Hello wine lovers and happy #wineWednesday!  I hope your week has been fantastic for you.  It was a busy one but I feel that I am getting a bit more into the swing of things.  I have been doing well with my ‘mostly sober September’ and it feels good.

Thank you for the positive feedback on my ‘Wine Stories’ series.  I am enjoying going back in time and reliving some great memories.  Today, my feature is on Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio otherwise known as ‘Princess Wine’.

To be honest, I cannot quite remember how we all started drinking this wine.  It must have been around 1999 when we all were turning our noses up at Chardonnay.  Pinot Grigio became the ‘go-to’ wine variety and for some of my gals, it still is.  By this point in our lives, we were in our late twenties and had found our stride in careers.  We had completed our schooling and were living on our own and making our own money.  I remember feeling quite sophisticated spending $19.99 on a bottle of wine.  To me, at the time, it was a representation of what I had achieved in life thus far.

I think my girlfriends felt the same because more often than not, at a BBQ or a party, we all arrived with a bottle of Santa Margherita to share.  We all loved it so it was a no-brainer.  We were not incredibly well-versed in our tasting palate so it wasn’t like we were all trying to compete for the best wine or the newest wine or the most ‘out-there’ wine.  We knew what we liked and we liked to drink this wine together.  Conversations would get increasingly more fun and interesting with each bottle that was opened.  When I think upon these times, all I can do is smile.  I see a picture of myself, Kat, Tracy, Nicole, Colleen, Shannon and I all sitting around laughing and talking and most likely sharing the scoop on our love lives.

Fast-forwad to 2007 and I was engaged to David.  My girlfriend Natalie hosted a ‘Wine Shower’ for me – it was perfect and a wonderful afternoon spent with some of the most amazing women I know.  My two little cousins came to the shower.  They sat on either side of me and one of them said, ‘Christine – you look like a princess!’  Adorable and as I was opening up a wine bag, it was none other than Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio.  I remember smiling.  I think it was my little cousin who christened it ‘Princess Wine’ and each time I opened up a bag that contained this lovely bottle, the little girls would look at me with fascination and say ‘Princess Wine’!

Sometimes a specific wine is a symbol for a time in your life.  More importantly, it is the people you drink that wine with that make it even more special.  Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio is our ‘Princess Wine’ and I love that 15 years later, my fiends and I still call it that and smile at each other when we do.

This one is for you – Nicole, Kat, Tracy, Shannon and Colleen.  Thank you for the years of friendship and laughter.

XO
C