When we tell the story of a wine, we usually focus on the winemaker or place of origin. But what about the people who purchase the wine, collect it and ultimately choose it for a special occasion?

We have one gracious consignor at WineBid, who, along with her husband, recorded their adventures directly onto the corks of the wines that so often accompanied them. The corks have become a family diary of sorts and now number over 1,500.

We had a chance to interview Marjorie and are enamored with her story:

How did it all begin?
The tradition started at the very beginning of the courtship with my husband. We would go to a restaurant and he would draw a heart on the tablecloth with the wine end of the cork (sorry restaurateurs!) and then we would date the cork with a note as to where we were.

What are some of your favorite cork stories?
Some of the more funny ones are celebrating my first trout caught on a fly rod, a friend’s divorce, and a missed international flight. Then there were the many frantic searches of missing corks by wait staff....and friends arguing over who would write on the cork. On vacations, my purse would become rather crowded with corks by the time we had to return home.

What’s the most significant cork?
Of course, the most important cork is now encased in an acrylic display. It was presented to me with my cheese course in Rome. The cork read "will you spend your life with me.” My soon-to-be-husband had sneaked away with the Corton Charlemagne cork from our first course and had worked things out with the wait staff to surprise me, knowing that I would always have a cheese course when in Italy.

Did you set any rules for the type of wine consumed or the types of events “worthy” of a cork record?
Not at first, but the collection started getting rather large, so we then only saved them for events that were worthy of remembering...some trivial, some important for nothing other than location or a good day fishing.

What are some of your favorite wines?
‘82 Beychevelle and Sassacaia for my husband. I am White Burgundy kind of girl. My husband was a sommelier’s dream – always asking if they had any of "the good stuff" not on the wine list. We enjoyed trying new wines together.

Where do you keep all the corks?
They were kept in large vases in the wine cellar. When my husband passed away unexpectedly, family and friends had a great time going through the corks and finding "theirs." Soon I am moving to a smaller home without a cellar. I have made it a point to "gift" the personal corks back to folks who were with us. The memories are wonderful and the tradition is cherished by many.