Enjoy Wine Day
Feb 18
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"Elegant and precise, the Allen Vineyard is a classic vineyard site that epitomizes both the Williams Selyem style and the beauty of the Russian River Valley. Dark cherry and dried strawberry notes abound in the glass along with the signature bouquet of flowers. Subtle aromas of wood spices and cinnamon add character and depth to the nose. Elements of black tea combine with red fruits then transition to savory notes on the palate. The tension of the tannins, crushed rock and mineral impressions complete the palate and offer a beautifully elegant finish."
~ Williams Selyem Winery, Healdsburg, California
Goodness gracious! Well, if that florid wine description doesn't make you swoon, then you are well fortified against other fruity and flowery language excesses. And if f you happen to be fond of wines and can detect in them all those delicate and subtle flavours, described above you might be a "supertaster"! Apparently, roughly 25% of the population has the ability to differentiate more flavour compounds than average, although it is most pronounced in detecting bitter components such as those in cruciferous vegetables, black coffee, dark chocolate, hot peppers or even the sting of alcohol. Regardless of your choice of charming beverage, this energetic jig will take some have you set and linking and chasing with mad delight. Chin chin! 🍇🍷
A Flute of Mad Wine
Today, Drink Wine Day, is a day to celebrate this most ancient and prized of beverages.
The earliest archaeological evidence of chemically attested grape wine was discovered at Hajji Firuz in the northwestern Zagros Mountains, ca. 5400 BC. Both archaeological and genetic evidence suggest that the earliest production of wine may slightly predate this, with the earliest wine-making likely having taken place in Trans-Caucasia (including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia), through the region between Eastern Turkey, and Northwest Iran.
Dionysus is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre, and religious ecstasy in Greek mythology, from his Roman counterpart, Bacchus, we get the word bacchanlia, a drunken revelry.
The Dionysian Mysteries were a ritual of ancient Greece and Rome which used intoxicants and other trance-inducing techniques (like dance and music) to remove inhibitions and social constraints, liberating the individual to return to a natural state.
For more on the Dionysian Mysteries, the wine glasses below.
And for more Scottish Dances devoted to wine, click here.
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
