Thanksgiving

Eastside Road, November 29, 2014—

SIXTEEN OF US at dinner today, Thanksgiving Day two days after the fact. Four generations. What a great gathering!

And what a fine dinner: roast turkey, FraMano ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, Brussels sprouts, dinner rolls of course. No green salad!

But look at the dessert…

Prosecco, cheap Pinot grigio, Viognier, Preston of Dry Creek, 2013;
Zinfandel, Preston, 2009; Zinfandel, Winemakers' Barrel Auction: Martinelli, Jackass Vineyard, 1993*; Cabernet Sauvignon, Hambrecht Vineyards, 1991; Semillon, late harvest, Preston, 2000

Except for the Prosecco and the Pinot grigio, which were Italian, all these wines were from within twenty miles. What a pleasure to drink mature wines! The Barrel Auction Zinfandel was a fascinating bottle: it had two labels, one from Martinelli as noted above, the other crediting Kenwood's Jack London vineyard (okay, a little beyond twenty miles, but still in our county) — I suppose it was a blend of the two. In any case it was delicious, and we thank Gaye and John for the gift of it, on my birthday nineteen years ago.