Today, Wednesday, April 12, 2017, is International Day of Human Space Flight. We celebrate the anniversary of the first human space flight by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin whose Vostok 1 single, 108-minute orbit around the earth in 1961 changed the world forever.  Although you may believe you would be justified to question the relevance of this special day with things related to wine … you are mistaken.​​

​Yesterday, Tuesday, April 4, 2017, marked the beginning of this calendar year’s TNT events (Tuesday Night Tastings), those first Tuesday evenings of every month during the wine season (and a bit beyond) in Nova Scotia when local wineries and vineyards showcase their oenological talents and compare and contrast some of the excellent wines their labours have produced.  Each month, there is a theme. This month, April, it was vinifera, vitis vinifera, aka old-world grapes.  It was hosted by Benjamin Bridge in the very palm of the Gaspereau Valley where, as we arrived toward dusk, we were greeted with a flute of Nova 7 and roaring wood fires as the sun began to set over the ridge ... . 
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While taking a quick break from winegrunting last Sunday, I stopped by Planter's Ridge's table at the Halifax Seaport Market. It had been a while since I enjoyed their Chardonnay, and as luck would have it, they happened to be offering samples of said wine. The last time I had a bottle of this wine was sometime shortly after the "Liquid Gold and Buried Treasure" event we hosted at the Italian Canadian Cultural Institute of Halifax back in October 2016.  Indeed, it had been too long since I had savoured this outstanding Chardonnay - it is a cross I must bear - after all, there are so many amazing local wines to drink, and I try to vary what I drink, for research purposes, of course. Thus, that early Sunday afternoon, a little taste to remind me of how good it is was all it took for me to bring a bottle home and get my creative juices flowing and to have me fantasizing of what I would pair with my rediscovered gem.

Sometimes I need to be reminded that my impatience with the present, my nostalgia for the past, and my hope for the future are all deeply misguided. After all, and especially from a secular perspective, I need to remember that "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under [the sky]. . . " If anything, the valley and the wine should be a constant reminder . . . ​

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