June Rodil Puts Wine and Hospitality in Proper Perspective

I take wine and food very seriously, but not so seriously that their true meanings and place in life become obscured by human vanity. I began drinking and learning about wine while in high school, in the Rheinland-Pfalz. It was everywhere, a part of daily life, consumed by most everyone in one form or another, held in high esteem but not made into a personal badge of “sophistication” and “discernment.” It was and is a beverage made possible by the humble yet vital work of farming.

That said, I think about wine constantly, and have been learning about it — a never-ending journey — since that first sip of Basserman-Jordan. I love wine, I respect wine and the people and lands that birth it, and I am glad it is part of human existence.

June Rodil also respects wine, and thinks about it daily while keeping it in proper and sane perspective. “You don’t need to know the producer’s elevation, soil composition or preferred method of canopy management before you’re allowed to enjoy the bottle. You don’t have to pretend to recognize an aroma. You’re also allowed to dislike an expensive wine and love an inexpensive one,” Rodil says. I respect that take, and agree.

Rodil, a master sommelier and lover of chicken fingers, is featured in the latest edition of Wine Talk, which you can read here.