Winery Log; Fall 2018; Wine tasting with the Unicorn Hunter

How do you meet dead people? Or legendary people who only exist in some other-worldly realm? This is the dilemma of the Unicorn Wine Hunter.

Now, there certainly are the braggarts that want to show off to the people at their table, and maybe the tables next to them as well, by paying a few hundred bucks for a bottle of wine. Revel in the blessings of the Universe if you have such cash to blow on something like that. The rest of us think of that as Rent Money.

But amongst the high priced bottles, estate auctions and quiet couples that wander into out of the way wineries, there are the Unicorn Hunters.

Imagine for a moment that you get to watch a special movie with your favorite actress or actor. It will only be shown once, to one group of movie-goers, and never released on video or TV. Or, imagine a private sporting event with your favorite players. That one day, in that one stadium, they will play a game that will not be recorded or televised; no highlights, just those players, playing at their hardest and best for one stadium full of lucky people.

This is the essence of a Unicorn Wine to a devoted Hunter; the rare treat to find or discover something truly out of the ordinary, an almost magical moment marrying wine and taste and opportunity. The Unicorn Hunter will talk about the rare wine they came across like the moviegoer will describe the movie plot, camera work, and score, or the sports fan will talk about the winning run, goal or save. You missed it. You should have been there.

Now, to be certain, a Unicorn Wine is as rare as real unicorns and can be just as fickle about revealing itself to Herds and Lions. Sometimes it is the rare wine from a legendary winery that is no longer available from anyone, but, look here! In the wine cellar of dead Baron von Blowhart is a case! Call Sotheby’s! Unicorns are treasures.

The inner dream of every winemaker who gets into the winery business is that they manage to craft the legendary Unicorn Wine that some Lion critic wanders in, discovers, and puts the winery on the map of Holy Grail Wineries for the Herds to go stampede. Just like authors and their novels, there is far more day to day grinding of average and even mediocre wines out there than unicorn dreams, and at some point, the overwhelming majority of authors and winemakers have to come to grips with the reality over their dreams.

Not so for the Unicorn Hunter, though, for there is always another winery around the corner. Always another Lion who has a bottle or two squirreled away and willing to share on that rare night. Always a chance, just that chance, they might stumble across a Unicorn if they are very patient.