On appreciating home

A version of this column was published was published 10/27/21 in The Observer and The Review & Express.

“We are always chasing grapes,” I said to my husband one hot summer day in 2018. It was something we’d made a tradition of while traveling–always running off to the nearest wine country to whatever city we were in.

This time, it was New York City for a friend’s wedding and in our downtime we decided to visit Long Island’s North Fork. Within three hours and many road trip songs later, we found ourselves surrounded by vines and water. We wandered into a couple tasting rooms without reservations and asked to sit at the bar, something we did often at home in the Finger Lakes (this was pre-Covid after all).

We spoke often of how important these trips had become to the foundation of our relationship. Car drives turned into long talks and big laughs as we jogged from winery to winery. After each tasting, we’d revisit what we’d learned and loved, and what we wanted to explore more of the next time.

Over the years we continued to explore the US. We’ve visited Thousand Islands and Niagara-on-the-Lake as end caps to weekend road trips to Montreal and Toronto, respectively. We’ve explored Sonoita, a tiny little wine country an hour outside of Tucson with a big heart. And it was on a trip to Napa and Sonoma that Andy and I got engaged in a block of Merlot vines as the sun was setting. When I said we were always chasing grapes, I meant it.

The more we explored, the more I began to take the Finger Lakes for granted. I was obsessed with seeing more: more wine countries, more expensive bottles and opulent pairing dinners, and always looking for more shareable content. While each place we went to was incredibly unique, I found myself distracted by comparison–especially when it came to home.

Within the list of things I’m thankful for in this new season of life, the opportunity to slow down and appreciate my surroundings is at the top. Like many others, this was a forced adjustment as the pandemic had other plans for our wedding and honeymoon. Dreams of traveling overseas to a new wine country were put on hold and after some tears (and quite a bit of wine), we planned the backyard wedding and Finger Lakes mini-moon of our dreams.

Following our I Do’s, we piled ourselves and our pup into the car and drove straight to Keuka Lake. Right back to the little cottage on the water that took my breath away the first time my husband brought me to the lakes. Our mini-moon ended up being the trip we didn’t know we needed. Our days were spent tasting wine at our favorite places on Keuka and Seneca before takeout and sunsets on the water. It was restorative, and in many ways it was reminiscent of our early days exploring the region.

We took our time and savored the moment, rediscovering the magic of the Finger Lakes and holding it close. I became aware that my constant quest for more meant I was missing the beauty of what was already in front of me.

With the ingenuity and perseverance of the region on display for the last two years, my respect for the Finger Lakes has grown tenfold. And while we’re still eager to check a few more wine regions off our list, it turns out there’s nothing better than a glass of wine in the place you call home.

Maiah Johnson Dunn is a writer based in the Finger Lakes region. You can read more of her work on maiah.com.