Beauty

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty.” – that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.      John Keats (1820)

I found myself looking for a bouquet of flowers on a rainy Saturday recently.  As I was leaving the flower shop, I paused and pondered why I would go through the trouble of walking in the pouring rain to purchase flowers.  It wasn't a birthday or party evening.  Beauty has a way with attraction.

Beauty rarely appears in wine writing.  Perhaps, seeking truth in wine is seeking beauty.   And perhaps, that is what John Keats was writing about.  

In France, some vineyards are still planted with roses at the beginning of each row of vines.  Some historians believe roses are planted because when horses used to till vineyards, the roses at the start of each row would signal the horses to turn around for the next row of vines.

Some enologists believe roses are planted to indicate health of vines. Since roses are sensitive to diseases, the roses would be an early detector of potential ills of vines.

Some wine lovers believe roses are planted at the beginning of each row of vines because the roses are beautiful.

Wabi Sabi – Perfection in Imperfections

Wabi Sabi is a Japanese aesthetic for a particular type of beauty. Wabi Sabi, in essence, is the ability to see perfection in imperfections.  The two words, perfection in imperfection, are an oxymoron in harmony. 

Wabi Sabi, least to me, exists in many forms.  A weathered cedar shingle house from the 1930’s in our West Coast is Wabi Sabi.  A worn stone staircase in a building is also Wabi Sabi.  A wedding ring from my grandmother has Wabi Sabi beauty.  The patina of a worn and old linen suit is.  And so is a seasoned cast iron pan.  And so is 1963 Jaguar XKE.  And so are many old neighbourhoods of Paris, Vancouver, Brooklyn, and San Francisco. 

Wabi Sabi can only be created by nature and time.  Nature is perfect.  Nature is Wabi Sabi.  A wine that is made traditionally, without intervention and additives, is Wabi Sabi to me – a quality in wine that I appreciate the most.  Noëlla Morantin wines have that Wabi Sabi beauty that I admire the most.  Pictured above is Noëlla Morantin in the century old cellar.