IN MY OPINION...

There are some things going on in the media these days that made me think back to ancient times.  In Greece, one of the popular gods was Dionysos, god of wine, madness and vegetation.  He was also god of the theatre.  Dionysos has a dual nature: bright and joyous, but also dark, mysterious and deadly.  He is the god of wine and therefore should be pleasant and beneficial, but wine has its negative aspects too, making people drunk and behave in strange ways.  The Greeks were aware of the dual nature of wine mirrored by the dual natures of this god.

Dionysos is a male god, always surrounded by women, his chief worshippers.  His worship involved transvestism and blurring of sex roles.  Both men and women worshipped dressed in long robes covered by fawn skins.  The women, known as bacchants, left their homes and revelled on mountainsides.  Their name (in ancient Greek maenaeds) literally means "raving ones". Through dancing and drunken intoxication they went into a state of ecstatic frenzy, lost all self-control, began to shout excitedly, engaged in uncontrolled sexual behavior and ritualistically hunted down and tore into pieces animals (and in myth, sometimes men and children) devouring the raw flesh.

Death forms a major part in the worship Dionysos.  He revels in human sacrifice.  It was suggested that every tragic hero who suffers and dies on stage at the Dionysia, a great drama festival in Athens, is in fact Dionysos being killed.  It was said that the sacrifice plot was the original plot of the tragedy.

Sadly, we are seeing signs of this mad, erratic behavior relating to people in today's entertainment business.  In my opinion, the media has gone too far in their quest to sell news by dwelling too much on the antics of these out-of-control, misbehaving, addictive individuals.  These actors/entertainers who make public spectacles of themselves -- using all forms of media to flaunt their unacceptable and crazed behavior to the world -- do not deserve a minute of press time.  Anyone who has dealt with people with addictions knows there comes a time when tough love is the only solution. (Firing this actor from his TV show was a step in the right direction, so is laying charges of theft against one who 'borrows' an expensive piece of jewerly and refuses to return it and continually breaks their terms of probation.)  If the user (alcoholic or drug addict) continues on their path of self destruction, refuses rehab (or makes a joke of it by checking in and out like they're at a luxury resort), refuses to admit they have a problem, endangers themselves and loved ones (especially their children) by their out-of-control, crazed behavior and refusal to seek proper treatment, they do not deserve the publicity the press is giving them.  Yet we continue to condone this negative behavior by listening to their manic tirades, giving them a voice on radio, TV and Internet, and watch with fascinating as they self destruct.

It's time to quit giving all this attention to these sick individuals and focus more on people who are contributing their talents in a positive way.   Oh, I know, bad behavior sells newspapers.  But have we all resorted back to the days of the ancients, worshipping Dionysos and condoning this madness, following along like the raving maenaeds?

AN ODE TO THE GRAPE!

I like wine. I can still remember the very first taste I had of it -- some home-made Italian brew. It was at the home of my friend's fiance. We were young kids then, not more than 18, and Junie was celebrating her up-and-coming marriage to an Italian boy. We were gathered at his home and his father served us all a small glass of his home-made red. It made me very dizzy and sick and I spent most of the evening lying on a bed recovering before I could go home. But that gave me the first taste of what would be my favorite drink.

After that we used to buy cheap raisin wine from the Italian bootleggers and drink it on the sly before going dancing on Friday and Saturday nights. Once I recall sneaking home late after one such wild night with my pals, scared in case my strict Baptist parents found out I'd been imbibing. I woke in the night feeling very ill and was too afraid to go downstairs to the bathroom so I stuck my head out the window and threw up. In the morning, when I stuck my head out the window again to get a breath of fresh air to clear my fuzzy brain, I noticed Dad down below examining something by the sidewalk. Later, I had a look myself and saw something red splattered on the cement. I freaked, thinking I'd puked up my guts, but realized afterwards it was just the wine. I learned to be more cautious after that!

Wine is the nectar of the gods -- namely Dionysos, who was the Greek god of wine (also called Bacchus by the Romans). Whether I'm enjoying a glass of Boutari red in Mykonos, Greece (above) a campari by the canal or a glass of pinot noir at a fine dining restaurant in Italy (below) I am very fond of wine. You'd think, though, that by now I'd be a connoissseur, but I'm not!

Recently I was invited to a media event, a wine-tasting put on by New Zealand wineries. That was an excellent experience and a chance to learn how to properly savour the grape. I went along with 3 friends who are wine writers, (one of them spent a number of years working in wineries in California). I did have the basics down, because a few years ago my Chilean friend taught me how to properly 'taste' wine. SNIFF. SIP. SWILL. SAVOUR and SPIT. But was I going to 'spit' all those delicious New Zealand wines? There were at least 45 breweries represented at the show. Each table had various samples of Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling, Chardonnay, Merlot. My god! I felt as though I was at a real Bacchanal! The only thing missing were the wild maenaeds dancing themselves into a frenzy. (There wasn't any dancing, just sipping). I made my way around the tables sniffing, sipping, swilling, savouring and occasionally spitting -- careful to rinse my mouth and glass with water after each taste. It was glorious! Never have I tasted so many delectable wines -- many of them more expensive than I would ever be able to afford to buy. But still, I don't feel like a connoisseur at all because I can't possibly keep the tastes, names, wineries, straight in my wine-addled brain.

The week before I'd been on a gift weekend to the Spinnaker's Gastro Brew Pub in Victoria. This included an eight course meal with beer and wine pairings. The sommelier carefully explained each of these and how they complimented the gourmet foods we were served.
I couldn't possible remember them all, but later I did buy a bottle of B.C. brew - -Averill Creek Pinot Noir (2005) to save for a special occasion. And I just got the menu with details of the wine/beer pairings and delectable food we had prepared especially by the chefs. It was positively erotic!

So let me raise my glass to all you wine imbibers and wine connnoisseurs. Sniff, sip, swill, savour...and enjoy!