February: The Month of Just Opening That Bottle(s)
We have all done it. Spent a ton of time cultivating some great wines in our cellars (or even holding on to a special bottle or two) and then let it sit … and sit … and sit. Occasionally, when we finally get to that special bottle, it is past its prime and so frustrating to experience.
Chef Mike Smith Explains the Third Course
For me, it’s been an epic month of finally getting to break into the cellar and enjoy some wines that needed to be consumed. We had a few great opportunities. First, we had an amazing dinner that we purchased at a North Texas Food Bank auction, an organization that does amazing things to help feed the hungry in DFW. It was a dinner with well-known chef, Mike Smith, who has a storied career at The Green Room, Arcodoro/Pomodoro and The Common Table before he joined Utopia Food and Fitness, the group who donated the dinner. They have a great fundraising campaign going right now – click here to help.
Zach Coffey, Musician
We all brought amazing wines and I’m not going to admit how much wine we consumed, but it was an incredible time with friends who are like the family you would choose, if you could. We even had a private concert from Zach Coffey, a well-known Texas musician.
For me, it was time to break out a magnum of Reserva Barolo that was off the charts delicious and opened at the perfect moment. Pol Roger, Gary Farrell, Paul Hobbs and Domaine du Pre Semele were the dinner wines and several were opened after the fact. It may have been a foggy Sunday, but well worth it.
My husband took our daughter on her first ski trip to Vail and I had an opportunity for a girl’s overnight at a friend’s lake house. She is an amazing cook and consummate entertainer, so we knew we had to bring wines that live up to her culinary skills. And, well, we did. There were several of us (I am not going to disclose how many) and work has been a little crazy for all of us. This was about 30 hours of great food, amazing wine (I got to open another magnum – this time of Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas). I also brought Ehlers, Foresight, Naia, Fel, Cartograph, Veuve Clicquot and my friend, Julie, may have brought a few more. In terms of left overs … well, not so much. It was Cards Against Humanity (kinda), lots of discussions about life in general, amazing food, Saturday Night Live and old movies. I even met a person who followed me on Instagram who happened to know Jennifer and came down for a glass of wine.
And, I got to bring our new rescue pup who did well except for his walkabout when we were cleaning up on Sunday morning.
After all, what good is keeping great wines in the cellar if you don’t share them with good friends?
