Thank you so much, Vivi, for your kind appreciation and for sharing your story. Yes, I can imagine how the ritual of preparation can assume an importance of its own. The Japanese have their own tea ceremony, which is highly ritual. While not comparable, my habit of enjoying wine has its own ritual: uncorking. It is very important to me, which is why I never buy wine in bottles with screw-top. I enjoy the "opening ceremony" with a special device that had served my dad already. Then, sniffing the cork and letting the wine oxidize—all this is a ceremony in its own right.