"I Smell Dirt"

I was eavesdropping on a conversation the other day while having a glass of wine with my husband. I was intent listening to Darin (husband) talk about his recent travels to Antigo, Wisconsin, but the guy sitting next to Darin was sticking his nose far into his glass of red wine and telling his friend that he “smells dirt”. I lost my concentration.

Smelling dirt is not something I seek to identify when having a nice glass of red wine, but it intrigued me to listen in on their conversation to find out more (yes, my husband will tell you that I’m a total “Gladys Kravitz”).

He proceeded to stir his wine, smell it, and discuss elements of his adult beverage.

The guy was obviously a connoisseur of wines (or at least he had a great public show that captured everyone’s attention around him…especially mine) but it’s this type of chatter that I find fascinating and more prevalent when people drink wine in a social setting. Why can’t knowledgeable wine drinkers simply drink a glass of wine like how other people drink beer or a sip a cocktail? Why do you have to smell anything? And, better yet, why do you have to tell people what you smell as if we are not capable of smelling anything? I understand, based on my basic and limited, knowledge of the components of wines, that the “dirt” smell is referring back to the aroma the smell of the terroir (territory conditions where the grapes were grown) but still, do you really need to talk about dirt or anything else you might smell in your glass? I don’t think so!

WineyJanet is all about finding good wines for a fair price that those of us “ordinary” people who love a glass a wine for the purpose of drinking wine can enjoy. Today’s wine selection is Layer Cake. The wine is a vintage 2006 Primitivo (a.k.a. Zinfandel). It is made from 100% Primitivo from Puglia, Italy. You can find it for under $20. The wine is purple in color and if you don’t have allergies you should be able to smell black fruit and cherries. If you can’t smell them…who cares, enjoy anyhow.