Clearly, I have some weeks that are better in the blogosphere than others. This is turning out to be a bloggie week. My Wine on Wednesdays blogs are not intended to be a weekly thing. They only happen when I have a truly tremendous bottle wine. It has to be something that makes me sit up and take notice.
Luckily, I drink a lot of wine. That increases the odds for a post by a substantial margin.
I belong to two extremely exceptional book clubs. (There’s a connection here- I swear. Wait for it.) One has been meeting for going on ten years. We meet every other month and take turns rotating houses, snacks, and book choices. Over the years we’ve lost a couple of members, added a couple of members, and read some amazing books. One of the founding members, my friend Karen, moved to San Diego three years ago, but still flies up on a regular basis to attend meetings in the San Francisco East Bay Area. Talk about dedication.
This year, as we were choosing months to host, we decided we would fly down for a meeting at Karen’s. She’s been offering to hostess forever, but sometimes we’re slow. In September we met at Karen and her husband Bill’s amazing house. It’s right on the water- what a gorgeous, gracious home.
Not all of us could make the trip, family, economic, and general life factors being what they are. Those of us who ventured south discussed Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane, stayed up way too late talking, ate sublime food, shopped until we dropped, and generally had a glorious girl time.
Side bar: I highly enjoyed The Ocean at the End of the Lane. We all did. It’s a quick, imaginative read which stimulated a great conversation. I finished it in one sitting; couldn’t put it down. Nice work there, Mr. Gaiman.
Where was I? Right, in the middle of describing a grand old time down south. We also drank some really amazing wines. My favorite was a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah blend from the Jason-Stephens Winery out of Gilroy in the Santa Clara Valley. To use a technical term, WOWSA! The wine has great structure. 40% is Syrah and that provides a wonderful full-bodied taste with notes of black pepper. The 60% Cabernet half of this marriage of varietals contributes berry flavor and a lovely inky, deep garnet color. It’s a gorgeous wine to see and even better to drink.
At $36 a bottle online it’s accessibly priced, but something for a special dinner. I can’t afford to drink it everyday. Jason-Stephens has a tasting room as well as their online sales, so if you are in the area, you should make a point of swinging by. I’ve included the link to their website below.
See, I told you there was a connection.
http://www.jstephens.com/
On top of everything else, what are my favorite foods in the world? Those of you who know me well can answer in a heartbeat: sushi and tapas. Yum. Maximum number of opportunities to try as many delicious flavors as possible in one sitting. And where do you think Karen took us for lunch and amazing wine? Yep, a tapas AND sushi restaurant in Ocean Beach called, The Joint.
It was such a happy day. Thanks, Karen.
http://www.thejointob.com/
How’s that for a blog post which can add to the quality of your life? Here’s your wine, dining and reading recommendations for the week!
Now, go out there and enjoy them!
