You wouldn’t believe the looks I receive when I ask the question.

And, if one could put words to the looks, the words would be: nobody has ever asked me that question, to an exclamation of puzzlement and, for some, a look of befuddlement. The question?

Who are you? Tell me your story.

There are those folks who immediately know what I’m asking and their story pours out of their mouths. Then, there are those folks who need a bit of a push and I begin by telling a smidgin of my story and suddenly, we are talking to each other as equals.

We all have a story. If you were asked to tell your story, where would you begin and what would you say? We all have some personal ‘doors’ behind which we don’t want others to see what’s there but, we all have many rich and ripe stories to share with others, too.

A bit ago I sat down with a young man who was assisting me with some personal matters. We were getting along fine and, suddenly, I looked him in the eye and with a little smile on my face, asked the question: “Who are you?”. He was taken aback for a few seconds, said nobody had ever asked him that question but, with a slight nudge, he begin to tell me who he is.

As he spoke, I always offered some insight to my story and that stoked his story about teaching in South Korea, meeting his future wife there and then coming back to the states to begin his current career. In a short while, I met his wife and, since she is not fluent in English but definitely getting there, we had a fun time getting to know each other. My world opened wider and I am extremely pleased to know this young couple.

It all began with: “Who are you?”.

Today its more important than ever for us not to throw stones at someone else — let’s talk to each other and learn our stories. In those stories, we’ll find similarity. Leaning the ‘story’ is important in many areas and I learned that a long time ago about German wines.

Knowing nothing about wines, I thought all German wines were, well, just German wines. After all, the country is not that large so how much different could the wines be from one region to the other? Boy, ignorance is truly bliss but not too smart!

Now, I know the difference between the Rhine area and the Mosel area of the country. I know what it means to have a wine grown in stony hills and on rounded black earth hills. It was necessary for me to learn the story of each wine and, as I sipped a new wine, to ask the question: “Who are you?’.

One of the easiest ways to discover who a wine is comes to us by simply reading the bottle label. Most of us don’t take time to do heavy research about wines and the label on that bottle of your favorite Chardonnay tells you a little story. Set aside the marketing aspect of the label and notice the country of origin, the region within the country and many times, there will be a bit of about the wine making family. Notice the alcohol level – it tells you how sweet the wine is. For instance, the label of a solid Malbec such as Oak Cask Conquista reveals a lot about the wine.

It comes from the Mendoza region of Argentina and tells you the alcohol by volume (ABV ) is 13.5% — a nice dry wine. The label tells you what to expect from a tasting experience of it; some plum and dark cherry tastes to go along with the oaky/vanilla finish that comes from oak cask aging. In addition, the label gives us a beautiful history lesson about the Spanish conquistadors who came to the area years and years ago.

So, Oak Cask Conquista Malbec, who are you? Try it and you’ll love the story it tells.

Likewise, there’s a story in Yellow Tail Riesling. On the label, there’s the story about a family settling in Australia many years ago and slowly trying to grow a decent wine for others to enjoy. They succeeded and their Riesling is a fine non-German Riesling. It’s filled with crisp green apple tastes and has a mild floral aroma. At 11.5 % ABV, it’s semi-sweet and when consumed at a chilled temperature, it’s wonderful. Who are you Yellow Tail Riesling? Try me and I’ll tell you my story!

And, then, there’s that very old friend of mine from the Mosel region of Germany – Piesporter Michelsberg. The label tells us the story of the family making such wines since 1794 and reveals to us to expect a long lasting semi-sweet wine that is filled with lovely soft citrus tastes.

Stories… Be forewarned that if we ever sit across the table from each other and I look you in your eyes with a slight smile on my face, be ready for it.

Who are you?

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

Cheers!