You Know What I Did Last Night

Last night Allan and I met after work and had a snack. We were going to have an appetizer at one of our favorite restaurants, but we ended up having guacamole and splitting a Reuben sandwich. I had not had their Reuben before, and it was amazing! I think it is the best I've ever had! Dee-lish!! This was preparing us for our next event.

Then we headed off for our true destination. Our favorite winery, Willmon's, which has vineyards in Deming, New Mexico, has a local store. Soon after I moved here we found this store, and I have fallen in love with their wines. I rarely have anything else in the house these days. I didn't care for chardonnay until I tasted theirs, and it is wonderful. I also don't care for cabernet, but theirs is very good. They have a table red (meaning it is a little sweeter than most the others), dubbed Ruidoso Red that is quite nice, especially with something like spaghetti. My favorite is their Merlot. Ahhhhh.

The store was having a wine and cheese pairing. So you see, we had to have something in our tummies before sampling wine, then driving 20 miles home over the mountain.

I've never been to a pairing. In fact, I've not been to a wine tasting other than one in a neighbor's home 30 or so years ago. Learning about how to pair with cheese was attractive. How interesting it was as they explained the process of choosing wine to match the flavors of the cheeses. And what marvelous cheeses they had! Oh, my goodness, what a treat it was!

Who figures out this "pairing" process? I must admit that every pair was just wonderful together, and I found myself thinking about how many cheeses a person tasted to find the "right" one. The winery owner's mother, who runs the store, was explaining the flavors and why they fit together as they did. It was very informative, and I wish I could remember more details. She said that such tasting should be limited to just six flavors, because after that your taste buds begin to loose their edge.

The end of it all was a really good key lime cheese cake with a muskat. Really nice! I loved the cheeses, every one. Most of the wines I've had, but it was fun to see how they worked with the cheeses. And we were the first to taste his newest wine, a shiraz, which isn't for sale yet. It was excellent. They were all excellent!

We shared a table with two older women (yeah, even older than me!!!) who were SO much fun! One was a retired opera singer, now an artist and a writer. A character in many ways, a delightful lady in all ways. The funniest part of this is that she had eyebrows arched into a permanent expression of surprise!! LOL! But she is adorable, so interesting to listen to, and so much fun to talk with. I think we will probably get together in the future for a dinner or two. She loves to cook, as do Allan and I, and we had so much fun comparing food ideas and experiences. Frankly, she is not someone I would have sought out in a crowd (dyed red hair and arched red eyebrows aren't plus factors in my judgment, I'm sorry to admit!), but I'm so happy that we met! Isn't it interesting who those things that make you snicker on a stranger are suddenly OK on a friend? I'm blushing.

OK, What did you do last night?

PS - BTW, I slept like a baby last night!!! Who knows?!?!?!

Life is beautigul!!!!
Once again!!