Wine and Family – June 17, 2009

Richard and I drove up to wine country at mid-morning leaving Dave behind to clean the car, work with my sister-in-law on dinner and then relax. Our first stop on the Silverado Trail on the east side of the Napa valley was the Sinskey Vineyards. They knew Richard here and we were treated to a tasting of fine wines. Since I cannot match the hyperbole of a wine writer's descriptions, suffice it to say that their reds were smooth, full bodied and excellent while the whites were interesting. Sinskey's also has a gourmet kitchen and the cheese, breads, olives and other snacks accompanying the tasting were also a treat. We took a tour of the natural volcanic rock caves where the wine was aged in French oak barrels. They were bottling at the time and the automation was similar to what is used in consumer goods plants in other places in the country. I was interested because it was similar to automation in auto parts plants. However, this machinery wasn't built in the machine shops of Warren, or Flint, MI. It all came from Germany. Why?

Our next stop was the Duckhorn Winery. Unlike most tastings which are served stand-up at the bar, we were seated on a porch overlooking the vines and with the smell of rosemary and thyme wafting in from the gardens outside. It was a beautiful, cool, sunny day in wine country and we anticipated an excellent tasting there. After being seated we waited,...and waited,... and waited, … and waited. I finally turned and gave the waiter my best Adelaide look, caught his attention and he came over and said “I'll will be with you in a moment”. The moment stretched to minutes but what finally ensued was an excellent tasting of twice as many wines as we had paid for. Richard and I enjoyed it immensely and laughed at the over the top hyperbole of both the written descriptions of the wines and the server's comments. Here is an example describing the 2006 Merlot: “...polished flavors of red cherry and raspberry are accented by an enticing layer of graham cracker piecrust.” Really? A wine that tastes like graham cracker pie crust! Fortunately, it did not. The wine, the outdoor ambiance and conversation fostered a connection between us that heretofore, as widely separated brothers, we had never had before. We stopped for lunch at the Frank Family Vineyards. Mr. Frank was a Disney illustrator so the building contained many mementos of his time in Hollywood. Good oakey Chardonnay and the only winery left in the valley with free tastings. When I lived here in the late '60's, we would take visitors on tours up the valley stopping to sample the wines and end up at the north end of the valley mellow and relaxed. The only price was the tour of each winery’s facility to hear about their wine making process and history. Not any more. Tastings are paid for up front and an appointment may be required to sort out the riff-raff.

It was still a gorgeous day as we drove back to Richard’s.

That evening a special treat had been arranged in my honor. We were having a family dinner. Richard’s family would be there, my brother Marc, and my Aunt and my cousin whom I had not seen in decades were also invited. Unfortunately, my Aunt was not able to attend. My sister-in-law served an excellent meal. She had been preparing all day. Roast chicken, roast asparagus and other gastronomic delights. Richard had prepared flank steak on the grill and all twelve of the guests and family enjoyed a wonderful meal. After dinner, I showed my cousin some of the 50 year old pictures that my father had taken including some of her father as a very young man and some of the 100 year old pictures that our grandfather had taken. She related stories to me of her maternal grandparents who lived in Iowa and of the wonderful vacations that their family had taken in Europe and elsewhere. Life in a small Midwestern town in Iowa was not so much different than life in a small Midwestern town in Michigan in the forties and fifties. We share an interest in music, science and literature. Sadly, we had an early day in the morning as we would begin our longest driving day yet. We said goodnight early and set about preparing for our next journey.

Next: Lakes, Trains and Orange Barrels.