At Idle Cellars they have shown us more than once that the value of an idle moment is universal. I recently spent 9 months living in Tanzania, East Africa where days of teaching were complemented with idle afternoons playing with the village children, reading, and helping to prepare for the next meal. Life on an African farm was a big switch from the hectic life of social engagements and 9-5 jobs that I had left behind in the States. As my time came to an end, I found myself both excited and scared to come back to the speed and pressure of the life I had left behind in America. I had grown accustomed to the lazy nights of reading a few chapters of Dickens until I was summoned to dinner by the small voice of a 2 year old, and sat down to a quiet meal of fry bread and beans cooked in coconut milk with my hosts. In many ways my life was a series of idle moments, observing the people around me and learning from their different customs and loving openness.
As I stepped off of the plane in San Francisco to the familiar bustle of people on the go, I started to wonder if I would ever again be allowed the peace that I had experienced in Tanzania. Everything from a simple phone call to a conversation with a stranger felt a little overwhelming. I had grown so accustomed to hours spent watching a wasp slowly build its home while I worked at my desk, or observing a troop of ants clean an entire floor within moments, that the constant stimulation of our western society was exhausting to take in.
I dragged myself home from my first long day out in the world and sat down to a simple dinner of lightly broiled salmon, fresh asparagus, and artichoke. As I thought about the huge transition I had just made, I heard a small pop as a bottle of the 2011 Idle Cellars Sauvignon Blanc was opened. I breathed in the bouquet coming from the bottle and took my first sip of the crisp and refreshing wine. While I moved the wine around my mouth and contemplated the delicious complexity of the fruit, I remembered that my life can be full of idle moments right here at home. All it takes is good company, a good meal, and a nice bottle of wine.
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