Book Club at Rhonda's

We had book club at Rhonda's on Thursday night -- Rhonda always has the best wine. This week she served an array of delicacies. We discussed Why I am a Catholic by Garry Wills. I'm too busy and not interested enough to write much about it (it's way after the fact; I've just been too busy!) -- but I must say the book did generate some interesting discussion about religion and some of our personal beliefs. It was a very good bookclub meeting. I originally got the book because I was struggling with the hierarchy and decision-making in the Roman Catholic church and with the egos at my own local church. But I let it sit on my shelf for a long time. Then Linda was asking about the Catholic church when her granddaughter was being baptized. So I mentioned this book and agreed to do the discussion guide. I got kudos for the guide. I'll plug it in later if I remember. It did get me thinking and a little more educated about the papacy. Can't say I'd enthusiastically recommend, but I'm happy I read it.

Costco's Kirkland Wine

If you are in an area where there's a Costco, you are fortunate. They often buy excess wine from good wineries and slap their own label on it. The Costco brand is called Kirkland. I'll research the background a bit further but suffice it to say for now, it's good stuff. We had a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa and the 2005 Signature Merlot. Both cost less than $20 and were fabulous. Of course, my taste, again, is the full body, rich dark fruits (plums, blackberries, cherries) and mocha/cocoa. Both of these had a lot of that stuff going on.

I'm telling you, it's as good as a lot of $40-60 wine I've had. The thing about Costco wine is that you never know just what you'll get. At least that's what I've heard from some of the "experts." We met a woman wine maker in Sonoma who had some inside knowledge of this. Her advice about the Kirkland wines was to buy a bottle, take it out to you car, open it and try it. If it's good, go back and buy a case or two because it won't be the same wine a week from now. When it's good, it's good, and you need to make hay while the sun shines!

Anniversary Weekend

oops! accidently posted this to my work blog initially....

Anniversary Weekend
Busy weekend. Linda and George came over Friday evening -- two friends who recently quit their jobs (well, technically George is still working) to sail around the world. They bought a catamaran about a year ago and have been up and down the coast for a year while they tried to sell their house. We celebrated the closing with a great bottle of Field Stone cab (2004) and some steak kabobs. This wine is fabulous!! A lot of dark fruit.... The winemakers add a little merlot to the cab for added "depth and complexity." Jim and Joanne turned us on to this winery and we had a chance to visit again several months ago when in California for a conference. Still have a few bottles left from that purchase. Yummers! After that,we had a bottle of BV (Beaulieu Vineyard) cab (2005). "Black cherry, ripe plum and chocolate" is how the winery describes this bold, full-bodied wine. I always look for that. A cab or blend with the dark fruit flavors and chocolate... it's a "can't miss." Although I do like to explore outside of that safe zone on occasion.Saturday, Tom and I went to the Walden Barn in Aurora to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. Oh, first we enjoyed a glass of champagne. Nothing fancy but a fun way to kick off the evening (other details not for publication). Anyway, back to the Barn. We still had some Chateau Paveil De Luze 2002 Margaux in the cellar there. It was the wine we got for Tara's (my stepdaughter's) and Mark's wedding. And I think we only paid about $20-25 for a bottle back then. Boy did it age well. It was nice at the wedding (two years ago) but wow, it really improved. We enjoyed the last bottle on Saturday, though, unfortunately. The winery, I guess, dates back to the very early 17th century and is known for its "red currant and truffle bouquet." Arguably not the best pairing with my escargot, crab cakes and mussels but I wouldn't have changed it. White wine is for wimps.
Posted by Beth at 9:27 AM on Sunday


1 comments:
bachmann said...
Congratulations on 12 years. That's just great.The Bachmanns also popped a few choice bottle this weekend. On Saturday we emptied several bottles of Holy Moses white Lager. A fine brew from our friends at GL brewery.We followed the next afternoon with some Red Stripe.
September 2, 2008 9:43 AM