The Cork Wall

When it comes to wine, I drink it. And with that, I drink a lot of it.

Hell, there are plenty of studies suggesting that glasses of red wine in moderation is good for your heart and health, right?

Well, maybe I take that statement a little too literally.

But, I have truly enjoyed drinking some fine bottles of wine over the last ten years (insert: LYING. I started drinking wine before I was of age, shhhhhhh), from $10 to over $100.

Wine. to me, can be and is an experience; whether you are at a fine dining establishment where the wine is paired with your meal, at a tasting room in the wine country with some of your pals, sharing a glass at happy hour, or just pouring a glass at home coming off a long day of work. There is always a story to tell with wine, which leads me to the story of my cork wall on a previous post: http://fiveoclockfood.blogspot.com/2009/07/tale-of-cork.html.

Synopsis is: I randomly started saving corks in a drawer, mostly because they were from memorable nights (like little memory tokens), but then started to think - what if I made a wall using the corks?

Drawers became small shopping bags, small shopping bags became larger shopping bags, and, then from there, it got a bit out of control.

I have been a "renter" (other than "owner") my entire adult life, and I kept putting the idea of this wall away (accompanied with the mass compilation of corks) until I actually owned a home to make it permanent.

And then, recently, it dawned on me: what if I could find something to adhere the corks to that would be removable whenever I move out of where I am at? Seriously, I have been talking about this damn cork wall idea for way too long, and it was time to just "attempt" it.

So, that is just what I did. I went to my local hardware store, told them my idea, and this is what they came up with:

Shelf lining paper, tape, and a glue gun.

I mean, could it be...ANY...SIMPLER?

So, in my recent need to release stress, I FINALLY began....THE CORK WALL.

In preparation, I began to cut the shelf paper to fit the wall spaces, tearing off tape, getting the glue gun ready, setting up the ladder...

..and then I grabbed the first bag of corks.

Memories...stories...thoughts...everything about "this" bag I had used to accumulate corks...it all came flooding back. As in I meant what I said earlier - truly, there is always a story to be told with wine.

And this "said" bag was full of corks from one year (of three) of living in San Francisco, a city so dear to my heart and mind, both foodie and otherwise. It was unreal as I started pulling out corks from Sullivan Vineyards (a fav winery in Napa Valley), corks from amazing dinners at my favorite haunts, random corks from cheap bottles I always bought from Trader Joes in my search for the perfect "under $10 bottle of wine" (yes, even La Boca), and then a bunch of corks from Wattle Creek winery, which evoked memories of one of the best FUNemployed days I had with my great friend Aimee where they gave me all of their corks from a week's worth of tasting in their tasting room.

As I took each cork out of the bag, I read the label to myself, and privately indulged in whatever memory flooded my mind. I delicately glued it to the shelf paper taped to my wall, and savored the moment of exactly what that wine tasted like, and savored the remembrance of a good time, in my recent past.

As I worked through that first bag and then on to my current drawer of corks, I graciously meandered through a memory bank full of great dinners, happy hours, time spent with family and friends. I have more corks waiting to be added than the normal person would ever have, and I can't wait to include them to the wall. Friends have even emailed saying they are sending me their corks, and I can't wait to glue them to the wall as well, knowing that there is a special place for them in my kitchen, just as it is a special place inside of me.

I guess it is almost more fitting that this wall is in my kitchen, my heaven, my "happy place". I frequently scan the corks and I find myself finding one cork in particular and remembering a great time in my life. It is almost like some of these memories are speaking out loud on my wall, and I love it.

So, a bottle of wine will always end up empty (boo...), but you will always have the cork to remind you of the great time you had to enjoy it. And I just decided to make a mural of my good times. And, the fun (drinking) isn't over...yet. I still have to finish the wall!

Cheers!