We all have many different highs in our lives. Some we’ll talk about, and others are best not rehashed.

While in high school, I was a member of our chorus. At first, I was placed in the tenor section, and it wasn’t the best fit for my vocal chords. During the last two years of high schooling, I went to the bass section and felt much more comfortable. Obviously, I was not a match for the high side of music.

Like most of us, I’ve climbed a few trees. We raised chickens on the farm, and when fall arrived it was my duty to climb the trees and get the chickens that were sitting on the branches to fly to the ground so the rest of the family could catch them and put them in the chicken house for the winter months. I climbed rather high in those trees. However, it wasn’t the height that bothered me. It was the inching out to the ends of the branches to get that chicken to hit the ground that concerned me. Can that little branch hold me or will I hit the ground, too?

Recently, I read a number of wine articles about vineyards in high altitudes. We normally think of vineyards in low altitudes, but it was fascinating to learn that a vintner was growing wine grapes at over 10,000 feet on Mount Etna. Wow! The vines struggled, but they did produce grapes. The wine produced is very strong tasting that reflects the strength of the vine to exist in such a rocky high environment. I would like to try a glass of that wine. However, a bottle of it costs in the mid three figures range. Oh well, maybe one day.

Along that same thought, height can also be measured by your relative distance north or south of the equator. Here in Minnesota, we luckily have had scientists and forward thinking vintners to produce a cold hared grape for our North country. The Alexis Bailey Vineyard by Hastings planted and produced the first cold hardy wines grown in this state. The site is worth visiting to feel the history that has occurred there, and don’t forget to taste the outstanding wines.

How high will you go when purchasing a bottle of wine? I am at the point that I seek value priced wines with wine ratings at 90 points. There’s nothing wrong with purchasing a $10 wine with a good rating of 90 points.

When we moved from the prairie of southwest Minnesota to the driftless area of southeast Minnesota, it was a bit of a shock. When taking a walk on the prairie, you might climb a 50-foot high hill, but usually the ground is quite level. The bluffs that are over four hundred feet in height provided quite a challenge for a flat lander. My initial hike up a bluff of that height was a learning experience. I made the vertical challenge, and breathed very deeply at the top. Now, I’m comfortable with the higher elevations.

Back to the farm for a minute…

We baled alfalfa back then to feed to our livestock. Naturally, it was baling season on the hottest days of the summer, and hoisting those 50-pound plus bales was hard work. The question was always how high to stack the bales on the wagon. I had a neighbor who loved to challenge me to see who could stack the bales the highest. He was older and taller than I was, so he always won the contest. I just replied that stacking them five bales high (which meant about six-seven feet high) was a safety factor. We didn’t want the wagon to tip over, did we?

So how high you go depends on many factors. Whatever your high point is, enjoy it. May you get the heights you wish to achieve.

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

Cheers!