Deborah and I met on an Alexander Technique retreat in Santa Barbara at the end of 2004. I walked into what I thought was an empty room and she was sitting in the corner next to the fireplace. When I asked her what she was doing she replied that she was copying out some of her favorite poems into her journal. We soon discovered that we both particularly loved the poems of Rumi, Neruda, Tagore and Rilke. The next day she gave me a card with an inscription from a poem by Rilke.
But if you’d try this:
to be hand in my hand
as in the wineglass the wine is wine.
If you’d try this.
One month later we had our first date when she came to New York for her Carnegie Hall debut. I made her dinner and served a 1997 Ciacci Piccolimini Brunello di Montalcino. In a natural and poetic fashion she described the wine in a way that deepened my appreciation of it, and of her. We’ve been together ever since.
Today is the five year anniversary of our first date. We continue to enjoy wonderful wines together and to share our impressions. The inspiration for Wine Musings is to share some of our discoveries and delight with you.
When we got married (June 27, 2009) we celebrated with a reception at our home featuring fabulous food from Marja Martin. We chose the following wines to accompany the magnificent menu:
NV Gruet Rose’ (see previous posting!) with the scrumptious hors d’oeuvres
2007 Godeval Vina Godeval ($16) with the perfectly prepared Halibut w/ Garlic Crust: This wine is made from 100% Godello grapes. Rediscovered about 25 years ago, Godello is the Albarino of the new decade. In the tastings we held to select the wedding wines the richness and mineral-citrus-spiciness of this Spanish beauty trumped all its competitors, (including Sauvignon Blancs from Kim Crawford and Nobilo).
2005 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($26) with the roasted local free range lamb: Columbia Crest Winemaker Ray Einberger once worked at Château Mouton-Rothschild and that pedigree comes through in this fantastic red. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot (5%) and Cabernet Franc (4%), this is one of the greatest under $30 wines I’ve ever had. We gave bottles to a number of our guests to take home and we were all surprised and delighted when our wedding wine was awarded the title of #1 Wine of the Year by the Wine Spectator. Visit Columbia Crest.
2008 Paolo Saracco Moscato d’Asti with dessert: From Castiglione Tinella in Piemonte, Italia, this gently effervescent treat features seductive floral aromas and exotic pear and mineral flavors. It was a perfect match with the individual dark chocolate cupcakes, and it also served as a delightful brunch wine the next morning!
Oh, and if you are wine lovers planning a wedding, we recommend registering, as we did, at a favorite wine store. We’ve been drinking to the health of our generous friends with the special treat wines they gave us! We will review some of these beauties in future postings.
