“In Vino veritas et amicitia” ….. In wine there is truth and friendship ……. is a slightly longer version of that well known quote originating from Zenobio the philosopher from Ancient Greece, and then used slightly differently by Pliny The Elder in Roman times who also added a bit on so as to read “In wine there is truth, in water there is health”. Anyway, I’m sticking with the friendship theme and illustrated with my WineArt for today highlighting two close friends from Cumbria. Janice and Don, both born and still living in the tiny Cumbrian village where I was raised too, travelled from their home to spend a week with us in Burgundy seen here with a smile on their faces as we enjoy a bottle of wine in Beaune’s Bar66.

There is no doubt that friendship and conversation is initiated and developed over a glass of wine, especially if conducted in an environment OF wine. Bar66 in Beaune is such an environment, situated in a town surrounded by wine shops in the most famous wine region in the world. It feels like you are entering hallowed ground as soon as you walk inside, the wine list covers every area of Burgundy, the decor and furnishing is undoubtedly Burgundian, the charcuterie boards are full of local produce, the staff are extremely knowledgeable and the owner greets everyone as if they were lifelong friends. This is an aesthetic experience before you even take your first sip of a Meursault, a Chablis, a Montrachet, a Gevrey Chambertin, a Volnay ….. the friendship is in the wine itself!

My series of posts entitled WineArt have been inspired by two of my blogging friends, Marion at Candiacomesclean, and Danell at Vinthropology. Danell is a Sommelier educated in Art & Dance who is now running a Wine & Culture Association in Italy. Marion is quite different, an artist who paints and photographs for pleasure and commercially. She lives just a few hundred yards away from us in our Cotswolds village. Their writing and photography especially have provided the inspiration to look wider and deeper beyond the glass. Wine is often surrounded by or part of aesthetic beauty, landscapes such as a vineyard on the slopes of Burgundy or on the South Downs of England, the architecture of medieval wine villages across Alsace or the chateau of Loire, the exterior of modern day winery buildings, the interiors with sleek stainless steel tanks lined up like something from a science fiction movie, the ancient barrels in a wine cellar, the decor in a brasserie and wine bar. It only takes a little mindfulness to “see” them all.

Categories: Burgundy, Photography, Wine, wineart

Tags: aesthetics, Bar66, Beaune, Burgundy, mindfulness, Wine Art, wine blogging, wine lovers, wineart