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Flow
Pay attention! It's fun

            As a child of divorce, I spent twelve years shuttling between two households, two sets of values, two realities. When, during my parents’ frequent spats, I was pressured to take sides—I froze. How could I choose when I loved them both?

            I face a certain dilemma in the wine world that feels similar: on one side are producers declaring, “We must make wines of place! Of character! Uniquely quirky wines that sing of grape and terroir!”

            On the other, you’ve got a multitude of consumers who want nothing of the kind. They couldn’t tell a mountain vineyard from a valley one and the last thing they need is a new grape to learn. They want wines of predictability and simplicity; of style and fun.

            When I take friends into my cellar and ask them to pick out the most appealing bottles, they almost all go for high-concept wines, the kind that put more care into branding and target audience than into the juice inside.

            My friend Stefano Inama, an Italian Soave producer, watches me unwrap a California cabernet called Big Yellow. The accompanying PR calls it, “A smooth, soft ride inspired by a vintage taxi cab.”

            “How the hell can wine be inspired by a car?!” Stefano roars. His own, after all, is inspired by slowly-evolved native grapes, careful selection of slopes and soils and whatever weather God sees fit to hand him each year. I adore his wine. But I like Big Yellow, too in a different way. The checker-cab label is cool and the wine might not be unique or complex, but it tastes good.

            So—oh, dear—whose side am I on? I find the answer in Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s classic book, Flow, which explores the glorious experience of losing one’s self in an activity: Both.

            The author makes a distinction between enjoyment and pleasure. Pleasure, he explains, is the passive experience of watching TV, eating a bag of Cheetos, or just having the appropriate brain centers electrically stimulated. Because you invest no psychic energy, pleasure is generally fleeting.

            Enjoyment comes from activities of effort, like playing tennis and piano or closing a high-pressure business deal. At the time it might not even be pleasant, but afterwards, you want to do it again. It requires work, often training, and a deep investment of attention. The payoff—a sense of novelty, accomplishment and growth—is what makes enjoyment so satisfying. And why it often leads to flow.

            Almost everyone gets pleasure eating. But the serious gourmet, analyzing ingredients and noticing nuances we miss, truly enjoys it. Wine quenches your thirst, pleases your mouth and gives a buzz. But if you dive deeper, it can also be your ticket to flow.

            If you find wine geeks annoying or intimidating, or wonder what the fuss is about, think of the specialized knowledge required for your own passions. Knitting, stamp-collecting and big-game hunting all have their rules and lingo.

            If you’re intrigued about exploring this level of wine but don’t know where to begin, here’s something fun to try: buy bottles of two or three very similar wines. Doesn’t matter if they’re jug juice or Chateau Show-Off, as long as they’re the same grape, from roughly the same area, at about the same price.

            Mark your glasses on the bottom, pour a taste of each wine, and taste back and forth a few times paying close attention to the differences. One might feel harsh, another smooth and creamy. Perhaps one is sweeter, or has more aroma. Notice smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and what happens in your mouth after you swallow.

            Then shut your eyes and have a friend mix up the glasses or do it yourself while singing a complicated song to distract your brain while your hands shuffle. Now, without opening your eyes, identify the wines.

            If you get it wrong just go back, find more clues, and try again.

            It’s a simple exercise, but makes you pay attention to subtleties you never noticed before. You might struggle to find words to describe the differences, and suddenly terms like minerality and chewy don’t seem so odd. Mostly, though, you’ll feel the satisfaction of expanding your brain and moving forward.

            If you’re already a committed connoisseur, then your assignment is different: lighten up for once, hail a California cab, and enjoy the smooth ride.  

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