Tucson has been like an “on switch” for me, a happy place of creative inspiration, both for writing and discovery. One discovery I need to share with you – a Tucson treasure, The Wine Guy!
Jon Rogers thrives on wine education. In his own words: “For 37 years I have been teaching ‘Wines Without The Mystery’ – a passionate approach to wine education and enjoyment.”
Now wines may be no mystery to lah-di-dah you, but as one who once prided herself as being able to tag the type and year of any hearty red or white by mere sniff and palate-swish, I have found myself left in the dust of proliferating, thriving, world-wide vineyards.
Wines have always been a tease and delight to the palate, never mind a pairing enhancement to viands or fish, but becoming a true cognoscenti has grown more difficult in this day of so many new and excellent vineyards. No longer does a French Pouilly Fuissé stand alone in its class. But which ones can challenge? Ah, there’s the rub – apologies to the philosophizing Hamlet – he never imagined he’d be quoted in a wine blog. Or maybe he did – I’ll bet he held the chalice up more than once, pondering its depths, while trying to unravel his fate.
BOOK SIGNING
Wines have pleasingly morphed since olden days – we surmise so from the cracking open of the ubiquitous amphora, in use since neolithic times – some retrieved from ancient shipwrecks, those triremes whose cargo sadly met Davy Jones along with the rowing galley slaves. But anyway those had to have been way past their sell date. Unreliable as samples. Scraps of wine-making history have been assembled from as long ago as Heroditus – researched data bits are available on Wikipedia.
And here we are now with my new friend Jon Rogers, a oenophile of more than practical knowledge, a clever man of kindness and whimsy, a man to gather at the feet of, to attend and listen. I was so glad I did.
Jon paired his knowledge of Australian wines with my presentation of my Australian flying adventure book “Fly Over Down Under” – as seen in the above photo, in Jane Hamilton’s stunning art gallery. He promises to be with me again, when we gather to talk about my new book of Tucson, a fun fling of discovery itself, for me. I have tales to tell – and Jon will have the wine.
Watch for when and where!
I cant wait to read this and meet Jon, I am a wine lover, not the most knowledgable, but I do pretty good with pairing wines with meals, and just enjoying with friends by the glass or bottle. Let me know when this all happens again…so glad you love Tucson
Always,
devorah
I read an article once about a guy who decided to become a wine critic. He had a drink of wine in a restaurant one evening and was immediately transported to an elevated state of joy and awareness. He could see, smell and taste the grapes ripening on the vines, smell the rich earth they were growing in, taste the wood of the barrels it had been stored in. It was such a mind-altering experience for him he decided to make a career out of becoming a wine connoisseur and critic. At the time I read this I thought he was either grossly exaggerating, delusional, or had senses of perception that were well beyond anything I was capable of. Then one day I had some wine at a restaurant myself, and had an extremely similar experience. I was suddenly transported to the vineyard where the grapes had grown, spellbound. Then it struck me, oh, he was talking about really good wines… Some of them obviously contain magic.
Ah, your talent to transport via the word has not diminished. Beautiful. We should raise a glass together soon.👍🏼💕