Wine and opera
For me a good opera is just music and hopefully “nice”.

But that is not enough: I need outstanding to create an emotion.

In the same way that a good wine is just a beverage that may give you some pleasure.

As my mentor, the late Paul Pontalier of Chateau Margaux, taught me:

“A good wine gives you pleasure; a great wine is an emotion.”

For me the venue plays a special role as well in appreciating the better things in life.

Outstanding food served in a cold and modern restaurant tends to create not much emotion for me. Often these are the meals that you can get anywhere in the world.

Dining in a chateau or, as we did, in a palace, is what I call an experience.

An experience
Listening to singers like Sondra Radvanovsky in a modern theater with harsh lighting maybe good music.

But it is not the same experience as undergoing sheer perfection in the most beautiful opera house in the world in Paris like we did for the Maria Callas Gala.

The same goes for wine: of course, you can buy some great wines and drink those at your kitchen table wearing a pair of blue jeans.

But that will not be an experience!

Tasting those same wines in the dining room of our 300-year-old chateau indeed is an experience.

Especially when you realize that the table you are dining at, pre-dates the 1855 Bordeaux Classification by at least 10 years!

A shared experience
Listening to Pretty Yende singing when you are alone by yourself would be great.

But sharing the experience with likeminded music lovers at a Callas Gala Night adds so much to the experience.

At least that’s what we always feel when we are in one of the best opera houses of the world.

Goosebumps
The Gala Night to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Maria Callas proved this point for the umpteenth time to us.

The atmosphere in the theatre was just unique and maybe impossible to describe.

I still get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Some emotions defy words and just need to be felt.

Just Margaret and me, watching the spectacle all alone, wouldn’t have done it.

Gala souper
The bonding in the audience created by experiencing this together, showed at the gala souper following the spectacle.

We were placed at, what was for me, one of the best tables.

We didn’t know any of our table companions from Adam, but instantly there was this mutual spark.

A spark that came from experiencing something very special together.

The words of Paul Pontalier words could not be more appropriate here: “A great performance is an emotion.”

And a shared emotion touches us on a much deeper level.

Shared emotion
This made me think about how our guests often feel on our tours.

Our guests too, usually don’t know their fellow travelers before coming to us in Bordeaux to share our wine experiences  together.

And how they at some point all agree that sharing these emotions in a small group of likeminded wine lovers make such a difference.

Just as it did for us at the dinner in the Paris opera.

(to be continued)