Or was a day and a half and another three quarters? Simple Math hit the road westward to his special little enclave, tucked away in the foggy reaches of Sebastopol this week. It was a lot of fun, really, with only a couple of hair-raising contingencies to handle. But as the Simple Math luck would dictate, the people in place who surround the nest like supportive mother robins helped to save the day.
Day One was terrific – my chardonnay and Sonoma Coast pinot went into bottle and onto their stacks in a short amount of time, allowing for thorough post-play investigations and strategic gyrations to take place amid a sunny yet cool afternoon. Evening One was spent coming down from a superb, brie-and-roasted-pepper-laden lunch at Chloe’s Cafe – hanging with the familial crew, without whose patience and understanding this entire project might seem to be fodder for repetitive one-on-one conversations with myself…We hung out a bit and all seemed to crash simultaneously onto our beds. (Alas, I was not the only one in the house who’d had a pretty rigorous day.)
Day Two was cabernet sauvignon – a 2007 AND a 2008, intermingled with grooving to barrel & tank samples proffered by Petar Kirilov and Jared Souza. Decisions….but not until consummating the task at hand. There was some improvisation to be done at the speed of sound at times, which included a trip to the far reaches of the East Bay as well. Props to Armand at ACI Cork whose smooth bedside manner, enthusiasm and scientific acumen combined to ease my slightly troubled soul. This was a very educational undertaking, and it will commence again to wrap things up in about three weeks. In the meantime, I shall be dancing one more round with the TTB and with my label printer.
More to come, with additional embellishments on the events of the week, both wine- and food-oriented. Thanks for checking in, and get your nose in on www.simplemathcellars.com for a piece of the action.
