The There There Letter: Oenology, Outside, and Old White Guys
Three things from DAH.
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I write, organize, plan, produce, manage, direct, act, sing, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Oenology …
You may be more familiar with the Americanization "enology." The word oenology comes from ancient Greek roots: oinos meant wine, logia meant study of. And I'm Americanizing again, since the ancient Greek alphabet was a bit different from modern American. I'm thinking about oenology this week because when I started in the wine business, it was often commented upon that the French had no word for winemaker. "Vigneron" referenced the person who grew the wine, grew the winegrapes. It is still true in France that there are many small-holders who grow and make their own wine. Sometimes they bottle it under their own label, sometimes they sell it on to a negociant who blends it with other wines. Oenologists were wine scientists, just as they are in the USA. These days, however, the vigneron-winemaker distinction has blurred, as "modern" (mostly large corporate) winemaking with an "international style" has become common worldwide. I don't think this is a good thing, as it tends to make wines more the same, and less distinctive. They speak less of place, and more of brand.
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/international-style
Second up this week, Outside …
This week I had to leave my home office and drive through Napa and Sonoma a couple of times. I was stunned by how invigorating the experience was … enjoying outside air and sunlight and scenery, engaging with people with whom I seldom engage. I was reminded of John Stilgoe's book "Outside Lies Magic" which begins with the words "get out now." Stilgoe isn't recommending going for a jog or heading for exotic locations. He's proposing that we should get outside and pay attention to the ordinary, well, to everything, to find the wonder in the everyday. Enlivening, and good for your health, it seems, even if you don't get your heart racing.
https://time.com/5539942/green-space-health-wellness/
Third up this week, Old White Guys …
This year, 2020, is the 100th anniversary year for the passage of the US Constitution's 19th Amendment, establishing a woman's right to vote. The celebration, for me, feels a little muted. It's difficult to ignore, this week in the USA, when a remarkably diverse field of Democratic presidential candidates was reduced to two old white guys (yes, and one lingering outlier, Tulsi Gabbard). With all due respect to Ms. Gabbard, it is no inevitable that we're going to have one of two old white guy Democrats face off in November with an old white guy Republican. It doesn't feel like we've come very far in 100 years.
https://www.vogue.com/article/no-longer-diverse-democratic-presidential-candidates
That's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I write, organize, plan, produce, manage, direct, act, sing, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Oenology …
You may be more familiar with the Americanization "enology." The word oenology comes from ancient Greek roots: oinos meant wine, logia meant study of. And I'm Americanizing again, since the ancient Greek alphabet was a bit different from modern American. I'm thinking about oenology this week because when I started in the wine business, it was often commented upon that the French had no word for winemaker. "Vigneron" referenced the person who grew the wine, grew the winegrapes. It is still true in France that there are many small-holders who grow and make their own wine. Sometimes they bottle it under their own label, sometimes they sell it on to a negociant who blends it with other wines. Oenologists were wine scientists, just as they are in the USA. These days, however, the vigneron-winemaker distinction has blurred, as "modern" (mostly large corporate) winemaking with an "international style" has become common worldwide. I don't think this is a good thing, as it tends to make wines more the same, and less distinctive. They speak less of place, and more of brand.
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/international-style
Second up this week, Outside …
This week I had to leave my home office and drive through Napa and Sonoma a couple of times. I was stunned by how invigorating the experience was … enjoying outside air and sunlight and scenery, engaging with people with whom I seldom engage. I was reminded of John Stilgoe's book "Outside Lies Magic" which begins with the words "get out now." Stilgoe isn't recommending going for a jog or heading for exotic locations. He's proposing that we should get outside and pay attention to the ordinary, well, to everything, to find the wonder in the everyday. Enlivening, and good for your health, it seems, even if you don't get your heart racing.
https://time.com/5539942/green-space-health-wellness/
Third up this week, Old White Guys …
This year, 2020, is the 100th anniversary year for the passage of the US Constitution's 19th Amendment, establishing a woman's right to vote. The celebration, for me, feels a little muted. It's difficult to ignore, this week in the USA, when a remarkably diverse field of Democratic presidential candidates was reduced to two old white guys (yes, and one lingering outlier, Tulsi Gabbard). With all due respect to Ms. Gabbard, it is no inevitable that we're going to have one of two old white guy Democrats face off in November with an old white guy Republican. It doesn't feel like we've come very far in 100 years.
https://www.vogue.com/article/no-longer-diverse-democratic-presidential-candidates
That's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
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