Degustation?

'Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him'

Yesterday I went for a tour of the local caves - the local co-operative of around 25 producers in the Vouvray Appellation who, in the 1950s got together to combine forces in the production of wine. 90% of their output is in sparkling wine - which, under the Vouvray Appellation, has to be from a single grape variety - Chenin Blanc. Lucky for me that one of my favourite grape varieties is the Chenin Blanc! At the end of the tour of the caves (where around 5million bottles of wine are stored/matured) there was, of course, a tasting.

On my relatively short walk to the cave (just over a mile), there were a number of cave and in the morning I'd been out for croissant and bread and come across three shops that showcased local producers' wines. It is a village of wine. Some cave are splendid affairs and others in invite people in for 'degustation' in what appears to be a front room rather than a commercial premises with the promise of 'a vente' - the chance to buy from that producer.

For my own visit to the cave - the cooperative who use the local caves as their warehouse, the tour guide described how they use the caves - the importance of temperature control and humidity and how this affects the wines. When it came to tasting what the cooperative produces we were talked through what we should be smelling as we worked the wine around the glass, held it to our noses and finally tasted it. Three or four sparkling wines and a still wine were offered to us. As I has walked the 30 or so minutes to the caves, I was very happy to take anything that was offered. However, in seriousness, the difference in aromas came through with each tasting. I was going to go back the next day to stock up a little and take back to the UK my allowance in still and sparkling wine. Interestingly, when I'm in Taizé, the local Cremant de Burgoyne is best, in my opinion, in 'demi-sec' version. Here, though, there was the complexity of the 'brut' and also the 'brut nature' where no extra sugar was added in the process of bottling. This was, in my opinion, an exceptional wine. I've ended up buying six of the brut and six of the brut nature.

It got me thinking and reflecting - and in particular on the psalmist 'taste and see that the Lord is good' in Psalm 34. Described as 'Praise for deliverance in trouble'. For me, I thought about those who come, perhaps for a first encounter, with church to 'taste and see'. What does the church offer them? What does the church do in that encounter? How do we look? How do we smell? Life is about our senses. Some senses are more acute than others. Those who are blind or deaf rely more heavily on their other senses that then become more acute. In tasting wine I might smell or taste one thing when someone else tastes or smells another thing. As a church community, I reflected that we, in the Parish of Four Saints, can't be all things to all people. There is an underlying 'smell' and aroma about us that is part of who we are - a bit 'bells and smells' - we can't pretend to be something we're not. We have a unique 'smell' - and that smell is our dna. We hope that people will come and 'taste and see that the Lord is good' - for some, I know, it won't be a good taste or smell - but for others it will be a rich, beautiful aroma that is attractive and welcomes them and invites them to taste some more - to take more of what there is to offer. The most important thing, though, is that we warmly welcome everyone who passes through our doors or encounters us in any way, shape or form.

All those years ago I tasted and smelt and saw that the Lord was good in what I sampled of the Taizé Community. Pope John-Paul II declared 'Ah! Taize, that little springtime' - during his visit to the community in 1986 he said this: 'Like you, pilgrims and friends of the community, this pop is only passing through. But one passes through Taize as one passes close to a spring of water. The traveller stopes, quenches their thirs and continues on their way....'

Our churches need to quench the thirst of the traveller - of everyone coming to encounter Jesus - we need to be springs of living water. I hope that we're able to do that. I hope that people are able to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Some photos of my recent travels below: