What the Heck is in Your Wine?

Hey y’ all! Welcome to Love Living Well! I’m Michelle L. Bohn, personal and professional development coach, writer, English Bulldog loving, wellness weirdo, book geek and wine freak, and I teach simple self-care solutions and powerful productivity habits that stick.

A BUBBLY ROSÉ

Last night, while we were enjoying a delicious Valentine’s Day surf and turf dinner, steak and lobster complemented by a beautiful bottle of Solel. Vent. Âme’s 2019 Bubbly Rosé, I shared with Jon Colin how much I am enjoying my new adventure of learning about wine, how it’s made, the differences in the grape varieties and the regions they're grown. As we forked buttery bites of rib-eye and lobster tail into our mouths, I shared how much I’m enjoying learning how to truly experience wine, not just to drink it and know if I like it or not, but to also know what’s in it, where it came from – to know its story.

Like, for example, the 2019 Solel. Vent. Âme Bubbly Rosé we were drinking is made in Aix-en-Provence, France, a region that has been making wine for over 2,500 years. Aix-en-Provence, is located on the French Mediterranean coast, and known for its strong Mistral winds that “keep the vineyards dry and free from pests, providing a healthy environment for grapes to grow.” Knowing that the grapes for the Rosé we were enjoying were carefully handpicked from vines that had been lovingly tended for over 20 years makes me feel good about putting it on our table. Even better, is knowing and being able to trust that this bottle of wine is clean-crafted,™ meaning that it has been lab tested twice to ensure that it free from all of the synthetic chemicals and pesticides found in most mass-produced wine. It’s also low in sulfites and has zero added sugar. This makes me feel good about putting it inside of our bodies.

WINE IS A MYSTERY

On this new wine journey, I’ve learned that wine is a mystery for our pallets to discover. In its most organic form, “after blood,” writes journalist Bianca Bosker in Cork Dork, “wine is the most complex matrix there is.” And that’s, again, in its most natural or organic form. It gets even more complex considering that many wines can contain up to 300 chemicals and additives that aren’t included on the label. As Ben Panko in, The Science Behind Your Cheap Wine explains, “winemakers aren't required to disclose exactly what is in each bottle; all they have to reveal is the alcohol content and whether the wine has sulfites or certain food coloring additives.” That’s it. Alarming? Yes, I know. Oh, and also gross. Think of mass-produced wine, that stuff you buy at the grocery store, as processed wine, much like processed food, which only tastes “good” because it has so much salt and additives like MSG in it. It’s the same with mass-produced wine. It has to have all of those extra synthetic chemicals and additives, like Mega Purple, to make it taste “good.” And by “good” I mean palatable to the average consumer. It has nothing to do with the grapes, where they are from, how they are harvested or how they actually taste.

IT JUST MADE SENSE

So, y' all, when my partner-in-wine shared the clean-crafted,™ wine opportunity with me, I immediately said, “HECK YEAH!” It just made sense. First of all, it’s wine. I love wine and I’ve always wanted to learn more about wine and wine making and now I’m getting to do just that. But, more importantly, clean-crafted™ wine fits perfectly with my clean eating lifestyle. Being mindful about what I put in and on my body is the simplest form of self-care that I practice. Now I can drink wine that easily fits within my simple self-care standards. Wine, that I don’t have to feel guilty about drinking because it is made and distributed contentiously, with respect for our bodies and our environment. Wine that has real flavor. Wine that has a story.

CONNECT

I hope this article has helped you discover some simple self-care solutions you can add into your daily routine. For more simple self-care solutions, EMAIL ME for your FREE copy of Seven Simple Self-Care Tips, and follow me on Facebook at LOVELIVING WELL and on Instagram at @mizbohn.

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