If you were asked to tell your story, what would you say?

Over the years, I’ve asked many folks to tell me their story. Of course, that question is asked after I’ve bored (?) them with my story, but what’s fair is fair, right? Upon asking the story question, I have been met with a variety of faces from shock to relief.

What we always end up accomplishing is building a conversation through similar life’s events, or by finally letting out our feelings. We discover our histories, and began to realize how deep our roots are, and how many times they are entangled. From those historical roots, we learn who we are.

Likewise, the roots of wine vines produce a variety of wine stories, and tell us a bit about the liquid’s history. The deeper the roots, the more interesting is the wine’s taste and story. More on that in a bit…

One of the ways we can learn more about ourselves is to visit history centers. During a recent visit to our local county history center, I was treated to amazing displays featuring the many folks and events that are the roots of this county. Many of the exhibits are stunning in their excellent representations and artifacts. It’s well worth a visit. More on that in a bit…

I must note that I’m a history nut. It always amazes me how we have so much history that is not taught to us. Our country has always been known as a “melting pot” — meaning many different ingredients (people) make up our nation. We have welcomed people from around the world. Yes, there has been tension between the newcomers and the established people, but did we not learn to get along?

Back to wine…

One of my favorite wines is Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel. Many of the grapes used in making this wine come from vines that are at least 50 years old. These aged vines have deep roots and are very stable. Thus, they produce fewer grapes which results in a more flavorful and concentrated wine. The noted wine is supple and full bodied with notes of black berries and some raspberries. Of course, there’s that required bit of spiciness, too. An excellent wine at a reasonable price.

Wouldn’t it be great if those deep rooted vines could speak to us and tell us their stories? Oh, wait a second. They do speak to us through the wine’s flavors. Pout a glass and engage in a conversation with those old vines. One never knows what you will learn.

Back to the history center…

There are a lot of folks there working very hard to save this area’s history. That retention is done by exhibits, oral presentations and digitizing stories and events. Everything there has a story — look and listen to those renderings. If you would like to share and preserve a bit of your historical story, visit these fine folks. They’ll welcome you with open minds, hearts and smiles. We must preserve our stories to pass on to future generations.

After all, and I’ve experienced this, if we don’t learn from history, we are condemned to relive it. And in case you have forgotten, we don’t want to repeat some of our personal and national history.

Talk with the senior members of your family and ask them for their stories. You might be amazed and surprised — like my son was when I told him I had nothing but a two hole toilet while growing up. These memories are our legacy, and as you are invited into those memories, that legacy will be passed to you to save and forward to future generations.

So, let’s sit down, sip a glass of old vine wine and tell each other our stories. We’ll be better for it.

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon.

Cheers!