Grapes

Wine and The Divine Vine.

Hi, it’s been a while…here’s a quote about wine.

Wine gives a man fresh strength when he is wearied.

-Homer

Stop.

Smell the flowers.

Pick the grapes.

Growing up 45 minutes from Napa Valley gave me access to some of the most complex and flavorful wines. As a child I was given an education on the powerful affect wine has when serving a meal. My debutante mother had plans.

Was my palate spoiled on purpose?

Yep!

I was around 12 years old when I had my first glass of wine. It was a tiny siplet of something called Cabernet Sauvignon that I immediately hated – detested is more fitting- served with the filet mignon that my mother had prepared. She sat it in front of me and explained that this funky beverage was made from juicing grapes, sometimes through the stomping of feet.

“Excuse me…I’m drinking feet juice. Ewww mom that’s disgusting!”

She laughed and said, “The feet juice is gone by the time it hits the bottle.” I didn’t understand why I had to endure these dinner table lessons until one day she told me a story about when she met and dined with a Prince (not ‘Prince’…that would have been dope. She did date Lionel though) in the 1970s.

She would always say, “You never know who you’re going to end up eating dinner with. You need to know these things.” She was right. Along the road of life I found myself at many adinnertable with sophisticated vino-holes. I needed to know my shit. I plan on raising my daughter with the same educational dining experience, except this time, it’ll be based on intention. True royalty knows the power of graceful intention.

Grapes though?!

As a child, I had no idea why adults placed so much value on the fanciful juice of this fermented fruit. I just knew it went with my meal and I loved the frozen version of this fruit served at my youth soccer games. I soon learned they are so much more than that.

As time went on and my life started life-ing, the grace of the grape enveloped my life and palate.

I began studying the different regions and provinces that grew these sour grapes for the wines that decorated my restaurant’s menu. I was 15 by then and realized there was so much beauty to wine and dish pairings. Grapes began to mean so much.

Each dinner was a lesson.

Each night my mother would continue the wine pairings to educate my sister and I on what goes with what and why, etc. Tannins, acidity level, global region, soil, climate... they all had a part to play in why each varietal tasted the way it did. Each dish was curated for the pairings to make sense to my “tongue brain.”

Some examples being:

A dry and buttery Chardonnay went best with Salmon.

A tart and sweet Sauvignon Blanc went best with nuts and fruit.

A dry and velvety Cabernet Sauvignon went best with Beef.

A light and soft Pinot Noir went best with Pork.

So on and so forth.

Each time we sat down at the table was a lesson in how to understand how the tongue interprets flavor for the brain to assign an emotional resonance. It was an opportunity to close my eyes and take a rollercoaster ride of flavor; each bite presenting a new level of understanding. Little did I know what effect this practice would have on me as an young adult and then as a Chef.

Am I a wine snob…maybe?

Am I an advocate for the unification of all flavors and textures…fuck yes!

Can we collectively use the knowledge of the grape to intentionally enhance our lives and the lives of those around us…ab-so-fuckin-lut-ley!

Photo by Nacho Domínguez Argenta on Unsplash

From water to wine and back again.

Grapes have been a symbol of wealth and abundance since the beginning of civilization. Healthy, wealthy and wise, we don’t give them the energetic clout they deserve.

In Christianity wine is related with the blood of Christ, the savior. A true representation of the Divine journey from life to death and back, eternally.

Ancient Rome/Greece saw this abundant and fertile fruit as a staple of their diet and culture. They provided the sustenance for the wine they imbibed as they created the whole Ancient Rome/Greece thing. The grape itself was revered as a sustainable life force for the culture and civilization that gave us some of the world’s first Scholars and Philosophers. In this mini herstory lesson I hope you consider what to means to be truly Divine. In my mind, I equate this to being “of the vine of all life.”

Ancient Egypt saw grapes and wine as a symbol of abundance, fertility and royalty. Grapes and the vine were a representation of the God Osiris, the God of life after death. As the grapes grew on the vine they were seen as reaching out from the underworld onto the land of the living, blessing only those wealthy enough to consume their flesh and drink their fermented juice.

Egyptians doing the vino thing.

Thanksgiving and Intentional Wine

The intentions behind the grape have the power to transform the entire vibe of a dinner. The perfect balance of flavor profile and varietal can turn even the heaviest of conversations into a joyful gathering of hearts. It all has to do with the intention placed on the entire meal. From sip to bite to the inevitable burp and back.

So, I offer you this, everything you place on your table this Thanksgiving has an intentional energetic thread connecting it to its source. The Peach Power is used to claim those energetic threads as your own, disintegrating the intentions of the farms/stores/corporations that sold you these goods in the first place.

yes, their is intention already on the items you purchase and yes, you should care.

You become the source

So please, enjoy your wine! (or grape juice if you’re not about that alcohol life)

It is the nectar of the land. The essence of your royal self. The intention behind the bottle however has more to do with greed and commerce than igniting your palate and enhancing your energetic knowledge of the grape. Take that power back.

YOU become the source.

Pick the grapes and taste the abundant energetic of the royalty you are, naturally. Absorb this lost personal power as it reaches you through the vine. It needs you to take control. It needs your love, understanding and appreciation. Grapes are conscious, they are intelligent.

Honor their power with your organic human be-ing.

Grow with the Di-vine.

Purple Peaches by The Purple Peach is an intentional brand providing food products to the masses. We will bring back the natural energetics to your favorite ingredients.

Stay tuned for what we have in store for 2025!

It’s about time we all become the most powerful people in our lives.

Visit the Purple Peaches website for more!