Hello wine and travel friends,
It’s a new year and a popular time for starting new healthier habits. If you’re looking for suggestions to improve your health and wellbeing, I would recommend practicing mindfulness. Practicing mindfulness regularly can give you a sense of calm, lowers your blood pressure, reduces stress and cortisol levels, improves mood, increases resilience and creates an improved sense of wellbeing. Mindfulness is about being present in the moment. Connecting with your breath, tuning out the chaos, calming your mind and finding inner peace.
A great mindfulness exercise is the ‘5 Senses Mindfulness Meditation’. My favorite version of 5 Senses mindfulness is so easy…all you need is a quiet place and a glass of wine. Okay, it’s really just the Five S’s of Wine Tasting, but I’m sure it qualifies as mindfulness. Grab yourself a glass of your favorite wine (or beverage of your choosing) and let’s practice some Five S’s mindfulness together.
See– We eat with our eyes first, so it’s important to “drink” with our eyes first as well. Look at the wine in your glass. Hold it up to the light. Is it clear? Is there sediment or floaties? Is it white, red, rose wine?
Tilt your glass. Is it pale? Can you read through it? Is it so dark that it’s like ink? Somewhere in between? What would you call its color? Does it have a different color halo along the edges? Does it look watery at the edges? Are there legs?
Swirl– Now swirl the wine in your glass. Notice how cool we look as we swirl our glass like a pro. Why do we swirl our wine? We swirl our wine to let Esters out. (They’ve been trapped in the bottle like a genie and need some air.) Esters are chemical compounds that contribute to the aromas in wine. Swirling adds oxygen and releases these compounds.
Smell– Now that we’ve let ester out, it’s time to smell the wine.
As you move the glass closer to your nose, notice when you begin to smell it. Is it at 3 inches from the glass? At the rim of the glass? Do you have to stick your nose into the glass?
What do you smell? Flowers? Apple, pear? Tropical fruit? Citrus? Red fruits like berries, plum, cherries? Dark fruits like currant, cherries, blackberries? Herbs or vegetables? Spices? Does it smell earthy like a forest floor, mushrooms, leaves, minerals? Does it smell like vanilla, wood, toast, nuts? Leather, tobacco or petrol? Bread?
Sip– Finally! The best part! Now, take a sip and let it sit on your tongue.
What sensations do you feel? Sweet? Sour? Bitter? Where do you feel the sensations on your tongue? How does it feel on your tongue? Light like water? Heavy like milk? Somewhere in between?
Now swirl it around in your mouth like you’re chewing. What flavors to you notice? Floral? Fruits? Herbs? Vegetables? Spices? Pepper? Vanilla? Bread? Are there earthy flavors? Smoky or meaty flavors? Okay, now you can swallow (or spit if you must).
Savor– How did you like the wine? How long are the flavors lingering on your palate? A few seconds? 30 seconds? How would you rate the wine? Okay? Good? Great? Would you buy the wine again?
Now for more fun, repeat after taking a bite of fabulous cheese.
It could be just the wine, but I certainly feel better. Namaste.
Cheers!