine Be a Family Affair' in his hugely popular blog The Pour and he has so far had close to 350 comments on this fundamental question of the modern American dinner table.

It strikes me as ironic that an issue of allowing youngsters seated at the family table a taste of wine could ignite such furor. Shouldn't we be celebrating the fact that there still remains a fraction of American families who persist in the healthy preservation of the dwindling act of communal dining, and leave the wine debate to the parental good judgment of those who can clearly rustle up a wholesome meal alongside the consumption of their Sunday dinner vino?

Not to say that Asimov should not have raised the question. And it did make me think about the influence of a micro-world of wine on the young men living under the roof of this little Sonoma County barrel house.

Despite the fact that each boy is about as comfortable with the smell of fermenting grapes each Fall as he would be with the seasonal aromas of let's say, one hundred pumpkin pies..... there are now no greater mysteries of the vine for these three bros than whether or not we'll manage to squeeze in the last of the soccer tournaments before harvest comes a calling.

Trimming, harvesting, crushing, fermenting, pressing, racking, bottling, putting together a fresh, new label each Spring. It's become an annual rite and the presence of the fruits of our labor at the dinner table is as ordinary as a salad from the garden.

Keeping the grown-up wine consumption to a respectable one glass a day during the working week is an age-old European habit and if the wine tends to flow faster on high days and holidays, then that is too.

It may be a classic case of reverse psychology, but the boys don't care to drink more than an occasional drop of our familiar house wine. And when they do concede to a tiny taste, it is to impart their growing knowledge of fruit flavor and insightful aromatic findings.

The idea of a half glass of wine with water is not appealing at this point. That's totally fine with me. There will come a time when a cellar of home made wine will likely impress the girls. Right now, wine talk to teens is all a bit of a bore.

But that doesn't mean we're not watching this space. And keeping a tight inventory on the stock. Just in case tastes change more rapidly than open conversation at the dinner table!

Comments

[Lindsey]

I've read lots of articles that argue that families who demonstrate a sensible approach to drinking are more likely to produce children who do the same. Tim's dad took them all out at about 15 years old to teach them how to 'respect alcohol'! Not sure they are a great example (you have been witness to a few post-rugby drink sessions!) but following their dad's advice, none of them touch spirits and stick to beer and wine only.

[Frances]

And with six strapping sons to raise, I'm impressed that Tim's Dad didn't turn to the whiskey at times!