The Gift…

We have been fortunate over the years to have hired some wonderful young people to help us in our business ventures. The last few years have revealed the reality of how fortunate we were to have had access to those individuals and how spoiled we became by them being such great staff, friends, and family even.

Kegan, Evan, Will, and Conner live in Philadelphia and remain good friends even as all this time has passed and stay in touch with us. They contacted us a few weeks back to get an address to ship “something” to us for the holidays. While the thought of them being gone for this many years and still remembering and caring about us was enough to soften the hardest of hearts, they were doing more than just thinking- they were acting.

So, anticipation set in. My other half is much like a 4 year old when it comes to anticipation and patience, asking every afternoon if “the package” arrived today. It did not come; instead Kegan and Conner stopped by yesterday to hand deliver the package!

Gift set

While the contents of the package Are not products I carry, nor can I legally sell at this point in NC, they are worthy of your knowing about. The wonderful package contained local Philly Products, John & Kira’s Chocolate figs and Penns Woods Winery Lacrima Dolce and the most important aspect was a note remembering fondly working and playing with us.

Now, The Lacrima Dolce is a dessert Merlot with bright red cherry flavors coated in deep rich luscious dark cocoa robed in silk. The figs are injected with dark chocolate ganache and dipped in a deep dark chocolate. This makes for a perfect pairing that is nothing short of a culinary sexual experience… click on the links above to visit their websites and if tempted enough order a tasty treat!

So, while the boxed gift was a bonus, the real gift happens to be the reality that these young people are part of our family. We were proud to have them in our lives and to have been impacted by them in a positive way. We hope we have impacted them and others as positively as they have us.

As the holiday season draws to a close, we hope everyone has had as wonderful a season as we have here in the little village of Blowing Rock this year.

Peace.

Wine: Grayson Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Grayson Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

We are always looking for that $15.00 bottle of wine that drinks like the $50.00 wine, and once in a long while we strike gold! Grayson Cellars is a small, family owned operation out of NAPA, California with a remarkable winemaker by the name if Larry Levin. Larry has quite a list of labels under his belt where he has made wine and has brought the best of those skills with him to Grayson Cellars where they produce some of the highest quality wines at the most affordable price points you’re going to find anywhere.

The winemaker’s notes on the Grayson Cellars’ Cabernet Sauvignon is (in my opinion) somewhat understated as it reads: “This Cabernet shows a dark, ruby color with a rich nose of ripe, dark cherries and blackberries. Its full bodied mouth feel leads to a lingering finish of toasted French oak.”

For me, I agree with the color and aromas, but find the fore of the palate rich with a vanilla spice dancing with dark cherries, back berries, black currants, and light cassis lingering through the mid-palate into a velvety rich, cocoa laden, silky finish mingled with bright pepper and spice.

While I find this wine luxurious and smooth enough to enjoy with nothing but a glass, it pairs beautifully with tons of foods as well. I personally find it a perfect pairing with quail stuffed with acorn squash roasted over an open fire with a side of bitter greens with light garlic butter.

At a retail price of $12.99, why not enjoy a pair of bottles instead of one and share with friends!

Grayson Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon