Baggage can be good or bad.

When we think of baggage, most of us see that suitcase we pack for a trip, right? Yeah, so do I, but there’s also that other type of baggage connected to our mental being which can cause concern, anxiety or that all enveloping sense of stress.

I was attending a meeting with some fine folks and, although the meeting was planned to be lighthearted, I very quickly sensed, saw and heard “baggage.”

The people at the meeting heard from someone who was anxious about a public speaking engagement, from a person who was concerned about losing a new and awesome employee, and then I heard from someone who had a family member who would soon be facing a major surgery.

Later and not surprisingly over a glass of wine, I reflected over those scenarios and became both encouraged and saddened by the baggage — the weight of life’s occurrences — many people carry so stoically. I was encouraged because people are strong and saddened because negative baggage is, unfortunately, a part of life and, in both instances, we learn something about ourselves and others.

Then my mind rested on an upcoming personal trip and I was forced to think about that first kind of baggage — my suitcase and what I’d be putting in it. Why was that a concern for me? Because where we were going to stay on this visit, the elevator is broken and we have to walk up and down eight flights of stairs to get to our apartment.

My anxiety was showing because we had better pack lightly since my back was going to carry that darn suitcase up and down those eight flights of stairs.

But let’s think of those bags in another way. What if we pack our baggage for a quick trip to Portugal, Spain, Germany and Belgium? Pack lightly because there’s a lot of ground to cover and we’ll have to satisfy our thirst by trying a beverage from each country.

Is your bag packed? Our flight is leaving for Portugal in a few minutes and, no, we aren’t going to sample the country’s Porto (well, maybe a little/lot of it) rather we’re seeking a refreshing and slightly mineral laced white wine. While in country, we have to sample Paxis White Blend and note the terrific melon and peach taste of it. The wine is blended from oaked Chardonnay, Alvarinho, Verdelho and Fernão Pires grapes which brings together some amazing tastes — the vanilla creaminess of the Chardonnay, the minerality of the Alvarinho and the citrus of the other grapes — an absolutely wonderful and refreshing wine.

Hurry up and finish your glass of Paxis! We need to get our rental car and drive to the hillsides of Calatayud, Spain. The grape vines here are old and twisted and even though the area is dry and the soil gravelly, the Garnacha wines produced here are worth the dusty trip. Once we unpack our baggage, we’ll go to the restaurant and buy a bottle of Honoro Vera Garnacha. I think we’ll enjoy the dark red color of the wine and the slight raspberry and spice taste that melds so nicely with the earthiness of the wine. It’s a nice dry wine and it’ll fortify us for our flight to Germany.

After a bit of travel, we arrive in the Mosel wine region of Germany and, as we take a river cruise on the Moselle River, we are struck by the steep banks rising from the river and the vineyards clinging to the hillsides. In addition to the terrain, we have to ask ourselves how a plant can grow in such rocky soil — nothing but slate chunks can be seen. Then we try a Piesporter Michelsberg Mosel wine.

Yes, it’s a bit on the sweet side but those just referenced slate chunks have given up some of their minerality to the grape vine and that stoniness comes through in the wine. At first the gorgeous white seems too sweet and then the acidity of the slate kicks in and wipes your mouth clean — leaving no sweet baggage. But wait! Now you’re ready for another sip! Do it — the wine only gets better as you totally get involved with it.

Maybe that’s enough sweetness — let’s go to Belgium and see what we can find there.

As we drag our baggage onto the train, we are wondering what kind of wines are made in Belgium. Actually, the Belgians have been making wine for centuries but their grapes were severely hurt by a period of very cold weather. Until the cold hardy grapes of the last couple of decades became available, the Belgians became known for their beer making abilities and we aren’t going to offend the Belgians. We are going to sample a very remarkable beer and go to the sour side of life.

If you know what a lambic beer tastes like, Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René Lambic Beer will meet all of your expectations. It has a beautiful golden hue but at first scent, you’ll know this is not your normal beer. Upon the first taste, the wild yeast explodes in your mouth and the yeasty souriness doesn’t quit. It goes on and on and on….

Enough of the beer — it’s time to go home. What did we learn on our trip? Well, maybe just this…

Perhaps we have learned that beverages can be just like the mental baggage we carry — sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, at times stony and and sometimes pleasing. The most important thing to learn is that we don’t have to carry our baggage alone — someone will always be there for us.

Next week, May Day!

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!