The First Runner up
Special Groth Moment
We aren’t always lucky enough to have a camera in our back pocket to
record those precious momentsthat we’d like to remember for the rest of
our lives. Sometimes we have to rely on our own senses.
The deep purple hue. The velvety feel of it on your lips. The scents of aromatic vanilla and black cherry.
And every time since we popped open a bottle of the 2005 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon at my mother’s
90th birthday celebration, those memories of her first bottle have remained about as vivid as a
camcorder replay in my mind.
I remember the way the crisp deep purple reflected in my mother’s hazel eyes as she took her first sip.
The smooth, supple taste of it on my tongue brings back the smile that quickly appeared on my mother’s
face as she absorbed the liquid’s exquisiteness. The vanilla‐black cherry fragrance reminds me of my
mom’s verbal reaction – and mind you, she’s not always the easiest to please but lovable nonetheless:
“That’s good stuff!”
And it’s all this that I tried bringing back when, a couple of weeks later, my aunt called to tell me my
mother was in the hospital. She had bronchitis, maybe pneumonia, and prognosis wasn’t good. All I
could remember was the look on her face drinking those couple of glasses that day in March. How,
when we first walked into her San Pedro, California home, she was not her usual energetic, comical self.
Instead of her wise cracks, she seemed confused and lost. I started to worry old age was causing her
mind to deteriorate, or something worse.
Until the Groth. It’s a strange thing, and I’m still not sure I understand what happened. But by the time
she was halfway through with her glass, she was back. My same old wise‐cracking, speed‐talking mom –
with all the character of the wine she was drinking.
Throughout my mother’s hospitalization (for about 1 ½ weeks), I thought about that day and that
moment a lot. It’s what got me through that challenging time. The fact that I knew I was able to do
something for her as payment for bringing me into this world and raising me, kept me strong. I was
consoled to think that I could give her something that made her smile – especially if it was the last thing
I could do for her before it was her time to leave us.
Thankfully she pulled through. She’s making a steady recovery. And hopefully we have her for many
years to come – sipping Groth together. But regardless of what happens, I will always know I have those
memories: forever. Thank you, Groth.
Attached is a picture of my mother and I toasting with a glass of Groth Cab after she was released from
the hospital.
Joseph and Carmen Mardesich
