Verdot – One With Vino

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Yeah that title is a bit over-the-top but it fits me, it fits you, and it just might fit someone you know. So in so many words, it’s one way of describing our current life, a past life, and maybe a lifetime down the line.

What’s most essential to the perfect experience, involving wine or whatever makes you feel good, is to not look for things to be perfect, to not force the issue, but to let things come to come.

Of course you want to surround yourself with the best people you can. But, you also need to be in a place of peace and confidence, where people will be attracted into your life, that want to spend time with you.

What that entails is maybe you yourself doing more of the reaching out then the prospective party. At other times you might think of someone, and then they might call you, send you a text, or send you a message.

How this one worked out I don’t quite recall, but I’m so fortunate to say that I got to hang out with two good friends this past weekend, who I don’t see enough.

And how many times do you say that to yourself? How many times do you say it to a friend, a family member, or a loved one? The people we wish we saw the most, we hardly ever see. The people that care about us and only wish us the best, we don’t see enough.

I’m projecting quite a bit, but it’s how I feel about things. There’s so many amazing people in my life I wish I could see all the time. Life happens, we get caught up in things that occupy so much of our time and involve circumstances that drain us, that we’re often left with little to no energy to enjoy the company of people I might have just alluded to.

So I’m grateful for this past weekend. One of my favorite things is dinner parties. I’ve always loved smaller gatherings going back as far as I can remember. Real conversations, about real things, with real people is what makes me happy.

Maybe I ask too much but I don’t think so. I ask the universe for the simple things in life, and when I don’t force it or look desperate, it obliges. Their wish is my command. Your wish is their command.

Your wish is my command.

So this past weekend I was welcomed with open arms, and we spent the next couple of hours discussing a lot of fun things, sometimes serious, sometimes lighthearted, and sometimes the extreme.

I had some idea what would come up, and then pleasantly surprise about where things went. Yes I’m being vague, but some things are left better to the people involved. I’m sure you would want the same for you.

As obscure as I’m being, the wine is even more…

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The 2016 Obscura Petit Verdot is a brand I thought I saw once but now I’m not so sure. To sound even more obscure, I brought a bottle of my own that wasn’t intended for this party, but just as a way of saying thank you for having me.

Before I keep digressing, this wine is a good one. It’s not going to greatest wine of all time but it does the job and does it well.

It’s affordable ($10-$15 range), fruit forward, easy to drink, and best to drink by itself.

My friends ordered an amazing spread of food for dinner, which was perfect enough without any vino. The Obscura did not pair well with the food exactly but it paired perfectly with the entire evening and the great company I was honored to spend time with. That’s more important than anything else.

Petit Verdot tends to be a recurring wine, for me, when it comes to parties or more simplistic and joyous affairs. I wouldn’t classify that as an accident. There’s no such things as coincidences.

This wine is hard to find, but the party hosts presented me this link, Bright Cellars, as a place of wonder and discovery.

This was fun. And these are the times I cherish because they felt so real, in the moment, and long after. So that’s what I mean when I say then, now, forever…

Until the next one, which will be much sooner than…

Peace Be With You.

Ideen

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Here’s the exciting yet confusing part of the holidays for me. I have a plethora of options to go with for this week. That’s also the dilemma. Which one feels right? No matter what I go with, there’s going to be second guessing. It’s the Christmas season. Would you expect anything less? And I think we can relate to that with just about any scenario. What’s the perfect gift to give someone? What’s that perfect note, card or message that we would like to convey? What’s that perfect fill-in-the-blank?

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Perfect is a relative term. We have to be careful with setting ourselves for a colossal letdown or disappointment. I’ll tell you something, the wine I’m going to write about is anything but a letdown or a reason to fret. The Lost Order No. 191 from Boordy Vineyards is close enough to the perfect holiday wine that you forget about all the other hangups and insecurities that may come into your life during this season. I may be projecting a bit but someone out there must relate. If not, then this post is in vain. But I’ll continue nevertheless.

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This continues my posts in support of local business. I’ve written about Boordy countless times before, but figure it’s been long enough that it didn’t run its course. I hope so. Circumstances prevented myself, along with good pals, from attending the last couple of wine club parties, but sometimes life throws you a bone, or a bottle. And your fellow winos share with you their love of wine.

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More importantly than how good this wine was. This was a gift from some dear friends that are fellow Landmark Reserve Club Members. Automatically this wine contains an attachment and memory of giving and of sharing. And that’s what this season is truly all about.

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300 words later and I’ve yet to actually talk about the wine itself. It’s a Red Blend that wine lovers and newbies will both adore. Last weekend I brought it to my local gym’s (for more on Peak Performance, click here) holiday happy hour, and it went over very well. I had debated on where the most fitting place to bring this invaluable vintage. This needed to be an organic experience. So what better place than the gym.

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This red blend consisting of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and one of my new favorite grapes, Petit Verdot, tastes surprising lighter than what I expected. Yet it was refreshing and perfect (there’s that word again) for this or any holiday party. It pairs with the lightest or heartiest of foods.

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I laugh because we work our tails off here, with our weights, rowing machines, and treadmills during the day. However, in the lobby area we gorged ourselves on loads of food and drink that it felt like I undermined all my hard work for the day, or that week for that matter.

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Ah but that’s the holidays. Your stomach is supposed to beg for a reprieve. And one day here and there is not going to be the end of you or me. Isn’t that what we tell ourselves?

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Well the party was fun. The dynamic was different as we were revelers as opposed to fitness fanatics. And that led to a different level of conversation. And this season leads to a sense of love and community that I wish would permeate all year round. Sometimes it does. It’s up to me and you as individuals to spread that cheer for the duration of the calendar year and in this thing called life.

A wine like that certainly helps. My bottle is still waiting for pickup, which just means I need to share it with close friends and family at the next of hopefully many holiday gatherings. It’s early December and I love this time of year. The more parties the merrier. I’m glad I was gifted this wine to share with these good folks. And I can only assume the good times will continue to present themselves.

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