Monday, February 10, 2014

Memories of Wine and Roses

Good food and drink evoke so many memories of friends, places traveled and moments in time. In 1997, one of my wife's good friends came to visit our home in Elko, Nevada from Ontario. My own best friend lived only a couple hours drive west, in Winnemucca. We all went on a spur-of-the-moment caravan road trip to San Francisco and the Napa Valley. We made good memories. My wife and I came back with a favorite wine; our friends came back a couple. They now have three beautiful daughters.

V. Sattui wines are only sold at the winery or shipped direct to the U.S. consumer. At her request, my brother-in-law bought my wife back a bottle of our favorite from his own recent trip to Napa--the 2012 Gamay Rouge--made from the ValdiguiƩ (or Napa Gamay) grape. Stacey gave it to me as an early Valentine's gift to enjoy together. The first sip brought me back to a summer day in San Francisco, carefree times and a union of friends. "Salute."