Vino, Verse, & Vinyl
adaption from previous “Ghost” posting
Ghosts, vampires, and witches, oh my! Let’s start with a little VVV history and how-to recap:
In 2017, I met someone at a wine bar in Encinitas, CA. I initiated a conversation because I had to meet her dog, Luna (a white boxer named after the moon, I mean...). Erin and Luna were wonderful, I really enjoyed sharing wine, conversations, and treats* with them that evening. But this night is significant to me because it is when I got the idea for a book club that has led me down a very interesting path. Erin had a vinyl group with friends, where they met once a month and played records, chatting the night away about music.
It may or may not be surprising that I do not do well with 'small talk.' This makes making friends as an adult, and business networking, exceptionally difficult for me. Anyone else? I am going to assume that our LG community are the kind of folks who are always interested in having unique, deep discussions. In 2017 I found myself often thinking about how to make friends as I got older without a dreaded awkward “first meeting” dinner. So, when Erin mentioned the record club, I was instantly intrigued: I could talk with newer acquaintances and strangers about music, not small talk? Sold.
Because I am a poet and lover of wine (wino, wine-snob, older millennial, up to you), I came up with the concept to combine those loves and thieve the vinyl idea. Hence, the poetic alliteration of Vino, Verse, and Vinyl was born. I dreamt this could be a meeting for friends to bring their friends or new acquaintances, with a mostly informal structure. Did you read—great let’s chat about that weird moment in Chapter 12. Didn’t read, do you think this wine actually tastes like charcoal like the tasting notes said? What record did you bring for the theme of “music to play at your funeral”? There are endless things to discuss and it does not mean each guest has to participate in all aspects of the monthly meeting, but they could.
Interestingly, the last party I had before the pandemic was a VVV in February around Valentine’s day. We read Rumi love poems, drank a bizarre amount of rosé, and listened to a variety of records themed around “best music for a break-up.” It was, obviously, an incredible party. I got to know some newer friends in such a vibrant way and learned some really fun aspects of other friends. It was a really special night and I cherish those memories (which ended with an epic-move-the-couches-for-a-danc-party until the morning hours).
My hope for VVV has always been to build community. It led me to food studies at the academic level, to then developing an honors course “Literary Gastronomy”, to seeking out growing food and studying a permaculture (now staring at a half-acre to grow!), and now this business. It has been the most delicious, rewarding bread-crumb-lined path to further learn myself and the world around me. I deeply hope this builds community in and of itself, but also for you with new and old friends—with a plethora of conversation potential and connection that transcends small talk. Let’s get started (I love you so much for being here!).
Vino: Chianti
Hannibal and his love of Chianti
I went through a serious Italian wine phase, heat of summer or dead of winter—dry, earthy Italian red, por favor. I blame my Florence study abroad wine course for the love affair. Truth told, I may have over-done it a bit, too many nights of dry Italian reds, like Chianti. After the intensity, I transitioned to preferring tart, juicy reds, more of a cherry bite than an earthy tannin bite. BUT, I will always tell my first wine love story, which is with the famous Italian export, Chianti.
My first winery tour was in the Tuscan hills, the Chianti region. I was surrounded by “pinch-me-this-can’t-be-real” scenery. At the vineyard, there was also an olive orchard, and I tasted *real* olive oil for the first time. It was just bliss. It began a many years long bias to Sangiovese grapes.
Unlike Hannibal Lecter, with his fava beans and “liver”, I prefer my Sangiovese varietal with pasta dishes, steak, and charcuterie spreads. A chianti is lovely, but if you are looking to really show up…Brunello di Montalcino is one of the two Kings of Italian wines, but it’ll cost you.
Chianti can be extremely affordable (you know, the straw basket wine at the bottom shelf of the grocery aisle) or costly—likely because of the Black Roster label which signifies the bottle is a Classico. A black rooster doesn’t guarantee the bottle will be great, but that and a DOCG label means you’re probably headed in a good direction.
Chianti wines are going to be highly acidic, pretty fruity-think like red fruits, with hints of smoke or game and some dirt. A classico must contain 80% Sangiovese grapes, which are grown in limestone soils in dry, warm climate. These medium to full bodied wines pair really well with pizza. That is my numero uno pairing suggestion, followed second to a pasta dish with red sauce.
Verse: Wuthering Heights // Nosferatu
Literary Vampires, a quick history
Largely made popular during 19th cent. craze (resulting in poetry and fiction)
Dracula - Bram Stroker (1897)
"othering" the outsider
Nosferatu (1922 film)
Sexual: succubus and incubus (mother Lilith)
romance/desire vs. Victorian norms
cannot give birth
must be given invitation
Origin/Folklore
zombie-like, animated corpse
connection to moon (night)
feminine; like fairies, defy gender norms
shape shift (deception): bat, mist
literature and film changed perception
I taught this novel as relating to monster theory, which I discussed in this month's meditation. Analyzing how each character may be a vampire, witch, devil, or fae-being, is critical to the foundation of the novel--monsters are made not born. It is a riveting take on karma, what goes around comes around, reminding us how intricately we are connected, for better or worse. The same goes for the film Nosferatu. Enjoy these talking points and let me know your conclusions!
To understand the Gothic, we have to understand the sexualization of death, which seems oxymoronic, and very morbid.
What must have to happen to people to make them sexualize finality, loss, grief? Is this a coping mechanism?
If death is all around, why might someone desire intimacy?
What might make characters like Cathy, Heathcliff, Dracula attractive?
They shape-shift, are brutish and cruel, live very deeply for their own wants/desires and disregard others. They can be abusive, at mortal costs, of these pursuits.
In what circumstances might this be a desirable behavior/s or trait/s?
If this is not yet sitting, consider the "bad boy" trope of modern cinema. What makes us relate to or empathize for bad yet passionate behaviors?
Monsters are made to be outsiders/others of "civil/innocent" society.
Are they born or made?
In what ways do you feel "othered" by society or groups of people? How does it make you feel? How do you try to get power back in those moments?
Often, we either "play up" the bad behavior that is labeled on us or we over-explain/condemn ourselves to try to gain favor (often called "Fawn" behavior).
What might have to happen to make characters like Cathy, Heathcliff, Dracula feel included, a part of something? Could it change them to feel a part of something larger than themselves?
Vinyl: "Music to Make me Howl at the Moon"
Dance, shimmy, cry, spell-cast, howl...enjoy this iconic playlist and add your Howling tunes through the month--like to save for future listens.
Be good,
Amanda
Sign up for 1:1 Wellness Consult this month, to explore these theories further as an aide to your health journey.
Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter for announcements on group containers in 2023...cooking up some good stuff, y'all.
