It is funny how simple actions a parent takes with a young child can have long-lasting impacts on that child, without there having been any intention behind the action. Whether it be the first team you see in a professional sports event that becomes your lifelong team, or perhaps the first book of a series they introduce you to whose characters stay with you forever. For me, one of the strongest examples of this was the first album I ever listened to.

Growing up, after dinner my dad usually went downstairs and watched tv, while my mom would stay upstairs and do the same. Occasionally, when I would go downstairs to see what my father was watching, I would find him sitting on the stool by his stereo, listening to one of the many albums he had in our lovely 1970’s bookshelf. As a curious five-year-old, I of course had to know what he was listening to. So I would quietly walk over and tap him on the shoulder to ask if I could listen to his music. As he generally had his eyes closed while listening to the music and I was extremely quiet, this inevitably scared the crap out of him. Once he had recovered from this great fright and realized that I was not trying to get some of his milkshake, he was more than willing to let me listen.

With great excitement I now sat down on the stool, and he placed his, what seemed to me at the time, enormous gray headphones over my ears. He then leaned over the record player, picked up the needle and gently placed it down on the first track. Shortly thereafter, the first notes of The Statler Brothers “Bed of Roses” started coming through the headphones . . . and I was hooked! For the next 3-4 years, my entire music listening experience consisted mostly of three albums: The Best of the Statler Brothers, Vol 1, Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits and John Denver’s Greatest Hits. But as much as I enjoyed The Gambler and West Virginia’s Mountain Mama, most nights when I was able to talk my dad into listening to the music, it was The Statler Brothers. While I couldn’t have told you why back then (I was only 5 you know), their harmonies and songs that seemed to recall a simpler time drew me in. Of course, there was a bit of a drawback with this narrow selection of music I was exposed to. A couple years down the road, at the hearty age of maybe my late 7’s or early 8’s, I engaged in a conversation with a baseball teammate of mine about the music we liked. Based on my limited experience, I was under the impression that all 8-year-olds would know who the Statler Brothers were. So imagine my surprise when my teammate had never heard of them! “Well who do you like then?” I snapped back. “Judas Priest” came the reply. “What are they, some kind of religious band?” I scoffed. Yup, I was that cool even from an early age. Sigh. It’s ok to feel sorry for me.

Needless to say, I eventually moved on to other cooler music, like Weird Al Yankovic. But the early seeds of The Statler Brothers never left me. And while today I can understand a bit more why I am drawn to their music (the harmonies and lyrics about a simpler time that I may not have grown up in but can imagine and appreciate), it is not just the music that I appreciate, but the memories and images that I recall when I listen to that album. The bright red stool I would sit on, that had gold buckles holding together the legs. The over-sized gray headphones, with a slight crack in the foam on the right ear. My dad in his lazy chair laying back watching tv while I listened. No other album or song can take me back in time to my childhood the same way this album does. And maybe it is just the nostalgia of being a child, free of the responsibilities and burdens that come with adulthood, but when I feel stressed or am simply missing home, a listen to this album helps take me back to my own simpler time.

When I was a kid listening to this album, I loved to enjoy the music with a nice Cabernet Sauvignon. Ha ha, just kidding. My dad would never let me drink Cabernet at the age of 6. He was strictly a Merlot man. Ha ha just kidding again. But these days, now that I am old enough, I do enjoy a nice Cabernet Sauvignon while I listen to The Statler Brothers and revisit my childhood. And one of my favorite bottles to choose for such moments is Hall Wine’s Eighteen Seventy Three. I was introduced to this wine by a co-worker of mine (“Ms. Fun-nominal” b/c she knows all of the best restaurants and wines) and it is truly phenomenal. Hall Wine is based in Napa and this Cab checks all of the boxes of what you expect from a high-level Napa Cab. With aromas of black currant and tobacco that turn into flavors of dark cherry, black pepper and cocoa on the palette, along with hints of vanilla from the oak, it is a well-balanced, full-bodied wine that satisfies at every turn. At a price point of $90, it is not an everyday wine, but one that will meet the moment that you bring it out for.

So way back in 1976, when my dad first put on that Statler Brothers album for me, I am sure he had no idea it would stick with me all these years later. But I’m glad it has, both for the music and the memories it brings. And as we approach what would have been his 85^th birthday, I have no doubt I will pour myself a glass of milkshake Cabernet, put on The Statler Brothers and toast to his memory. What about you? Do you have a “childhood” album? I’d love to hear what it is! Leave a comment here on the site (or on the FaceBook or Instagram posts if that is easier) and let me know. And if you haven’t listened to it in a while, maybe now is a good time. After all, wine not? Cheers!

Wine Stat Sheet