When I was younger red used to be my favorite color. It was fiery, it was loud. It was beautiful, sensual, and bold. It was everything I wanted to be in the world, alive, thriving and unapologetic. It gave me the confidence to be the person I wanted to be underneath it all. When I wore red, I thought this is what I want to be, I want to be that fiery person. I want to inspire, to give off passion, to blaze through. It was everything I was trying to be: to have the confidence to speak to my inner self, my fighting spirit.
But now that I’m older, while I still love red with a burning passion, I am drawn to burgendy. The cooling embers of a beautiful flame. It is a stunning color, whether it leans more purple or red I love them all. It is regal, it is elegent, and it is just as passionate to me. It is like looking at a flame, the dancing ember veins, the cooling of the red. Because that’s what it is to me, it’s a more mellowed out, wiser, version of the red. It’s a refined, less wild, red. It says, to my inner heart, that there is still that fire underneath, but it burns slower.
Because the fierceness of the red is hot and burns. It cannot be sustained forever, at some point the fire will burn out. It isn’t healthy to remain that ‘on’ all the time. There needs to be periods of rest.
Burgendy is the color of wine.
So burgendy, it tastes mellower, but it still has the richness you can roll on your tongue. It’s a beautiful taste you can still savor on your tongue afterwards. There is a hint of fire, but it is a subtle flavor that can creep up on you. There is a sophistication, high and low notes, like a perfume. There is depth and communication, seamlessly adapting to the other flavors around, bringing out a taste you never would have noticed otherwise.