The Wonder Years

In the past few months, my daughter Cynthia has decided she is quite the night owl.

I think part of it is genetic (like her father who loves to stay up way past his bedtime), and part of it is wanting to be awake when we get home after work.

I have to say selfishly, I love the fact she is up and waiting for me so we can get in our pajamas together, kiss and hug, and most importantly, talk about the day. Her favorite question is “How many people did ya’ll serve, Mama?”

Sometimes, if I am feeling like I just don’t want the time to end, we watch a little television.

Recently, I have been going on Netflix to see if there is a show that will entertain us both.

For some reason, I remembered the television series The Wonder Years as one of my favorites, a show I thought she would enjoy as well. The irony is Fred Savage, the protagonist, is now the voice-over of Oswald, one of my children’s favorite cartoons on Nick Jr.

Watching the show made me wonder about what the wonder years really are.

Are they the years you live where you are full of wonder or are they the years you consider to be the most wonderful ones in your lifetime?

I cannot help thinking about the wonder years of wine as they relate to our selling and drinking.

Honestly, the summer of 2000 continuing into Fall of 2002 were wonderful years in my wine adventure. From drinking aged Savenierres at Montrachet in Tribeca to exploring the cellar at Domaine Dujac in Morey St. Denis where we would open Burgundy from my birth year, the days were few and far between where we didn’t drink a wine that was absolutely amazing and different. Each day was thrilling because each day we sold, served or drank a wine that had so much “newness,” so much excitement.

Those years were very much full of wonder for me. I was learning about wine with every sip and with every step, and as I explored, I felt more and more compelled to make wine my career.

Wine glass forward to now where wine is very much a part of our lives albeit not a part where there is much wonder.

Not because we know more. In fact, I would daresay we know less since the world of wine has become much bigger and much more complex.

No, I believe our wine wonder has been replaced by the wonder of my daughter telling me she cannot wait to begin her career as a cook-slash-house decorator in New York City.

Or my son telling my 92-year-old Nana to “get up and walk” as he uses her cane to hit her into gear.

We are much more consumed and entertained by what our children will do next, and regardless of what we try to control, our precious lovechild wine is no longer at the forefront.

As Cynthia and I sit in front of my laptop watching Kevin and Winnie’s first kiss, I think a lot about my personal wonder years.

Fortunately for me, they haven’t stopped, they have just evolved.

Funny, isn’t it? That’s almost exactly like wine.