To say I’ve been a bit stressed lately is an understatement and when I’m stressed, I get sick, which has happened several times in the past two weeks. The disclaimer here is, that it wasn’t my fault – it was more likely that someone at Scholtzsky’s didn’t wash their hands after using the restroom and then made my sandwich. Since my Mom got sick as well and we split the sandwich I’m going to stick with that story…….After I made it through that I decided to soldier on and stuff my stress and when that happens my back decides it’s not gonna let me do anything. I couldn’t sit, stand, walk or even find a comfortable position to lie down. After 3 days of misery I called the ever so amazing Dr. Chris and let him work magic on my spine. I feel better but have to ask “Why did I wait so long to see him??!!”
The whole sickness drama continued in a different vein, but I won’t bore you with that. I will tell you, I did what anyone practicing avoidance would do, I stopped at my favorite grocery store for a glass of wine before picking up a few things for dinner.
Best.Decision.Ever!
One of my favorite wine stewards was working and here’s what he recommended:
Made.My.Day!
All of my stress melted away as I found myself totally enamored by this 2007 Rocket Science blend of 67% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Tannat, 1% Camenere and 1% Petit Verdot. I’ll admit I wasn’t that familiar with Tannat, so here you go….it’s a blending grape which originated in France and Uruguay and it’s used to soften the astringency of a Cab and make it more approachable. This definitely needs to be decanted or at least let it open up in the glass. Given that I didn’t have a lot of time to burn, I gave it a few good swirls and dove right in. I found the nose and the palate to have a heady mix of dark raspberries and blueberries and the medium bodied weight was nicely balanced with smooth cocoa tannins that just went on and on. Each sip revealed another new layer of juicy flavor that had me sorry to see the glass empty. I’m confident it would stand up to a manly steak with mushrooms, but it was nuanced in such a way that I really enjoyed this without food. At $10 a glass it was a worthy splurge; my grocery retailer offers it for $50 a bottle and from what I understand its in short supply. If you can find it buy it, and then hide it!
Caldwell Vineyard is the maker of this blessed juice and Marbue Marke, Rocket Science winemaker since 2007, is responsible for my adoration of this wonderful vino. Owner John Caldwell, has been instrumental in creating an awareness in Napa Valley of how French grape clones affect wine quality. It seems that John is a bit of a rebel….he smuggled French clonal material from Canada to the U.S. and got caught. What happened next became part of wine history and put the Coombsville AVA on the wine making map. The Caldwell website has a great article from The World of Fine Wine titled “Clones, Cops and Cabernet” that tells the whole story.
Taking a cue from the Rocket Science tagline, here is Thomas Dolby’s She Blinded Me With Science….Ahhh, this takes me back to 80’s with big hair and neon colors. I love the sound of his voice and although this song is from 1982, his album Aliens Ate My Buick, from the late 80’s, is one of my favorites. Check out Hot Sauce – it’s quite sassy or should I say hot and spicy!
Because I grew up with the original Star Trek, William Shatner has been on my radar most of my life. Here’s another take on Blinded Me With Science from his point of view….
If you get a chance visit the beautiful Northern California wine country (where we hope to be living very soon!), check out the Caldwell Vineyard. Tastings are by appointment only and are done in their the wine cave…I haven’t been there yet but the reviews are fabulous.
Until next time, Cheers to you!
Good luck pig….
My Love Affair With The Vine 
had an epiphany and while looking up ‘she blinded me with science” images came across your post-nicely done!j
Thanks for stopping by! Love your image of the the 2 t-shirts…..My ideal would be “Have a nice day” on the front and the other saying on the back 🙂
So…yeah, we will have to meet up for a glass of wine sometime and maybe while I’m slurping it down I’ll actually learn a thing or two! I always learn something when I read your posts, and love the exposure to new music as well. Gotta love Shatner. I love his 70s spoken-poetry version of Rocket Man. Classic.
Thanks for the kind words Heidi, I aim to entertain as well as educate! Now put me around your horses, and I would be clueless…Actually, I would probably stand a distance away & say “hi pretty, pretty” 😉
The wine sounds amazing! Is that a new good luck pig? Or an older photo of the one that broke. Either way, he should still bring you good luck, even if just photographically. You’re post still cracked me up, even if I’m sorta laughing at your pain. It’s only because you made it funny. : ) I hope you recover soon!
It’s a pic of my old pig, may he rest in peace 😉 The way I see it, my body is purging itself of the negative crap and I am to move forward with a clean slate….Humor always helps!!
I agree, humor always helps. After my last couple of days at work, I’m ready for a Native American sweat lodge to purify… I could just stand in my backyard to do it, too.
I gotta find that wine! Love that song. Am really disappointed in myself that I have NOT heard the Shatner version. I do have his Mr tambourine man and Lucy in the sky w diamonds though.
From what I understand about RS, they are limiting release of more because it was affected by shatter – not sure what vintage. Once I find out more I’ll post it. I just listened to both Shatner songs – Hilarious! If I had to choose, Lucy would be my favorite of the two.