Travel + Snow = I hope you have a lot of patience!

This past weekend I was reminded why you never connect through Chicago O’Hare airport during winter weather months. Truth be told when I booked my tickets to Houston, I swore I selected the flight that connected through Orlando. That is what I get for multitasking when booking flights. When I realized that I had a connection through Chicago in January, I knew it would be an adventure. When I boarded my fight at Regan National Airport everything went smoothly. The pilot mentioned we would even get into Chicago early. Good sign, I thought and then I wondered if the upgrade to first class for the second leg of my flight was money well spent.

I had a bit of layover in Chicago, so I stopped for dinner. That is when I began to realize that there were big delays for many flights. The delays were getting longer and I was concerned mine too would begin grow. I was already getting into Houston very late and I was not looking forward to it being any later than it had to be. I sat there eating my meal, watching basketball, listening to the banter about delays and checking my flight status on my smart phone. For a good portion of my layover my flight status did not change, then as boarding time drew close, the first delay was announced. As I paid my bill to head to the my gate, the bartender asked me if I wanted another drink in a “to go” cup. A “to go” cup?? Now I have run into “to go” cups for adult beverages in Key West and New Orleans, but an airport? I said no, I was good and closed out the bill. I picked up a bottle of water and made my way to the gate. It was quite a festive scene. People were standing all over the place chatting, joking and having a decent time. Not the scene one expects walking through an airport that has been plagued by delays. That’s odd I thought… where were all the cranky people? That when I noticed quite a few people had a “to go” cup in their hand. As I waited for my flight, I joked with friends on Facebook. I mentioned the “to go” cup and a friend, a native Chicagoan, posted “embrace the “to go” cup.”

A few more delays, a gate change and one more delay, we were able to finally board the flight. Once we were in our seats a new round of the waiting game commenced. We were now waiting for the de-icing equipment to arrive at our plane. This wait could be 45 minutes or longer. Tonight, the pilot

speculated may be longer as there seemed to be a shortage of ground including de-icing personnel. How a major airport can be short-handed with critical ground personnel is mind boggling and a post for another time. However about an hour later the de-icing truck showed up next to our plane (I have never been so happy to see a de-icing truck in my life) and shortly thereafter were being pushed back to make our way to the runway. Two and half hours later we landed in Houston, it was closing in on 3:00 a.m. (well pass my bedtime) but at least I made it to my destination. I hailed a cab, after a fruitless attempt to hail a shuttle to the hotel, and was in for an interesting ride (think “E-Ticket” ride) to my hotel all that stood between me and a comfortable bed was the night shift hotel employee that was half auditor and half mediocre front desk personnel. My hopes were not high for the hotel as the location was under “remodeling” (that is code for your stay will be subpar) but the hotel is known to give out cookies when you check-in and at this point I was looking for one sliver of something positive before I melted in to a puddle of tired, upset mush. At 3:00 a.m., to my delight the cookies were warm and fresh, my room was practical and the bed…. well anything is comfortable when you are exhausted… but this bed was divine.

Photo Fridays: Key West Sunrise I (2008)

 

Sunrise over Higgs Beach, Key West, Florida (2008)

 

 

I was up early for a charity 5K and I snapped this picture as I walked to the starting line. The camera was a point and click made by Fuji, that eventually died on me from overuse. There are times I really miss that camera.

 

 

The Adventure Begins

I never planned on taking a year off from writing my wine and food pairing articles. Why did it happen? Well there are a multitude of reasons that I will not bore you with, let’s just say it has taken me about year to break a case of writer’s block, to really contemplate how I want to write about wine and food instead of following another’s structure (it was a good structure just not my own) and finally, trying to find my voice. Yes, I was stymied.  I struggled with all of this, even after I had designed this new web page, uploaded previous published articles and laid the ground work for this blog. I wondered if I really had it in me. With that the seeds of self-doubt took hold. Who was I kidding by trying to write a blog on wine, I certainly am not the most knowledgeable on thesubject nor am I naturally a gifted writer (honestly is scares me at times) and slowly this transpired into my thinking I really did not have anything to write about. When friends would nudge me asking me about when the next posting would come out? I would just reply “soon” and change the topic. Soon a year slid by and I was still stuck. I put this blog on the back burner and went on with other things. There is a saying “timing is everything”, so it is fitting that just by happenstance the book “the Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin was selected by my book club for this month’s reading. As I read the book, I slowly began to examine the obstacles that were preventing me from writing on subjects that really interest me. As I reflected, I slowly realized it was not that I had nothing to write about, it was that I just could not see the stories in the rich material from everything that I did, saw or learned over the course of thelast twelve or so months. So what exactly did I do you may ask? Well here aresome of the highlights.  

Over this past year there have been many wine adventures. A girls' weekend where a friend and I tagged teamed on the wine and food pairing. She picked the menu and I selected wines to go to pair with the various courses she was cooking up. We discovered we were a good team and had a lot of fun throughout the process. There was the Wine Bloggers Conference last July in Charlottesville, VA where I made new friends, learned a lot about wine, fell in love with a charming city and visited historically significant places (and that was all in one weekend.) There was the trip to San Francisco where a goodfriend was my tour guide on a day excursion to Napa Valley. It was a wonderful day filled of good conversation, food and wine. There were multiple trips over theyear to the local wineries that can be found off the highways and byways of Northern Virginia and Maryland.

In the spring, on my trip to St. Martin, I learned that between friends cooking can be a universal language when neither speaks much of the other’s language. Throughout the year I push my comfort limits by trying different varietals (Jurancon Sec to name one), tried fun and unusual foodpairing (cupcakes and wine…yummy) and revisited places that I crossed off my list just to see if they had improved. I learned to be wary of certain mythical creatures hawking wine and that even though a wine experience may not have been the best, it can be a memorable afternoon with good friends and a lot of laughter. I introduced friends to the joy of a barrel tasting and watched as they enjoyed expanding their knowledge about wine.

Then the other night sitting with friends on a rooftop patio, on a beautiful summer night, talking about random topics it struck me… I was over thinking this blog stuff way too much and a moment of clarity struck.In order for this to work I just had to be me, nothing more complicated, and nothing less and with that the writer’s block slowly started to crumble.

My writing will be focused on wine, food, cooking, travel, friends and the adventures (or misadventures… yes, certain mythical creature Iam looking at you) that are inspired by those topics.    

You are probably wondering where the wine is in this post. “A Sip to Savor” will be a new feature I will be adding to this blog. The post will be short by not as short as Twitter Tweet, but not as long as a full article. It will usually be a wine that struck my fancy.

A Sip to Savor: Bandol Rosé

If you are going to have a Bandol Rosé you may as well start with the one from the winery that has a cult like following created after Robert Parker once proclaimed it the greatest rosé in the world. I say that with my tongue planted squarely in my cheek. It is easy in life to get pulled into the hype, wine is no exception. My philosophy is drink what you like, not what you are supposed to like because of what a famous wine critic may have said or what points the wine has earned. To figure out what you like in a wine takes some time and patience. One of your best bets is to befriend the employees of your local wine shop and build up a relationship, they will get toknow your palate and often make great suggestions. I frequent a few wine shops in the town I live in and when I stop in, I often ask about the wine they are raving about that week. It so happened on one recent visit they were raving about the 2011Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé. The shop had just received their allotment ofthe 2011 rosé and the owner was really excited. Swept upin the excitement I purchased a bottle (a pricy little bottle at that.)

Domaine Tempier is one of the premier estates producing wine in the Bandol region of Provence. The vineyard dates back to at least the 1700’s and the Tempier family has owned and operated the vineyards since 1835. The Bandol AOC surrounds the coastal fishing town that is the namesake for the AOC. The late ripening Mourvedre grape thrives in this region due to soil and the warm coastal climate. A rosé from this region must be at least 50% mourvedre. 2011 Domaine Tempier BandolRosé is 50% mourvedre, 28% Gernache, 20% Cinsault and 2% Carignan.

When I opened this wine I really did not know what to expect. I am a fan of French rosé, but I have never delved deep into the subject (due to time) to fully appreciate the nuances that rosé from the different appellations within Provence offered. When I first tasted this wine, I think it was a little lost on me. Don’t get me wrong it was nice, but I was not getting what all the hype was about this wine. Slowly though as I drank the glass, the nuances of the wine began to stand out and I realized this was not your ordinary rosé, but something that was the next step up.

In the glass the wine is a salmon-pink. It hasa fruity nose. It is enjoyably crisp and refreshing with notes of strawberries and earthiness. The finish is spicy and a bit sharp. When paired with food thesharpness of the finish was muted. It was an enjoyable wine that peaked my interest to delve further into the world of French rosé.