Here is my boy… Watching as Roto Rooter snakes the pipes! Exciting New Years Eve so far! Lol

Rème’s New Years resolution is to try and stay warm this winter! His new coat
that his LaLa (grandmother) brought him for Christmas should help!

What are your New Years resolutions? I have several and most only
last for a short while before either busy schedules or just
laziness take over. But one of the goals I have this time is a blog
idea I got from a friend! It’s called “The world from my view!” 365
photos of the day…. It is so fun! I have really enjoyed hers and
wanted to try the same thing! Having never done anything like this
AND using my iPhone as the main mode of input for this…. Please
be patient as I figure it out. Some have said the app doesn’t work
well…. But I haven’t had trouble yet! So what does this mean for
you? Well, maybe nothing…ha! Maybe some fun…. Maybe some
inspiration! I do think I have a pretty cool view of the world… I
hope you think so too! I will still be posting my regular posts to
the blog…. But this will just be in addition to that! Happy
Holidays to all and I look forward to a New Year of wonderful
opportunity and excitement!

Winter and wine and great friends…make for a perfect evening.

This is the time of year that I enjoy wine the most…. it makes a perfect addition to…well, almost any evening or event.

I had a wonderful opportunity to do a tasting of the new 2007 release of 32 Winds Cabernet and Pinot Noir recently…. especially because it has strong Oklahoma connection in that one of the owners resides here.

I called my good friend Michael Graves, who knows more about wine that I ever will…. and suggested we make and evening of it. His lovely wife Kathleen (also a dear, dear friend) helped make the evening complete. They invited me to their new lovely space at Tulsa’s historic Mayo Hotel and Residences… Three words… FAB-U-LOUS… and that was all before the wine. Kathleen is an incredible Architect and Interior Designer…… I just snapped these two shots with my iphone… but you should see this place! Every detail was…. perfect. As the sun set and we were nestled in on that blustery evening…. we explored this lovely boutique wine, hailing from the Sonoma side of those hills on the west coast.

We gave this wine a really good tasting… complete with partial decanting and food pairing to showcase the wine fully. The Pinot was first….

On the nose this wine really throws you… it is quite pungent and sharp… displaying hints of the typical Sonoma Coast, such as black cherries and pomegrantes and a little raspberry…. but there was something different.. something mineral I think. I can’t really tell you that we nailed it… because it kind of had us stumped…. all except for Kathleen who would just occasionally say “I concur…… and smile, eyes increasingly getting glassier by the sip….” We love us some Kathleen!

On the lips it was more simple…. nice balance and more classic Pinot notes. We didn’t taste the “unknown” characteristic that we had noticed on the nose. But it was an enjoyable Pinot…tastes of cassis and licorice came into play…..and much more interesting than many that I have had in recent past. Well worth the moderate price of around $40… better after a slight decanting… but not too much…. 30 min to 1 hour…. then enjoy!

Then comes the Cab…. THIS one was the most interesting! Suffice it to say… I’m buying some to lay down! I think this wine was kind of a surprise to us…  it wasn’t exactly like a lot of california cabs that you typically see. It did have the HUGE tannins and it seriously needed the decanting… young wines often do….it was also enhanced by the fat in the cheese and meat that we enjoyed with it. But in the few hours I was there… it evolved through an up and down roller coaster ride that neither Michael or myself have seen in American wines. It was big and tannic and strong out of the bottle… then started opening up with some warm fruit and wood… .. a little spicy and peppery as well. Then about 2 hours after it was opened it kind of lost it… we thought it was done… done …. done. I kind of wrapped up my thoughts about the wine and decided it was really good while it lasted and was surprise that it didn’t last a little longer…

After I left I got back home, I had a message from Michael… this is what he said and it shocked the hell out of both of us!

“After we cleaned up, I tasted what was left in the decanters just before we went to bed.  The cab opened back up—nice notes of cherry and plum. Could have knocked me over with a feather. Here’s what I think was going on: big Bordeaux sometimes go thru what is called a “dumb” period when they are young. The tannins are so big and tightly wound that they close the wine in, and you taste. . . . nothing. I’ve never seen that in an American wine before. After 3 hours, though, the tannins finally oxidized enough for the fruit to emerge……. in 10/15 years, that should be a great wine.”

Soooooo, I think we have a nice Bordeaux style cab here…. one that will age well and perform better with each passing year. It would make a fabulous gift for someone for Christmas at around $75-80…. hint, hint, hint…

We noticed the building structure of a potentially great wine with this one… the fruit came out slowly as the tannins loosened. The first signs of fruit were about an hour after opening… so this one needs to wake up a little. Decant for at least an hour…. and after it ages in the bottle for a while…. the “blank” period should subside!

I have already called my wine lady and had her grab me some of this vintage before it goes away! The 2006′s are GONE!!!!!

Thank you to Michael and our dear Kathleen for such a wonderful evening…. you are dear friends of many years and I am so thankful for you both in my life.