Revisiting our past

I had the opportunity this past weekend to have a reunion with someone I hadn't seen since high school. For those of you keeping score at home, that makes it just shy of 30 years ago. I know that some people are a little shy about appearing on the Internet, so I'll just call him "Bob" to help protect his anonymity.

"Bob" and I happened to reconnect on Facebook and we figured out that that since he had to be in the area attending to a family matter, that it would present an excellent opportunity for us to make acquaintance with each other again. "Bob" had suggested either a Civil War battlefield or a winery as a place for our meeting. I don't know about y'all (I can't help but adopt some Southern speak) but I personally find relaxing at a winery a better choice for a conversation than trekking across a battlefield. With that in mind, I selected Barrel Oak Winery in Delaplane, VA as a nice place to meet up. Well let me rephrase that, Barrel Oak Winery selected itself as the place for our visit.

The weekend prior to "Bob" coming out, Ms Cocktail and I decided to scout the area looking for a place that met our criteria for a meet up. There were some very simple standards that must be met 1) it had to be close to our house and the town "Bob" was staying at, 2) it had to be Corvette friendly, 3) it had to serve wine. Items 1 and 3 would be easy to find but item 2 can sometimes be tricky. Both "Bob" and myself own Corvettes. Mine is from 2004 and is the last of the C5 model. "Bob's" is a bit more recent C6 model. I wasn't sure if "Bob" would be driving his Corvette down for this trip, but I had to make sure that the road up to the winery would allow the Corvettes without undue stress to either the car or the driver. Since wineries and their associated tasting rooms tend to be located on farms, it is always best to check out the approach routes before taking a low slung sports car on up there. Even though the tasting room for Barrel Oak sits up on a hill with a quarter mile dirt road to travel, the road is well graded and and once you arrive at the top, the views of the foothills of the Shenandoah mountains are just lovely. Case closed.

"Bob" was waiting for us as we arrived, eager to meet us (I hoped) and just as eager to see the Vette (I suspected). We quickly made introductions and got to unpacking the spread. Oh yes, the combination of food and Ms Cocktail is always guaranteed to elicit a delightful response. Much to Ms Cocktail's exasperation, I come from the school of guys where you throw some grub out, everyone has at it, then you go back to doing whatever it is you were doing to begin with. She has been working diligently for many years to get me to understand that is just not the way things are done. Ms Cocktail does things right and rule number one about extending your hospitality to another person is that no one ever leaves hungry. So while "Bob" and I were making introductions and exchanging pleasantries, the table was being loaded with what can only be considered light fare. A veggie tray of zucchini, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, and celery, grilled home made kielbasa, sliced wheat and white baguettes, a triple creme brie, an herb crusted goat cheese, an apricot laced stilton cheese, and fresh raspberries and cherries all made their way to the picnic table. In addition, there was a second cooler waiting in the car with reloads on the fruit and veggies just in case we ran out.

Since we had been here just the week before, Ms Cocktail knew what she wanted but "Bob" and I decided to enjoy a tasting. Barrel Oak has thirteen wines they are currently tasting and you can sample either the first seven or all thirteen. We decided that we were only going to taste the first seven as we didn't want to spend all our time tasting and wanted to do some chatting as well. Sean was our tasting guide and unfortunately for him, had just managed to bang up his arm pretty well in a tasting room accident. It didn't seem to diminish his enthusiasm nor his knowledge as he pressed on through the pain while he iced his somewhat swollen wrist. Here are the seven wines that Sean poured for us:

1. Don Conde Reserve Cava - This isn't one of their wines, but they are celebrating their first anniversary with a sparkling wine to start the tasting. I really liked this wine. I think there are some real values available in the Cavas right now and this is a nice example. Very crisp, it doesn't last long on the palate. It would be easy to quaff a bunch of this.
2. 2008 BowHaus White - I like this wine and it was what Ms Cocktail sent me to fetch for her. It's a blend of Vidal Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc that exhibits just a touch of fruityness that doesn't stick around. A nice easy drinking summer white.
3. 2008 Seyval Blanc - I thought this wine was just too tart. They say it's citrusy, all I got was a bunch of green apple. I'm not sure if it can be tamed.
4. 2008 Rosé - I'm typically not a rosé fan but this was palatable. Done in a dry style there was just a hint of fruit to balance it out.
5. 2007 Bowhaus Red - This wine was served chilled because of the residual sugars, this is a touch sweet. I'm sure that if it was warmer, you'd get a bigger hit. I'm not a fan of this one.
6. 2008 Norton - I'm always torn up about these. A lot of wineries here in Virginia make a wine from the Norton grape because it is native to the area. This is another wine that hits with fruit but turns quickly dry. The entire staff was gushing over the fact that they had just won a double gold and some other award with this wine. It is better executed than most other Norton's I've tasted so there may be some merit to it.
7. 2008 Chocolate Lab - Personally, I think this is the most interesting wine they do here. It's a dessert wine with 6% residual sugar made entirely from the Chambourcin grape. However, they let the wine sit on cocoa nibs for several weeks. This gives it a combination flavor of chocolate and grape on the tongue. I'm not sure if this is done elsewhere as I haven't see it before but I really enjoyed it.

After a quick consultation "Bob" and I agreed that it was to be the Bowhaus White. We purchased a bottle and promptly retired to the picnic area to our feast and our reunion. I won't say that we just picked up where we left off 30 years ago, there was just too much ground to cover for both of us. Instead, we enjoyed learning about our respective adventures on a gorgeous afternoon in the Shenandoah foothills. We're geographically challanged (he in New England, I here in Virginia) so we won't be getting together often, but it's good to know that some of the things that brought us together so many years ago are capable of doing it again these many years later and that we were able to do it over a nice glass of wine.