Wine and Kissing » Uncategorized

Such a Night as This

Elisabet Alhambra — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:21:23 +0000

Two full moons in December. Did you find a kiss under one of them? Quiet, perfect, quiet…

Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, v. I.

The moon shines bright. In such a night as this,
When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees,
And they did make no noise —-

Cups of Kisses

Elisabet Alhambra — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:20:23 +0000

Bombaugh

By the ancient expression “cups of kisses,” reference is most probably made to a favorite gallantry among the Greeks and Romans of drinking when the lips of their mistresses had touched the brim. Ben Jonson’s oft-quoted verses to Celia, in which occur the lines—

“Or leave a kiss within the cup,

And I’ll not ask for wine,” –

Lucian has a conceit upon the same idea: “that you may at once both drink and kiss.”

Wine and Kissing? Really!

Paul Wagner — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:34:26 +0000

As part of my teaching at Napa Valley College, I teach a class called “A Cultural Appreciation of Wine.” It’s an exploration of wine and culture throughout history, and we touch on everything from wine and medicine to art, religion, politics, and love. One of my students, Elisabet Alhambra (her pen name), became very interested in the connection between wine and romance—the connection between the touch of a glass to the lips, and the touching of two pairs of lips together. She’s had a lot of fun with the project, and she is spending her free time researching historic literature for more fun. But we also think that this might be even more fun if we could get a few people to offer a few thoughts on the topic of wine and love, kissing and romance. If you could find time to offer a brief story of something that happened in your life where these elements were connected…or just a few thoughts on how they ARE connected, we would love to include that!

Paul Wagner