It's a marathon, not a sprint

Great advice to Red Sox fans, and wine drinkers alike. "It's a marathon, not a sprint," were the words of wisdom I doled out to the uninitiated at the first wine dinner of the year, J. Lohr wine at Nicola's Uptown Cafe. This was a new experience for my mom, dad, and sister, so I cautioned them to set a pace and remember how far the finish line is. The night began with some amazing gifts. My in-laws gave me a gorgeous map of Sonoma County that they are going to have framed for me. My wife bought me a set each of Bordeaux, White Wine, and Pinot Noir stemware from Reidel. And my parents and sister really went above and beyond. They bought me the 2003 Joseph Phelps Insignia. This is now my first official vertical, seeing as I now have the '01, '02, and now '03. First course was Potato Gnocchi with Lobster Meat, Baby Leeks, and Truffle Butter. They paired this with J. Lohr's "Carol's Vineyard" Sauvignon Blanc from Napa. The dish was amazing! I absolutely loved the leeks and gnocchi, and the lobster was damn good too. The Sauv Blanc disappointed though. It was somewhat dry and not crisp, like I enjoy them. It did have an intriguing bouquet to it, but the taste was a big let down. The next two courses, a Wild Arugula Salad and Pan-Seared Sea Scallops, were both paired with Chardonnays. The first Chard, "Riverstone" from Monterey was billed as the lesser, and it lived up to that. Pure butter and Vanilla. It tasted like someone had dropped a couple sticks of butter in each barrel while it was aging. The second one, "Arroyo Vista" Single Vineyard from Monterey, had some similar flavors but was more scaled back. It still had a buttery feel, but was not over the top with nice flavors of pear. With the fourth course, Petite Filet Mignon, we finally got some red wine. "Carol's Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa, was a real nice Cab, but it was just too light bodied for my taste. It wasn't a watered down feeling, but instead felt like a Pinot Noir hiding in the Cabernet Flavors. It had a solid taste to it but was just too light for me. And finally, we had a great dessert with what I thought was an outstanding Riesling. We had a Pineapple Financier (which we thought was a banker but must be some kind of cake) with coconut Ice Cream. The J. Lohr "Bay Mist" Riesling from Monterey was outstanding. It was chilled just right and was sweet without going over the top. I felt it was a great way to end the evening, seeing as the other wines didn't blow me away and didn't match perfectly with the food. Oh yeah, I also won a magnum of J. Lohr "Seven Oaks" Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon just for knowing Jerry Lohr's wife's name, and yelling it really loud, and having everyone at the table say I said it first, and because it was my birthday. Till next time..."I want to work to live, not live to work."--John (me)

P.S. My family decided to retire the Johnny nickname and promote me to Jack. A name my Nana had always wanted to call me, and I am sure she's smiling up there right now!