THE GRAPE EXPERIENCE
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- You are crazy. Both of you. – Rob opened the trunk and got out the suitcases. – Napa is on fire and you are
still going.
- Oh, c’mon. It can’t be that bad! - Chloe grabbed the suitcase. - The fires are near Calistoga, not Napa.
- The winery you have been talking about is going to be closed. For sure.
- Actually, I did call the winery a few times this week. They are open – She smiled.
- And your lodging? Where is it?
- In Sebastopol. It is a forty-five-minute drive from Calistoga.
- You really want to go there. You sound… desperate.
- I am. Kind of. – She pulled her hair up in a ponytail. – Anyway, time to go. Give me a hug.
Rob gave her a friendly squeeze.
– I will see you when you are back. If you are back.
He got into his white Prius and silently drove away.
- What a grouch! - Sofi put on her backpack.
- Oh, he is just reasonable. And, he is the best neighbor ever.
Four hours later, Chloe was thinking that Rob might have been right, that they were crazy. The flight to San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge hidden in the blanket of fog; the drive down 101 and singing along with Madonna’s “Material Girl” was fun. Everything had been so fun and easy until they parked in Napa. The town looked like a horror movie set: empty streets, closed stores, cars covered with grey ash, smoke in the air. Chloe was glad that they were going to spend just a few hours here before heading further north.
I just hope that it is going to be better in Sebastopol, she thought and followed Sofi who already spotted the group of her friends by the hotel entrance. They proceeded to the courtyard.
As everyone got comfortable around the table, the waiter popped the cork of a champagne bottle and poured the glasses.
- For our first Napa trip! - Sofi proclaimed the toast.
- Yes, for the grape experience. – Chloe echoed but not as enthusiastically as she intended.
The women started chatting, catching up on the news, making jokes and checking out the only two guys across the courtyard. But Chloe was silent. Being dumped was the only update in her life and it was not something to brag about. Instead, she was listening and thinking of the upcoming days, of the place the two of them got in Sebastopol, a place which looked so charming in the pictures, but which she now doubted. She was thinking of the only winetasting they were going to have in two days’ time. Tasting, she suggested. Tasting exclusive high-end wines, she had never heard of, she had never tasted until few months back, when she…
- Is this… ash? - Sofi’s voice brought her back to reality and she
looked at big pieces of ash landing in her champagne glass.
How on earth can it be the backdrop to the greatest wine tasting experience of my life? Chloe thought.
– So, what should we do? – One of the girls asked with concern.
Sofi turned to the waiter.
- Can we please have the second bottle of that champagne? – She leaned back in her chair, half closed her eyes and smiled. – I think, girls, we should drink up and have some fun.
Chloe’s worries were in vain. Overnight, the wind changed, and the smoke was blown away. Fires were mostly contained.
On Sunday morning, she put on a white, fluffy bathrobe and went out to the patio which was overlooking the grapevines. She stretched her shoulders, arched her back and took a deep breath. A deep breath of a crisp morning air. She walked to the car, which was parked outside. It was still wet from the morning mist. No ash. She smiled to herself.
Chloe called to the vineyard to make sure that they were open.
They were.
- Great. We will see you tomorrow. – She hanged up.
Tomorrow. She could barely wait. Going to this winery was special. The wine made there was not just ordinary wine. To her, the wine, the place where she had it and everything which came along with it was a part of a different reality. The reality she could never discover on her own. The reality she never belonged to. For the past few months, she felt like she was an invitee to somebody else’s feast. But now, her invitation got expired.
This trip to Napa was her way of bringing back the reality she got a taste of and making it her own.
She and Sofi chatted all the way to the winetasting appointment.
- And where exactly are we going? – Sofi asked looking at the mirror, putting on lipstick.
- The place is called Palmaz. Supposed to be few minutes’ drive from downtown Napa. I think we are almost there.
- Oh, I am just overwhelmed with details. – Her friend sounded beyond sarcastic. - What is this place?
- They got amazing wine. I tried most of what they make. High-end and very exclusive. Club members only and all that stuff. For wine-snob kind of people.
- OK. – Sofi lowered her sunglasses and looked at her friend. – And since when are we in this category?
Chloe squeezed the wheel.
- OK! John liked it. He got me hooked. – She fired up. - But listen, it is really good! It is the best wine I’ve tried. I know, it is totally out of my range. This winery is one of those places where you drive up to in your Aston Martin or Tesla, at least. - She looked at Sofi. – And yes, every time I had this wine, it was at his place and every time I felt like… - She was looking for the right word. – Cinderella! This is it! I felt like Cinderella at the ball. I was enjoying it but waiting for the clock to strike twelve at any moment. And I do not want to feel like that anymore. I am going to this high-end place by myself and I am dragging you along because I can. Finally, I can. - She paused. – Now, feel free to say that I’m an idiot. That this will not change anything.
- Chloe, shut up! You are not an idiot. Chill!
Their rental Camry stopped at the gate and Chloe pressed “concierge” button.
- Hello? We have an appointment for 1 pm.
- Hello, Ms. Clark. Of course. Follow the signs and park at level three.
The friendly voice of the concierge gave Chloe a warm sensation of feeling special.
The gate opened and the car started slowly rolling between grape vines on both sides of the narrow drive. The path ran up and down, turning left and right. It felt like being in a maze; like walking through stage curtains in an old-fashioned theater. Every new turn of the road gave way to yet another beautiful view: blue sky, grape leaves as if freshly brushed with green paint, light brown trunks, and grey earth.
Finally, they came to level three. Chloe got out of the car and froze by the edge of the low parapet. In front of her, for as far as eyes could see, there were grape vines. A whole ocean of grave leaves moving with the breeze. From above, the vineyard looked like a quilt masterfully created by a loving hand.
- Would you like a few more minutes to enjoy the view? – A clam and clear voice questioned.
Both women turned.
- Good afternoon. My name is Mark and I am going to be your host. – in his early forties, he came closer and politely smiled. – And for your information, ladies, I am going to show you even better views. Would you like to start our tour? And may I offer you a glass of Riesling?
- Sure!
Mark poured the wine.
Chloe took her first sip and closed her eyes. A silly thought came into her head. It is like the main ingredients of this wine are sunshine and a cool breeze. It was dry and very refreshing, like a cold shower on a hot day.
As Mark took Chloe and Sofi around the property, he told the story of Palmaz Vineyard. The story started years ago in Argentina. It was the story of a common boy who was pursuing a degree at a medical school while teaching tango.
- Was he a good dancer? – Chloe asked. She used to dance tango herself.
- I’m not sure how good he was, but this is how he met his wife.
Mark kept on unfolding the story. A beautiful girl from a noble family walked into that class to learn to dance and that’s how she met her future husband.
- I bet the tango was just a cover up to meet the girl. – Chloe whispered to Sofi, who giggled in reply.
The host continued. The boy became a renowned doctor, and the family moved to the States. Eventually Mr. Palmaz purchased the vacant lot to grow grapes and to devote himself to his true passion: winemaking.
- Told you. He did not open a tango school.
- Ladies, I see that your table is ready. Please, follow me. - Mark lead them to the deserted patio.
- Is it always that empty? - Sofi asked.
- The winery is exclusive, so there is never a big crowd here. Nowadays, we hold only a few tastings per day. - He moved the chair. - Please, make yourself comfortable.
The table was set next to the edge of the patio overlooking grapevines to the left and mountains to the right. White cotton napkins were folded to the left of white porcelain plates with masterfully prepared appetizers displayed in a row. Six wine glasses stood in front of it: three for whites and three for reds, like a colonnade of an ancient portico. The glasses were made of such thin glass that they were almost invisible. Terracotta umbrellas and olive trees next to the table created a cool shade. Chloe could hear the gentle, monotonous buzzing of bees and smell the scent of the white and yellow field flowers.
- Let me pour you the Chardonnay and I will bring more wine.
Chloe picked up the menu. It was printed on heavy paper, folded a few times. The background picture on the menu was exactly the views they have been admiring a few minutes ago. The texture of the paper, the colors of the print, a scent of paint made the menu look substantial.
Mark moved on to tell them about the wine they were about to taste, about the reason behind the quilt of the vineyard.
Chloe’s mind wondered off. She was remembering her own path to the States. A long journey from Eastern Europe, away from her family, and away from the magnificent city she grew up in. The last few years in the States seemed like a blur. She was working fifty hours a week. She was saving any way she could. She was saying “no” nine out of ten times to anything she wanted for the sake of a bigger goal. She was settling because it was good enough. It had been a bumpy road of survival since the very start. But here, looking at the beautiful vineyard and sipping the soothing yet intense cabernet, she realized how different everything was now. How she was done with just surviving. After all these years, she finally gave herself a permission to splurge on something she enjoyed and now she knew how it feels to say “yes” to herself.
- Look at you, Chloe!
- What? – She turned to her friend.
- I have never seen you so happy and so content. You are just… glowing!
The women left the vineyard around 4 pm.
On the drive back to their lodging, Chloe was behind the wheel. Speakers were blasting Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
- I liked those people. At the winery. – She said looking straight ahead.
- Me too.
- Not what I have expected. Down to earth. Fun. And You know what? I just thought that the motto of my life has always been “never ever give up”. You know, right?
- A-ha.
- I feel like after that experience
at Palmaz, I shall add another one. – She slowed down to make a turn into freeway.
- Sofi cocked her head waiting.
- Never settle.
- Right on! – Sofi cranked up the volume even more.
- And I want to ask you to do me a favor.
- Galileo, Galileo, Galileo Figaro. Sure!
Chloe looked at Sofi and said in a serious voice.
- If I ever begin to whine about settling, about being good enough, just remind me of Palmaz. Deal?
Sofi squeezed her hand.
- Deal.
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