Second Leaf

Has it really been a month since I was last a Bunco Bachelor? The calendar says, “no”, but Mrs. Second Leaf says, “*%#&@! yes!”  Tough… well, really not even an option… to argue with that!

Seeing as how I surely committed some sort of wine blogging faux pas last month by mentioning one winery but actually opening a wine from another, I was determined to make amends this time around. So the question at hand building up to this month’s dad vs. kids throw-down was how to get my hands on some of that “*%#&@!” Twisted Oak wine? Sure, I could have ordered directly from the winery but how much fun is that? Since El Jefe, the Grand Poobah of TOW (or maybe it’s the Sgt. Hulka of TOW?), slyly pointed out that WineQ was now featuring wines from Twisted Oak, I knew right where to go to get my *%#&@! fix.

WineQ is a new web 2.0 company trying to do for wine what Netflix has done for DVD rentals.  Setting up my Q on WineQ was a breeze and, before I knew it, the UPS man was handing me a box with a green WineQ sticker on it. A box of three Twisted wines: the 2005 *%#&@! red Rhône blend I tasted tonight, the 2005 %@#$! white Rhône blend, and the 2005 Viognier.

Now that I had the wine nailed down, I needed a menu to go with it. And not just any menu… a menu that would match the wine and be something my 3 daughters would actually eat. Let me tell you, the Iron Chefs never had it this difficult. My younger 2 daughters, 8 and 5 years old, are easy enough to cajole into trying new things but my 11 year old is convinced that anything other than chicken fingers must be straight out of the kitchens of Fear Factor. I needed a slam dunk.

Read more…

It’s been a long week. I don’t ask for much. Well, on second thought, let’s not get into that. This isn’t about me. Er, well, maybe it is. But that’s beside the point. The point is… when a man returns home on a Friday afternoon after a hard week’s work, the absolute last thing he wants to hear is, “Honey, you remember I have bunco tonight, right?”

While my face was saying, “yes, dear”, my thoughts resembled one of those emphatic “*%#&@!” Twisted Oak wine labels.  I headed straight for the wine cellar. The kids were clamoring for grilled cheese and Dora the Explorer soup. I had to think fast.

Determined to make the most of my predicament, I thought, “why not grilled cheese and soup?” The kids were happy with their selection so I rummaged around in the fridge and pantry and found some crusty sourdough bread, extra sharp cheddar cheese, and some spicy lentil bean soup. The wine I chose to accompany my throw- together bachelor meal was a Napa Valley 2004 Miner Stagecoach Vineyard Merlot ($35).

This wine was dark ruby in color with fantastic aromas of raspberries and cherries with a hint of cedar. The flavors were more of the same with a terrifically round and soft mouthfeel but just enough tannins to sustain a long and rewarding finish. The wine paired perfectly with the cheese and thickness of the soup, cutting right through both. An outstanding Merlot.

In the end, not a bad way to spend an evening. The kids are happy, I’m happy, and… oh yeah, I’ve got to get the kitchen cleaned up before the wife gets home. Later!