Tonight was one of those evenings of large happenstance that wouldn't have happened if one thing had been different. First, it was a perfect spring day, the first clear, warm day we've had in weeks. If it had been "un temps de chien" - weather of dogs - like it has been, I wouldn't have felt motivated to go out. Second, I had forgotten to buy a ticket to the piano concert tonight, and therefore had to go an hour early to the Grand Theatre to buy one of the "leftover" tickets that are released at reduced price before curtain. And so it was that at 45 minutes before curtain, I 
was seated at the Bar a Vin across the street, sipping a glass of Pomerol and reading my book "Vin et Politique." (It may sound like a snoozer, but for me, it's very interesting reading about the globalization of wines and how the French are - and sometimes not - adjusting to it. The "Oh crap we can't just rely on the fact it's French anymore" syndrome.") And third, I had gone out to run errands earlier in the day, came back cranky after 4 hours of walking because I was convinced the entire Bordeaux population was determined to cut me off, rugby-tackle me, or be a snot. So I ended up snoozing off on my couch and was subsequently reenergized to go out this evening. And so, because of equal coincidences on his side, Mike was seated next to me at Bar a Vin, having arrived in Bordeaux from Canada just about an hour before.
was seated at the Bar a Vin across the street, sipping a glass of Pomerol and reading my book "Vin et Politique." (It may sound like a snoozer, but for me, it's very interesting reading about the globalization of wines and how the French are - and sometimes not - adjusting to it. The "Oh crap we can't just rely on the fact it's French anymore" syndrome.") And third, I had gone out to run errands earlier in the day, came back cranky after 4 hours of walking because I was convinced the entire Bordeaux population was determined to cut me off, rugby-tackle me, or be a snot. So I ended up snoozing off on my couch and was subsequently reenergized to go out this evening. And so, because of equal coincidences on his side, Mike was seated next to me at Bar a Vin, having arrived in Bordeaux from Canada just about an hour before. No, we didn't start some torrid Cinq a Sept French-style, or find out we have the same cousin 5-times removed in Peru. But when he discovered I speak English, we started talking and it turns out he's an international wine importer from Vancouver. Talking to him wasn't actually wholly unique: nice guy, in Bordeaux for 2 weeks meeting vintners and negoces, etc etc. What blew me away was the odd combination of circumstances that had to have occurred for two people from different parts of the world, from the same industry, to be sitting in the same bar at the same time. Okay, granted, you can't throw a rock in Bordeaux without hitting someone involved in wine. But, quite frankly, I don't throw as many rocks as the French do. I don't have wine-related business in the city, since I'm a student and not directly employed in the French wine industry. Bordeaux isn't the Wine City for me; it's just where I live. So for me to randomly meet someone in the wine business here is an odd coincidence. An importer from North America, that's even odder.
Well, I guess the moral of the story is: Just as the production of wine is heavily reliant on circumstance, so are, I guess, the people you meet when enjoying a glass of wine. Sometimes, random things just happen, and we gotta run with it.
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