Experiences define our lives.

In the wine world, nothing speaks to experience like Opus One.

Personally, I seek adventure, constantly in pursuit of the pulse-pounding, heightened-senses feeling of discovering the unknown. Ask that tough question, introduce yourself to that person you are scared of, try that foreign food, and, of paramount importance – drink that wine you’ve never had.

It seemed so long ago, though it was only four years ago, when I played hooky from work on a snowy winter afternoon to take my date to downtown Geneva and stroll along the brick-paved roads for an afternoon of quality time and shopping.

We walked down the short staircase, past the empty bottles lining the window sills, and into the Wine Seller, 227 S. Third St., a garden level two-room wine store with Marilyn Monroe posters on the wall, large rugs on the ground and a wonderful selection of wines.

Perched behind a countertop adorned with memorable labels is Robert Kovacs. The worldly, friendly proprietor has a gray beard, spectacles and the most earnest resemblance to Ernest Hemingway.

In conversation, Bob nails the Italian heritage of my date, going so far as to correctly guess where her parents hail from (Sicily, and Naples), tells tales of traveling through Italy, and, in the ultimate treat, points for the two of us to approach the counter.

Sitting on the counter was a 1980 Opus One. I may have been a novice, but I knew partners Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild were royalty in the wine world.

Bob weaved a tale about the wine, the year it was grown, the partnership and how he happened into a bottle more than 20 years old.

We soaked in every moment. The wine smelled old, tasted old, and was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. To this day, it is the standard by which I compare other wines. At a recent tasting, that same date and I tasted a wine with Old World qualities and both exclaimed how it had that Opus One feel.

When the 1980 was harvested, I was about one year old.

It is amazing how much in the world has changed since then, and, yet, this wine endured.

The Wine Seller has it all: A charm that is non-corporate – a rarity in today’s world – great service, and, most of all, a great selection of wine.

Thanks, Bob, for furthering the education.