I could sit here making excuses: I've been busy. I'm tired. But, really, I've just been having too much fun.
When I last left off I was saying that I was seeking balance, that I would continue to partake in the industry events that are incessant in this valley, but with minimal indulgence. I'm proud to say that I've stuck to my commitment; yet, that doesn't seem to lessen the amount of time I devote to socializing.
Last Thursday I intended to write a post about the 125th anniversary party I had attended at V Sattui that evening. There was wine and cheese, chocolate and port, and even a pig roast (clearly, I didn't benefit from that last bit). I wanted to tell you all about it.
In fact, I was all set to come home early and do just that, but then I was invited by new friends to partake in a ping pong tournament and, well, frankly, that was the end of my early night. I only won one game, but I stayed out to the wee hours of the morning watching the others play. Thank goodness I only worked half a day on Friday. And then got a massage.
So, once again, I forced myself to balance my evening activities this past weekend with early morning activeness: yoga on Saturday and running on Sunday. And then I jumped right back in. Lunch at Brix followed by an afternoon of wine tasting at William Hill, where the 2007 Petit Verdot was so delicious that my tasting buddy, Adam, bought a bottle to bring to dinner at Barolo in Calistoga with our other new friend, Leah, that night.
After pastries at Bouchon, of course. Like I said, I'm going for everything in moderation here.
Adam told the hostess that it was my birthday (it was not), and when we turned down dessert they brought us the house gelatos anyway. "Happy birthday, from one Leo to another," said our waitress. I felt bad to deceive them - but not bad enough to not eat the free dessert.
I felt worse the next morning when I had to turn back around and head home to Napa after sitting in traffic for nearly an hour on 101 on my way to a Cornell alumni brunch in Marin County. A mobile home had crashed, sprawling across the whole of the southbound side of the highway and stopping all traffic.
I never made it to that brunch, but I did find myself shortly after sitting out on the Russian River drinking rosé and eating pecorino (which goes incredibly well with fresh jicama, by the way - a match made in heaven!), and watching the amusing crowd play beer pong in the river. Life is so hard sometimes.
Last night was my night off. I went to yoga, which I needed desperately after a day of updating spreadsheets at work (yes, even the dream job requires the occasional menial task). And then I went to Bottega with my friend, Jonathon, and had a delicious meal (and wine, of course). And got home after midnight. On a Monday.
I wish I could tell you that tonight I just relaxed, but instead I skipped out on bocce in favor of a wine tasting event at Cakebread Cellars, which I have to admit was slightly disappointing. I had such high expectations for their wines, having heard rave reviews from family and friends. Yet, the wines seemed flat to me, less exciting than I had imagined.
Good thing I went to Cook for dinner in St. Helena afterwards with some friends, where we had a great meal and a fabulous bottle of Hunnicut Fearless Red. Otherwise the night as a whole could have been disappointing. A bad night - can you even imagine?
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