Reader and wine professional Scott Luetgenau (left) recently wrote the following comment on my post A Quick Confabulation with Aldo Vacca, Winemaker and President, Produttori del Barbaresco. He really captured what’s so great about Produttori’s wines:

“Nice. Real Barbaresco. A recent bottle of the 96 Pora jogged my memory of just how magical wine can be. After a long night of work I curled up on the couch with a great book and enjoyed the lengthy, layered transformation even more than the finished product. It is refreshing to see the coop retains its incredible value while most Piemonte producers have obviously shed their ‘insecurity’ as their prices increase every year.”

He makes a very important point when he describes “the lengthy, layered transformation”: one of the greatest elements in the wine experience is how a wine evolves from the moment you open the bottle until the last drop is poured. In America, we often lose sight of wine’s beauty because we overly festishize its delivery to our palates: is the serving temperature correct? has it aerated long enough? is the aperture of the glass correct? is the vintage “ready to drink”? is it too young? etc. etc.

For me it’s more about: how does the wine change as it begins to aerate? as it begins to warm in the glass? and even how does a left over glass taste the next day?

Scott gets it right: it’s not about the “finished product” its about the “layered transformation.”

Thanks, Scott, for the insightful comment.

Scott is Director of Operations and Beverage Manager for The Urban Food Group, which owns and operates four restaurants in Raleigh, North Carolina.