Waiting

Grape vineyards and olive orchards are the most common things one sees along the Via Francigena as it winds its way through the beautiful hills of Tuscany. It is important, therefore, to taste the wine and the olive oil that is produced by the people who live there. On one occasion, a local wine producer talked with us about the unique process of making Brunello wine from a special variety of Sangiovese grapes that are only cultivated in a small area around the hill town of Montalcino. “To be classified as Brunello wine,” she said, “ it has to age for at least five years before it can be distributed or sold.” She also said that it is good to open a bottle of Brunello several hours before you plan to drink it so that it can interact with the environment in a way that enhances the flavor. Someone then asked about storing an unfinished bottle of Brunello for one or more days, since he had the habit of only drinking a little at a time. He wanted to know if it would start to lose its flavor, like other wines. “That is no problem,” the wine producer said, “because the Brunello is used to waiting.” Of course, I immediately began to think about this as a useful metaphor. It does seem true that patience is less of a natural gift than a developed one within each one of us. We don’t get to the point where waiting is easy and normal for us without doing it over the course of many years and allowing this slow process to define our character. In the Pilgrim Credo that I often quote, there is phrase that was reinforced within me as I tasted wine in that cool basement of a farm in Tuscany. It is, simply, “I am not in a hurry.” May it be so with me, today and every day!