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Home > What I Learned from a Bottle of Marilyn Merlot

What I Learned from a Bottle of Marilyn Merlot

August 28th, 2008 at 06:41 pm

In 1992, a friend gave me a bottle of Marilyn Merlot, vintage 1988. I decided this wine would be worthy of consuming only for a very special occasion, like celebrating my retirement. Through the years, and through two moves, I stored it carefully, always monitoring the temperature. Then, one day in May of 2007, I drank it and for no special reason. Why?

A close friend had died the month before, suddenly and unexpectedly at age 55 while on vacation. He and I had talked frequently about retirement and all things we would do and the fun we would have when the day finally arrived. For my DF, that day never came, and his death made me take stock of my life and acknowledge how uncertain our future can be no matter how well we plan.

So, I finally opened that bottle of 1988 Marilyn Merlot and toasted my DF. The wine was exquisite... it exceeded my expectations. Over the course of a week, I finished the bottle. (DH was in Central America or I would have shared it with him.) Later, wanting more of this great vintage, I decided to buy another bottle to share with DH. To my utter amazement, when I got on the Marilyn Merlot website, I saw that a bottle of

Text is 1988 Marilyn Merlot and Link is http://marilynwines.com/marilynmerlot.html#
1988 Marilyn Merlot sells for $2,000! I was astounded and my first thought was... I would never have opened it if I had known it was that expensive. (Gee, I could have sold it on eBay!!)

Then, I reflected about how easy it is to put off living in the moment and enjoying the simple things in our lives, waiting for some vague "special time" that may never materialize. Now, if someone gives me a nice bottle of wine "for a special occasion," I enjoy it sooner than later... just because. No more waiting... Carpe diem! Make your own special moments every day. BTW, I never did buy another bottle of the 1988 vintage, but when I retired, a friend gave me a bottle of 2004 Marilyn Merlot... and it's gone.

Posted in Family & Friends, Live and Learn | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “What I Learned from a Bottle of Marilyn Merlot”

  1. LuxLiving Says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 07:00 pm 1219950006
    1219950006

    Wonderful post!

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 07:03 pm 1219950211
    1219950211

    Yes yes and yes! Congratulations on drinking the wine BEFORE you realized its true monetary worth. You unintentionally learned an extra lesson resulting from your friend's death. Thanks for sharing that insight with us too.

  3. baselle Says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 07:08 pm 1219950501
    1219950501

    I think you made the right decision. Its not gold after all; the value of the wine is based on the experience that you are supposed to have while you're drinking it. Best of all, the wine held up.

  4. Broken Arrow Says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 08:06 pm 1219953976
    1219953976

    Sorry to hear about your friend's passing....

  5. Amber Says:
    August 29th, 2008 at 04:30 am 1219984206
    1219984206

    Great post, I loved it. I agree with Baselle you made the right choice if it had been much less you still would have enjoyed it and I am sorry to hear about your friend

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