Winefulness: When taste and mental health are top of mind
Adding mindfulness to wine tasting a way to find balance in unbalanced times
As the months are passing by, many of us are finding our new normal.
Very often this relates to our routine and whenever there’s a time of change, it’s also a time of opportunity. It allows us to reevaluate and integrate new practices, and this is what I was inspired by this week.
I was asked to be a guest speaker at a virtual book launch (“A Cup of Mindfulness” by Dr. Lisa Bélanger), and Lisa asked me to lead a tasting, specifically a winefulness tasting.
Winefulness is something that’s been around for a few years now in the industry, a clever fusion of wine and mindfulness, but timing is everything. Considering the current state of affairs, I think we all could benefit from winefulness, including myself.
Mindfulness itself is defined as the state of being actively aware of where your attention is, which more colloquially translates to “being present.” Winefulness is the practice of incorporating mindfulness to wine tasting.
This is something we can all do, even if you aren’t drinking wine. It’s a practice that can translate to any beverage, even water. Here is a way to get started.
The first thing is to turn your phone off. I insist: not on silent, but off. It’s important to be aware of your body when you begin. Be conscious of your feet touching the ground, and the ground that is supporting your feet. Take a breath in and really feel how the oxygen fills your lungs. Exhale slowly and be aware of the warmth of your breath and the sound that it makes. Now, for the wine.
You’re going to spend the first few moments appreciating the crafted beverage in front of you. Everything about wine is slow, which ties into mindfulness really nicely. The vines, when planted, take an entire three years to bear fruit ready for wine. Since vintners only get one chance a year to make wine, they must patiently help the grapes grow and develop until the time is right for picking.
After fermentation the wine needs more time to rest, and in some cases in oak barrels for a few years more. By the time the wine is bottled, living on a shelf and finally in your glass, it’s been quite a journey. Appreciate all the time it took, the patience and the care, to make your wine.
After looking at the wine and appreciating the clarity of the liquid and how it reflects the light around you, you’re going to smell it. Just once, and make note of your first impression.
Now you need to humour it, which means start swirling! The liquid should move around in a circle in your glass repeatedly (hopefully without spilling!). Do this for at least 10 seconds and then close your eyes and smell again. Notice how the smell of the wine has changed. Be aware of how the aroma fills your olfactory senses. Do not rush. Repeat as necessary.
Thinking about time; have a look at the bottle you chose. What vintage (ie. year) is it? Think about that year, memories you had from that time in your life. The grapes that made your wine were growing that whole season, they were lit by the sun and quenched by the rain of that season. This wine has been waiting all that time between your memory and the present moment; it’s like a time capsule. Think about that memory and all the time that’s passed in between. Appreciate how you’ve changed and grown.
When tasting it, appreciate the difference between the taste and the flavour. The taste is how it feels; the sourness, the drying tannin, the sweetness perhaps. Flavour are all the characteristics that are familiar to you, whether it be apple, lemon, roses or vanilla. Think again of your wine and make note of where it’s from.
A wine will always reflect its “terroir” or sense of place. If it’s from New Zealand, for example, think about that location. Close your eyes and visualize that region of the world. All of that is in your glass.
There’s so much more to winefulness, but these pauses and conscious ways of tasting can be a way to reevaluate how we do things and where our attention is.
I wasn’t fully aware of how much I needed it until I was leading the practice with the participants. Consider using this time in history to incorporate new practices to your routine, even small ones.