You never forget your first love...and mine was Merlot. Up to that
sip of Chilean juice all my encounters with red wine brought mouthfuls
of tannic unhappiness. I had no idea red wine could taste so smooth and
juicy and, yes, fruity. I remember seeking it out and buying versions
from Mill Creek, Lambert Bridge and Chateau Souverain on my first trip
to Sonoma. And then, overexposure hit, causing many wineries to plant
Merlot where they shouldn't – just to make a quick buck – and the lack
of quality made many wine lovers, like me, desert the variety and move
on to other grapes. It doesn't take many mediocre versions to turn
people off, especially when you're paying good money for the pleasure.
This decline happened long before Sideways. The movie just brought the
problem to a national audience. Miles' cry "I'm not drinking any
f**king Merlot!", while funny, was all too true for many of us everyday
drinkers. This once luscious grape was ruined by rampant
commercialization, which was sad for drinkers, but had to be horrifying
to the wineries who considered this a flagship variety. Lucky for us
the ones in it for the long haul, held on and concentrated their
efforts into making wines that would turn around Merlot's maligned
reputation. Or so I've heard.
I got the opportunity to see whether they succeeded at Learn About Wines "Revenge of The Merlot" tasting. While clearly devised by the wineries participating to get people talking about and tasting merlot again, it was interesting to actually hear first hand the effects, if any, they had experienced since Sideways supposedly put the nail in Merlot's coffin.
After about a decade of studying and drinking wine, I've become the
de facto "expert" amongst our group of friends. Which is to say I've
read more wine books, taken more classes and wine tasted in more
regions than them, but what I've learned is just the tip of the wine
iceberg. That being said, since I have this website, I get asked a lot
of questions about wine, but there are two that always seem to come up
with the answers usually engendering surprise. 
Every holiday party deserves a little cocktail. Don’t you agree? Using seasonal ingredients to create both savory and sweets is a given. Drinks should share in what the season has to offer and that is exactly why this cocktail will be what we will be toasting with this season.
Even though I take all those silly self portraits of me doing absolutely nothing and blog about trips to pretty places I am not much of the relaxing type of guy. I’m actually quite the opposite and find myself nervous or antsy when I’m sitting still. The thought of midday naps freak me out and stopping to sit down for tea or coffee in the afternoon is a luxury I rarely allow myself. Even if I had the time I’d still feel like I was missing something or that something terrible would happen because I wasn’t working working working working working.
Last night husband Martin and I were feeling a bit restless – nothing that an ale at the Verdugo couldn’t fix. 
