Most of us turn to wine, if not as a vehicle of relaxation, at least as a gateway to it. If you’ve gone so far as to acquire the apéritif habit, the first glass of the day typically marks the moment you’ve set work aside and begun the slow, evening unwind. Later, there may be a glass or two at supper. At some point in the exercise of a daily wine routine, one has only to pull the cork to begin to feel the beneficial effects. Your wits have had enough of a workout for one day, wine seems to say.
But then, occasionally, a surprise. Here’s a wine that doesn’t appear content to serve as unobtrusive background music for Instagram scrolling or idly thumbing through a bed linen catalogue. Instead of disengaging our neural gears, we feel it urging them back into motion; calling for attention; posing pesky questions. One can wonder: Is it ever wine’s business to challenge us, or is its mission merely to comfort and affirm?
A challenging wine might be one that doesn’t limit itself to the usual ranges of scent, flavor, or texture, or one that doesn’t sit comfortably within familiar parameters of alcohol or acidity. It might be that the varietals involved aren’t drawn from among the usual suspects (Chardonnay, Merlot, PInot Noir) or that they originate in less commonly encountered regions. Bulgaria maybe, or Barnard, Vermont.
Alternatively, a challenging wine may involve an everyday varietal from a well-known place, but have been put together via one or more unorthodox techniques. While some winemakers are Steady Eddies — craftspeople intent either on replicating a tried-and-true-norm or making a cautious tweak or two to an all-too familiar template — others have the air of performance artists, eager to experiment with radical new forms as they chase a vision they may not fully comprehend themselves.
Wine, like the people who make it, can be sensual and intuitive or analytical and thinky — or any combination of temperaments one can imagine between these poles.
At the end of the day, should wine console and cuddle or puzzle and befuddle? I suppose it depends on what kind of day it’s been.