A Toast To A Life Well Lived
Last week I lost my “adopted” grandmother. Her passing was not a surprise as the amazing woman had managed to live to nearly 96 years old without most of the ills that typically degrade the enjoyment of life in our later years, but the loss was nonetheless painful. Even in her final months she was never cross with me, nor any of her other visitors and family, always with a ready smile and an endless capacity for snuggles. The way her face would light up when I’d see her is a gift I’ll treasure for a lifetime. My life is better for having had Nonna in it. She truly lived these sage words:
“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” – Nat King Cole.
After a tear-filled service and an even more painful visit to the cemetery, a reminder of the joys of living was in order as this sadness will take a long time to fully process. In honor of her passing we toasted her in a manner befitting such a lovely soul with a 39 year old Chateau Mouton Rothschild. She would have approved and oh my lord, for those wine lovers out there this was a bottle to be treasured. The light rust color and phenomenal level of sediment added to the enjoyment. The flavor had been made incredibly complex, but also soft and delicate on the palate.
However, this was a wine to be opened cautiously and enjoyed quickly as it peaked about 30 minutes after opening and an hour later it was pretty much wine-ish, as if someone had diluted it 4-to-1. The wine’s ephemeral pleasure seemed an appropriate reminder of the fleeting nature of life and the importance of treasuring every one of those delicious moments that make it all so very worth living.
