What to do if, when walking into a dinner party, a deep conversation is taking place and there is little or no interest in your opinion.

Harsh, honest, but what do I mean by that?  I think we all choose who we want the best advice from; consciously or unconsciously.  There is always that better voice, amongst a group of friends, that raises the best pros and cons.  Said person has more life experience, or a deeper awareness about the way the world ticks.  In truth, maybe they don’t know squat about what path is the right one to take, but they sound the best in a conversation.  I always want to be this person; the mentor, the non judgmental figure head – however, it never seems to work out that way.  My thoughts and advice come out like my nephew’s building block sets; a jumble of shapes and ideas that never stack very high, and usually come crashing into a heap.  Instead, I’m the girl that opens the wine.

Better explanation is that I find a job to do.  A distraction.  I may give my acute observations here and there, but I never actually get heard.  Instead, investing in the “what physically to do at this moment” helps balance out my desire to grab someone and shake them into a new perception.  Usually, wine is involved.  This is where I can become your expert, and you listen to my opinion.  I become Queen for a minute, “Queen of Wine in New Jersey” (don’t be jealous), and tsk tsk at my subject’s inabilities to grasp a simple tasting note.  Silly barbarian folk.

That night I was again lost, mainly because I couldn’t create a tasting note.  The wine we were drinking was that boring!  The idea was a good one: Montepulciano D’ Abruzzo with spaghetti and meatballs.  What a great grape from Italy; Montepulciano.  I’ve always loved the herbal quality you can find in this wine while also getting consistent fruit flavors such as prune, red plum, and at times licorice.  This style of wine, coming from the best area (Abruzzo) in Italy, can come in two styles; soft and approachable, or balls to the wall rich and powerful.  Guess which one I prefer…

Key here is to know your producers.  Some will blend Sangiovese into the final product (15% of what is allowed), which would give you that more aggressive and spicy end game.  This is what I would have preferred, but didn’t receive.  Familiarity of European producers, specifically French and Italian, will help you make decisions on who you bring to the party.  Taking a risk is ok, but like that evening, a risk may be a dirty diaper.  Puro Desio was not the producer for me, or seems like anyone else; I can’t find them anywhere on the world wide web!  There may have been a label change, and they now go by “Platinum”, but I can’t really figure that out.  Who can say.  I can only show you the label I drank, and didn’t care for. Great thing is, this wine didn’t cost my friend more than $12.

Knowing who makes the wine is like knowing who you want to listen to when asking for advice; what outstanding, thought provoking conversation has you alter your own attitude.  There are tons of producers and tons of coaches that can build you up or squash your dreams.  Your gut is all you have in the end.  Slow down, open your eyes, breathe, and trust – and also be patient.  That is all you can do.  But please pass on this wine, and maybe, just maybe,  listen to the unassuming girl sitting next to you…