Each time I move I’m reminded of how much I dislike moving, but true to my constitution, everything I own I can move by myself – including my California King bed, which is just too comfortable to discard. Once moved in, it seemed logical that the next task at hand was to make some beer.
Inspired by the publication of my Homebrewing article (see Homegrown Beer) this month, I headed down to Jim’s Homebrew Supply in Spokane to buy some grains and hops. Mixing things up a little for my summer ale, I added some additional Munich to the batch looking to round out the middle palate.
With the beer in the fermenter and nothing to do but wait, I headed up to Sandpoint, Idaho to see my friend Denise at Pend d’Oreille Winery and to blend some wine. Each year the winery invites select wine club members to join the winemakers and blend their own special wine.
All of the blends are created from the winery’s own barrel finished Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah – with just a hint of Malbec for me. Under the guidance of the winemaker, each guest is allowed to mix and match until they reach a wine they are happy with. Then their blend recipe is carefully measured into a magnum bottle. It is as much about the wine as it is about just a great afternoon with like-minded people.
So I had this amazing meal planned to go with my incredible blended wine, exotic game and locally harvested mushrooms. One last heavy meal before Summer; however, once I was done giving out samples to everyone who, “simply just had to try my first blend”, there was only a half a bottle left – which I enjoyed by myself with a great homemade burger and fresh sweet potato fries. Not exactly the meal I had envisioned, but I still have a magnum of Pend d’Oreille’s Reserve Cab for an invitation only dinner party.
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