Drinking wine anywhere can lead to nudity. The sensual aromas. The romantic notions.
There's a long history of a wanted lover being seduced over deep-red wine. Even the cupped curve of a wine glass is suggestive. And then there's the shape of the bottle. Is it getting hot in here?
The whole scene is ripe for pleasure. In a private setting, it's all good. But in public, buck nakedness makes this aging Catholic schoolgirl blush.
And yet, strip wine-tasting is happening. Consider this: An 83-year-old woman entered Naked Winery's tasting room in Hood River, flashed her American Association for Nude Recreation membership card (I can't image where she stashes it) and then started to peel off her clothes.
She quickly was stopped and told that "naked" is only a state of mind inside the tasting room when it comes to anything other than wine not spending time in an oak barrel.
Other tasting-room staffers who talked about nude spottings described patrons who are, for the most part, not practicing nudists but people who have dropped on a dare. Here are three examples I've uncovered:
Not a week goes by, say staffers at Dobbes Family Estate in Dundee, that someone doesn't flash the life-size cutout of the Wine By Joe cartoon character.
A lovey-dovey couple asked to explore the rose garden behind Trium Wines' tasting room in Talent. A short time later, owner Laura Lotspeich found the duo Paris Hiltoning it in the buff for each other's cellphones.
A trio of refined women — two brunettes and a redhead — make pilgrimages in the spring and summer to Cubanisimo Vineyards in Salem. There, they disrobe and have their photographs taken while coyly posing behind well-positioned vines.
One of the more modest of the gals confessed that she felt safe in the all-together because wine drinkers rarely venture out into vineyards. Perhaps that will change when the weather warms up or people read this column.
When asked about misbehaving patrons, Michael Wisnovsky of Valley View Winery in Jacksonville acted surprised. "We have really never seen anything improper or illegal happen in our tasting room," he said. "Nudity? Really? I feel a little left out." You and me, brother. You and me.
Read the complete Eno Outings wine column in the Medford Mail Tribune: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=LIFE0702
For more information: Trium Wines, 7112 Rapp Ln Talent, OR 97540, (541) 535-4015, www.triumwines.com
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