How to make friends and intoxicate people

renenutet13

Apologies, friends. I know that this month’s entry is a little on the tardy side, but I have been wrestling with the fiendish challenge set by last month’s worthy winner, Dracaena Wines, to write on the subject of “friend”.

I made a couple of false starts:

1) Serious thoughts about food and wine matching – how wine and food can be (a) the perfect mariage (b) headed for the divorce courts, or (c) just a bit indifferent to each other. However, I have nothing like enough expertise in this area to write anything that people would be interested in. Although I can tell you that Malbec (to be more precise, Tour de Belfort Malbec Cabernet Franc 2012) is fantastic with chipotle prawns. I made a bit of a matching cock-up the other night. I was making swordfish salad and wasn’t sure what to serve with it, so I consulted Larousse…

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The Hungarian Aristocrat & The Mexican General: Wine+Friendship in The Bear Republic

CHEAP WINE CURIOUS

Upon my second foray in this friendly competition, I have experienced a wine blogger community that is a knowledgeable and encouraging group of bon vivants. I have been fortunate to personally engage with several influential and talented wine writers and I am grateful for the acquaintance. I see the camaraderie and overall good will amongst these colleagues and I hope one day to be friends with all of them. Kudos to @Dracaenawines for last month’s well earned win and for providing a great theme for this month’s challenge – a theme that describes a virtue they have afforded me – friendship!

Nothing is more heartfelt than a friendship that endures through the highs and lows of life. May sound trite, but it is truly when you know who is really a friend. Prior to this challenge, I became intrigued by a historic friendship that embodies this principle. This is a…

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#MWWC11–Time To Vote!

It is that time again: Time to Vote for the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge! This month there are seventeen articles to read, and your task is to vote for your favorites. You can vote for up to three, and the blog that receives the most votes will be declared the winner and will have access to the MWWC yacht for an entire month!

If you are actually reading this, good for you. At this point you likely have realized that I just said there is a MWWC yacht. That is not true, there is no MWWC yacht–but if you visit in Philly, I will give you a ride in a Prius.

The winner will have the honor of selecting the theme for next month’s Challenge, however.

I think I won the internet this morning, scouring every corner for additional entries, but it is still possible that I missed one! If that is the case, please get in touch with me right away so I can get your post on the ballot! Also, let me know if any of the links are not working!

Wine Snark: Core Values in Life and Wine

We have another great entry into this month’s challenge (#MWWC11) from DWine Snark

You can check out her entry here:

The Monthly Wine Writing Challenge; My Best Friend Wine.

http://winesnark.com/the-monthly-wine-writing-challenge-my-best-friend-wine/

Thanks for another great entry (the period to submit closes tonight at midnight [ish])!

Is it Possible to Remain Friends in the Wine Industry?

the drunken cyclist

Although I have been doing this blog thing for about two and a half years, I have been “into“ wine for quite a bit longer. As a result, I have visited plenty of wine regions in this country and in Europe. One statement that has really stood out over all those visits is:

“What sets our region apart from other regions, is that we really have a sense of collaboration here. We are all friends and we realize that a ‘rising tide raises all ships’—when one of us succeeds, we all benefit. That is why we are always helping each other out.”

Here’s a little quiz: Where was I when I heard this comment?

A. Dry Creek Valley; B. Napa Valley; C. Paso Robles; D. Willamette Valley

The answer?

A., C., and D.

By and large, I have found that people who get into the wine business are a pretty friendly lot and…

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Wine and My So Called “Friends” #MWWC11

foodwineclick

Wine Buying Problem?  Me?
Madeline at Wine Folly recently posted a fun quiz to determine whether I might have a wine (buying) problem.  Know what?  I got a perfect score! Oh wait, that might not be a good thing. Until a few years ago, wine buying wasn’t a problem.  We drank maybe 4 bottles a year. Then our next-door neighbors and good “friends” told us of their plan to own a vineyard and winery.

I Blame Our So Called “Friends”
Lynne and Perry had a long term dream of owning vineyard property and perhaps a winery; a retirement kind of dream.

Our next door neighbor and friend Lynne with my wife Julie

Somewhere along the way, Perry’s sister and her husband told Lynn and Perry if they were serious, she and her husband would be the winegrowers.  They would live at the vineyard, work the land and make the…

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MWWC #11: Walking a Mile with a Bottle of Wine *

The Armchair Sommelier

Sometimes, the simple act of showing up is what matters most of all.

The night my grandfather died, I was a young (and brand new) Marine wife, living on Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base in coastal North Carolina.  My husband was deployed overseas, and I still didn’t know many people there.  If you’ve never lived on a military base, it’s a lot like living on another planet.  It’s one of the best planets the universe has to offer, but it takes some getting used to. And I was still in my fish out of water phase.

I don’t remember exactly what I was doing before the phone rang that night.  Probably having a showdown with a North Carolina palmetto bug — a giant, flying cockroach related to the pterodactyl.  Or trying to figure out a way to tell my husband during our next morale call that our German shepherd puppy ate his favorite comforter.  This was…

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Wine Pairing

The Epicurious Texan

For the record, when I saw the subject of this month’s wine writing challenge, FRIENDS, I thought “this is going to be sooo easy!”  Turns out, it was a lot harder than I thought.  Mainly due to it not turning into a Ph.D. dissertation. I did a lot of drinking and even more culling & without further adieu:

I love to visit wine stores.  When I am alone and not in a hurry, I love to visit wine stores.  Why? I am the person who likes to pour [pun intended!] over all the bottles in store, like they are my friends.  Each bottle or varietal or region reminds me of a time and place and I start to ponder when, how, and with whom I would open each bottle.

Because, of course, wine is something to be shared with friends.  I mean, sure you could drink a bottle by yourself, but nine times…

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Dinner With Friends- #MWWC11

The Wine Rangers At Screwtop Wine Bar

oenophilogical

[An entry for the MWWC#11 on the topic “Friend.”]

The Wine Rangers is a small group of friends who get together for the enjoyment of wine and each other’s company.  On this particular outing, I was joined by fellow WR founding member Heather and ex officio WR member Patrick.  He’s ex officio because he doesn’t drink wine, but he is one of the best conversationalists I know and adds immeasurably to any get-together.

Heather and I have been friends for many years now.  We met when we were both working for the same organization a long time ago.  Although we worked in different departments, we hit it off immediately.  I think what may have solidified our friendship was our mutual involvement in the redesign of that organization’s logo.  It was a process of many, many, many meetings and long hours of discussion.  Heather was included because of her marketing expertise. …

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