Dennis Perkins: Getting Some Strange
Regardless of how comfortable the warmth of familiarity can be in a world of change and turmoil, it’s difficult to keep our sensual beings satisfied if we keep dipping into the same old well. I suppose there’s much to be said for making a commitment and sticking to that commitment, but when there’s so much beauty in the world it seems a damned shame not to break the monotony and get some strange.
I suspect we’ve all done it (look for some strange) at some point in our lives - perhaps in our youth when we were playing the field. I also suspect that now, presuming adulthood, we know that we’re essentially paying for it, so the comfort of the same takes on a sense of value – after all, the tried and true doesn’t disappoint our expectations. And yet, is it right to subjugate our sensual selves and our need to experience new heights of pleasure from the new and different to an economic model of security?
Perhaps.
Still, if you continue to order chardonnay without taking a sidelong glance at the supple delights of a stranger next door to it, then you’re not only getting stuck in a rut, you’re actually decreasing the value of your experience. For example, should you choose to dine at La Costa tonight, you might easily cool the tongue with a glass of Penfold’s Koonunga Hill chardonnay – a great value by all safe standards. And yet, lurking close by is a real treat – Alianca Vinho Verde. Sure it’s strange and sure it’s different: and yet not only does this “green wine” of Portugal offer the same cooling comfort as does the chardonnay, it has the added value of a light effervescence and the tongue tickling sensation of really good lemonade. Add to that the certain cache of drinking the strange and you’re in business – your tongue is cool and so are you. That’s value.
All double entendre aside, if you see an unknown wine on a list, chances are that it’s there for a good reason – so ask about it. You’ll not only have the value of a great glass of wine, but also the experience of the strange without any unfortunate consequences.