Price supports rarely benefit small farmers.
Little Things
A Small Fiction, a flash fiction site authored by James Miller, has become one of my favorite indulgences. I brew a cup of good coffee and delve into the site, where humor, logic, mysticism, and more are doled out in 140 character bursts. Yes, the same number of characters and spaces as a Twitter post, but otherwise entirely different: Miller aims to tell a small but complete story in each.
You might think that these stories would suffer from their size, but I think the opposite is true. Miller edits his posts down to a central idea; the lack of embellishment allows that idea to shine forth like a well-polished jewel. And I never fail to marvel at the elegance and craftsmanship evident in his spare but witty style.
As a fairly small person, perhaps I’m predisposed to the concept of good things coming in small packages. Tiny delicate flowers, short stories, the perfect miniature pastry or petite chocolate. I own two small terriers, (though I doubt they see themselves that way). And I love a ‘little’ wine.
Little wine. In an era where big, oaky, alcoholic monsters grab the attention, the press, and-especially!-the scores, little wine probably requires an explanation. It’s the opposite of the Wine Spectator award-winning, attention-grabbing 98 point darling of the moment. It won’t be oaky. It won’t be high in alcohol. It will never be the wine that stands out in the crowd at a blind tasting, because when you’ve tasted 50 wines, delicacy no longer registers. But it can be the perfect wine for an aperitif, a cookout, a picnic, a cocktail with old friends….the list goes on.
A little wine has delicacy. Finesse. Sprightliness. Lithe, pretty, elegant fruit. In other words, a little wine is the perfect wine for spring, which arrives promptly on Tuesday, impending snowstorms notwithstanding. If you’d like to try out a small pleasure, we’re running a special on one of our favorite ‘little’ wines tomorrow morning. And if you’d like to check out A Small Fiction, you can find it at http://www.asmallfiction.com/