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I came across the term ‘vino da meditazione’ when my wine exploration began, never quite understanding what it means. Until I drank Amarone for the first time. All of a sudden there was no need for food or chatter; just a quiet corner on the sofa, and plenty of slow, mindful appreciation of the miracle that is wine. I guess this expression can mean different things to different people, but have you got a particular wine you like to contemplate with? One that requires your full attention and turns you into Julian of Norwich in the process…?
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Mosel Riesling Beerenauslese or Trockenbeerenauslese does it for me, though agree an Amarone is also in this category.
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My dirty little secret is enjoying PX in a quiet corner…
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For me it’s Pinot Noir which makes me just want to push any food away and concentrate solely on the wine.
Some recent examples of wines which prompted this response include:
Denis Mortet Gevry Chambertin
Ten Minutes by Tractor McCutcheon Vineyard
Domaine de la Cote La Cote
Patrice Rion Nuits St Georges Clos des Argilliers
Riesling for me always demands food (at least it makes me hungry).
The thing about contemplative drinking though is that the drinking soon overtakes the contemplation, and before you know it the capacity for contemplation is compromised. Doesn’t bear thinking about…
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That’s an interesting point! But I find that those wines I drink on their own, in a particular quiet mood, I tend to drink much slower - almost in a bit of a day-dreaming trance. So I’ve yet to reach that tipping point…
Ooh! It’s been a while since I had a PX… Must get one! Any recommendations?..
Toro Albala is good, Majestic sometimes stocks vintage ones at a surprisingly friendly price. Waitrose might also have some non vintage. I would go half bottle if I were you.
In restaurants also had Emilio Hidalgo and Antique Fernando de Castilla, which were good.
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Ha! Which is why these super sweet Mosel Rieslings are so good because not only do they taste divine they are very low in alcohol. You. could drink a whole bottle and still be able to walk in a straight line 
You know, I’ve still yet to try an amarone?
The last time this happened it was a German Riesling Auslese.
I’ve also had it with both red and white Burgundy, but by no means is it a guarantee (as others have also mentioned)!
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I’d apply it to any wonderful and complex wine that is best sipped slowly, and on its own, in order to appreciate and enjoy at its best.
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This happened to me recently when I was sent into a reverie by this:
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Interesting choices so far! 
It appears that our reveries are quite expensive! 
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Yeah! To be fair, that’s probably the most expensive bottle I’ve bought in years.
Yes - probably the most expensive was the Domaine de la Cote but it was a beautiful wine. I’d been saving it for a year or so and thought it had another 2 to go before the optimal window (can’t recall the vintage now but not ancient), but my brother dropped in unexpectedly (particularly since we live in different countries) and he was ‘thirsty’ and this was the only bottle of red I had in the house. Neither of us was hungry but that didn’t matter and my begrudging opening of it was soon forgotten in the sheer enjoyment of it.
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Oh, I didn’t mean the price as a criticism… quite the opposite! It seems that for a wine to really grab the attention in a way that induces reverie, and real need for quiet contemplation - it can’t be just any old wine, so I’m sure cost has some correlation to levels of meditazione.
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Mine was totally worth it! Just way out of my usual price range, that’s all. It’s good to splash out once in a while…
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This was Christmas in the glass and it was spot on. Great on its own but sublime with a warm mince pie.
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Oh, and this totally did it for me last year:
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I totally need to stop saying ‘totally’ 
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