It’s harvest time and summer is gone leaving the pace to autumn. No, I’m not excited about autumn arriving at all with its cold temperatures and the following winter, but about harvest… yes I am! It reminds me a lot of when I was a child and grandpa used to harvest his vines of “uva fragola” (Concord or Fox grape in english) to make his “home-wine” and dad was bring home some bunches every day: they were so good I still get my mouth watering just thinking about it. But the best day of all was when the must was ready and grandpa was bringing it home for us to taste it: it was delicious and a feast of pleasure for the whole family, us kids included! One day I asked him: – “Granpa, why is this must so red?”
“It’s the skin contact that makes it so”
“Skin contact? Like you put all the grapes together close to each other and they become a color?”
“Mmm… Something like that, yes”.
Ok, that was maybe a bit naïve, but I was just 5 years old!
Thinking about it now, though, I really like that image of grapes becoming the red color in the process as a metaphor. Skin contact is the way the must became so red back then, but it is also the way we understand we like someone, isn’t it? A caress on our body of the one we like makes us shiver and even an accidental touch can give you chills; it is the smell of that special person on you for the whole day; it is desire; it makes you crave for more. It is red, it is passion and it all relates to that: skin contact. When you like someone, what’s the thing you want the most? You want them close; you want them next to you, holding your hand; you love feeling their body near when they snuggle up to you and you just don’t care if that’s the most uncomfortable thing in the world; you want the touch of their hand on your face when you’re falling asleep. I know for a fact that grandpa use to love it at least as much as I do nowadays: the thing I remember the most of my grandparents is that they were always – and I really mean always – holding each other’s hand when they were together. And I totally get that: when you’re physically close to someone you tend to feel happier because your body releases dopamine, serotonin – both of which boost your mood – and oxytocin, which is also known to be the chemical that creates bonds and grows affection and intimacy. And as far as I’m concerned, cuddling makes me sleep better. All of this from something so apparently simple as skin contact.
Bottom line? Red wine will be your perfect cuddle!
Cheers to that!
.
.
.
Wine of the day:
It can only be my grandpa’s Fragolino: I really wish I could literally take it out of my good memories to taste it again, but I guess that won’t be possible.
To me, it tastes of childhood memories, strawberries and a fireplace.
