Yes, I know we’re past the New Year’s celebrations and, yes, I know it’s time to look ahead but…

One of my all time favorite songs is the one we usually hear only on New Year’s Eve and that’s “Auld Lang Syne.” I would suggest we listen to it regularly throughout the year because of it’s strong message.

‘Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?’… I don’t think so! We should always remember those who walked us to where we are today and always remember those times gone by. And, ‘…We’ll tak (take) a cup o’ kindness yet, for days of auld lang syne” Ah…kindness…

Auld lang syne means times gone by and those days are important to all of us. Many of us have lost loved ones within the last year or so and that hurts — our memories of them last as long as we do and there’s the issue.

What we have learned from times gone by, we must pass on to those who will walk our path after we are gone. Yes, that can be a bit of a downer but let’s look at the light in that sentence.

The song ‘Auld Lang Syne’ is about not forgetting, remembering the past, look forward and raising a cup of kindness to everyone. Oh, raise a cup of kindness to everyone! Ouch, that’s hard to do, isn’t it?

Only if you let the dark overwhelm you.

Unless, of course, that dark is a nice Merlot! But, you protest, a Merlot wine is medium red in color and noted for its soft flavor – hardly a dark wine. True, until you wrap your hands around a bottle of Gnarly Head Merlot. The name, Gnarly Head, refers to the aged, twisted and deeply rooted vines of this California Central Coast wine.

It will surprise you with its dark color and full bodied taste but it will be kind to you. It’s loaded with dark cherry tastes with quite a bit of spice (almost a nutmeg taste) and with its 14.5% alcohol, it’s very dry. Not your usual Merlot from auld lang syne but the perfect wine to pair with a juicy hamburger.

Another bit of light in my wine tasting was a wine from South Africa. We don’t see a lot of wines from that area and when I see one, I snatch it. This particular bottle is Simonsig from the Stellenbosch region of that nation. What gave me some nervous vibes was its age.

It was a 2009 Pinotage vintage and, although I like the idea of times gone by, this was maybe stretching it a bit for me? Naturally, the darn bottle followed me home.

With baited breath, I pulled the cork and smelled. Hey, it’s smells good! Now, let’s have a look at it — nope, not a lot of sediment or stuff floating around in the glass. Let’s taste it. Hmmm…not too bad! There was a light sweet cherry taste along with some licorice spiciness. I’ll raise a cup of it in kindness to anyone.

Then, I had to go to auld lang syne and have a bit of chardonnay. Here’s where the dark side entered my day’s light.

I haven’t had a little of Dark Horse Buttery Chardonnay for a long time and why not now? Like magic it appeared and I carried it home with visions of buttery creaminess floating through my head. Let’s take a taste of it and see if this dark horse will be an unexpected winner.

The aroma is buttery — like buttering a slice of toast. Then, I looked at the alcohol content — 14.3%! It’s going to be dry — dry butter, doesn’t make sense but the taste soon gave me to know, I had nothing to dread.

The wine is a wonderful creamy wine that finishes nicely but allows the buttery taste to linger for a bit of time. It may be a dark horse but it’s a light to remind me of times gone by.

There’s a winery in Monterrey that’s very kind to its vines. Many of their vines have been doing their thing for over a hundred years and they identify the stock by number – like Nobles Vines 242 Sauvignon Blanc.

Talk about an ode to times gone by? Here is a wine that sings that song with its very nice crisp melon/lime flavor and dry finish. As you peruse the wine aisle, look for the numbers – Noble Vines will not disappoint you.

Wines have always been kind to me and I raise a cup of kindness to the vines, the people and the vinology culture. To these folks:

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?”

Never! I’ll always take a cup of kindness yet for times gone by.

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

Cheers!