Dear Feastlings,
Today’s been a day like we now have: a to-do list of eighteen items, and only three crossed off, because of the odds and ends that have popped up: the dishwasher sent to urgent care, the wine rep that showed up without an appointment, the produce order that came in wrong, the wine order unceremoniously dumped in a trafficway. It’s all coalesced into a day of reaction rather than the hoped-for day of action. I’ll check a few more items off my list today, I’m sure- it’s a very quiet night, with many of you who’d ordinarily come in on a Tuesday having already joined us for Ferragosto last Sunday- but the day still finds me sending out the email (the 4th item I’ll get to cross of the list) at this late hour, just as most of you are packing up your things and heading home from work.
If your day has been anything like mine, your thoughts are already turning to wine, and despite it requiring some planning ahead, I’ve got some wine stuff for you to think about. Chronologically first, there’s this Saturday’s tasting, an investigation into terroir and what place brings to the table, or the glass, really, alongside the varietal you’re drinking.
But also first, in terms of being truly, truly special, we were able to secure a visit from Jerry Seps, owner/founder/winemaker of Storybook Mountain Vineyards, a producer of Zinfandel that will make you reevaluate whatever thoughts you may have on the varietal. It’s so special to have him in Arizona, let alone at Feast, that we’ve built a dinner around him and his wines, and you’re invited to come and check it all out.
As for me, I can check off that fourth item on my to-do list now and move on to the fifth, which only leaves me a baker’s dozen to go. Of course, a baker’s dozen turns my thoughts from wine to baked goods, and we do have a few slices left of the gianduja cake, that chocolate-hazelnut comfort on a plate, so I may yet turn the rudder. We’ll see.
Your friend,
Doug