Dependence

Why should I talk of 'dependence' ? As modern 21st century individuals, we should be anything but dependent. We should crave independence and individuality and stand apart, being ourselves etc. and not depend on anyone or anything.

I could in jest mention that this computer is running on electricity produced by burning a by-product of the death of countless organisms many aeons ago. The delicious bottle of Savagnin (Domaine Tissot - 2008 Jura Arbois - Traminer) I tasted over the weekend was fermented and produced to a large extent by countless yeast cells as well as the excellent work of the winemaker. The wine is aromatic and fresh with notes of citrus and quince with a touch of honey. It is a miracle of nature, this time with winemaker help.

More seriously, the air we breathe, the water we drink, in fact everything we need to live has come from somewhere and been produced by a natural process of some sort, so efficiently and elegantly that we hardly notice it. All we are doing in our modern world is exploiting the resources that the Earth has placed at our disposal with no regard to how this has come to pass or whether this exploitation can continue unabated.

We are reminded from time to time of the ultimate precarity of our position when some drought or other 'natural disaster' threatens us, but the thought soon passes and we resume our usual routine.

I can only thank the vine and the yeast and the sun and the rain and Mireille & André Tissot for the wine and for their light touch on the Earth and in the winery. We can be sure that as long as the sun shines and the Earth can bear it there will be wines like these, with a little help from the vigneron.

Cheers!