Angela Hart
I recently attended the “From Wine to Arts” wine tasting at the home of Randy and Chris Elrod in lovely, historic downtown Franklin. The Elrods are that couple that you want to be when you grow up: warm, hospitable, and fun-loving wine drinkers, honing the idyllic balance of homespun charm and urban panache. They host periodic wine tasting fundraisers at their home to raise money for Kalien, an innovative artist development center. Coined “From Wine to Arts,” the invite touted rare and expensive wines, gourmet tapas, and a silent auction of Randy’s original art. Donning my first summer dress of the season, I took myself to this swanky house party anticipating the invite’s trinity: wine, food, and art, all things I relish. Attended primarily by artists, creative types, and techie-progressives, I was kindly introduced by Randy, our host, as a wine writer and a fellow blogger. I entered the blog zone about four months ago and among this innovative crowd blogging felt like a rite of passage. My smug feeling of relevance was short-lived when my introduction (or induction, perhaps) was followed by, “But do you twitter?” For those of you like me, slow on the hi-tech uptake and under the assumption that twitter is merely a synonym for chirp, “Twitter” is an Internet-based program where people text message each other in real time about what they are doing. Apparently all the kids and wine enthusiasts are doing it. So here was the night’s irony—the technologically astute and creative cyber junkies, addicted to the fast and immediate, contrasted with a lot of rare and expensive wine, first-rate by virtue of its slow and tediously patient cultivation. MTV, welcome to the Old World. We are so glad you are here!
Jeff Warzynski, wine manager of Frugal MacDoogal and connoisseur, provided tasting guidance throughout the evening. Lisa Limper, trainer extraordinaire at the Green Hills YMCA, donated ten bottles of exquisite wines, dating from 1980 to 1992, for our drinking pleasure. Minus the few times I’ve been a beneficiary of Tom Black’s generosity at wine events (vis-à-vis bottles he’s shared from his personal wine cellar), my palate is not accustomed to such selective vino. It was a grand encounter, like perusing a fine art museum without the merits of art education. Although the pleasure/experience is haunted by an ineffable sense that my art ignorance blunts my full appreciation, the standout paintings still have the ability to rouse the senses. It’s the same with wine. There was an evocative quality to many of the wines that I could not fully realize, as I’m not nearly as cultivated as the respective wines. But even in my inability to name the nuance that makes the wine great, I instinctively know great wine when I taste it.
A few highlights for me were the 1992 Opus One and the 1990 Whitehall Lane Reserve Cabernet. The latter had me at the nose. The aromas were explosive and fresh, a luscious and flirty foretaste of the drinking delights to come. This classic, opulent Napa Valley Cabernet has aromas of black cherry and scents of creamy vanilla. It has rounded, luxurious flavors of blackberry and mocha and is comparable to the perfect crème brulee, with a silky soft finish. After tasting the 1992 Opus One, a few of us decided that it was aptly named: This wine is a creative piece of art. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, with a price point around $220 a bottle, Opus is a beautiful dark-ruby/purple color with a big, spicy nose of cassis and smoky oak with round, full-bodied, fat flavors crammed with black fruits, soft tannin, low acidity, and a fleshy, full-bodied finish (thank you, Jeff, for your help with the descriptions!). This tasting experience was the superlative moment of the evening for me.
The spirit of the wine spilled over into the spirit of the event. Ten minutes into the tasting, everyone was congregating around the food, Jeff the sommelier, and the extravagant wines. The cluster of rare and expensive wines held court at the center of the table and inadvertently, we all hung around the wines. Like the crowds lollygagging on the Mount of Beatitudes wanting to get some Jesus mojo, it seemed like prime positioning. The mood was easy and fun with this renaissance crowd. We compared wine notes and noses, while moving in and out of more sophistical topics like iPhone woes and tattoo tales (one guest seemingly had the entire New Testament inked on his arm!). I playfully ribbed on all the yuppersnappers, rapidly twittering about Old World wines on their iPhones. A few of us lingered afterwards, couch talking about things that mattered, with the ease of old friends just catching up—when in actuality we were new friends, still getting acquainted. You say Twitter, I still say chirp. And then we all clink our stemware, reveling in the paradox.
To learn more about the Elrod’s wine events check out their blog at www.randyelrod.typepad.com. If you would like to know more about Kalien, visit www.kalien.org.
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