Chateau Montrose and 92 days Left for Certification Test-OMG!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I would love to know what wines - good, bad or average - that you consumed. Please comment and share, I am truly interested.

This weekend, Dr. Alex and I met our friends, Jack Lalane and his wife Wonder Woman for dinner at one our favorite Italian restaurants. Jack is quite the wine aficionado and enjoys surprising us with one of his treasures whenever we meet for dinner. What a sublime shock when Jack arrived with a 1986 Chateau Montrose, St. Estephe-Bordeaux region. This wine is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

One glass of this incredible wine transports you to a musty cellar on the Left Bank of Bordeaux. The bouquet is honestly intoxicating. Even though this is a twenty three year old wine there still is lots of nice acidity and tannins on the palate. We all ordered the Kurobuta pork for our entrée and the pairing turned out to be outstanding.

My contribution to the evening was the terrific Silvio Jermann-2006 Vintage Tunina, that we all enjoyed with our pizza and salads. Unfortunately, that was my last bottle of the Vintage Tunina. I originally purchased only two bottles of this wine, since I had not previously tasted it and I was not aware of how extraordinary it was. I will have to begin a search to see if I can locate anymore of this remarkable wine.

Saturday evening, Dr. Alex and I connected with our friends The Golden Girls and their hubbies-The Grumpies at our local movie theatre. I was very excited to see the new movie, Julie and Julia, since I had read (and fallen in love with) both of the books. The movie was thoroughly enjoyable and if I had been at home by myself I would have cried from the beginning to the end. All of the characters and their relationships with the significant people in their lives were very touching and real. I was fighting back tears from the moment I saw Julia Child's blue woody station wagon as she and her husband Paul drove up to their new apartment in Paris.

Fortunately, I was smart enough to wear my apron which turned out to be a good substitute for a box of tissues. Someday, I must write a blog entry on how important aprons can be in a fictious person's life.

We had dinner and quick glass of MacMurray (yes, my dear Fred) Pinot Gris. Really not worth writing about but Fred and his three sons were always so great to watch.

The weekend concluded with and eye-opening educational experience on Sunday afternoon. I don't believe that I have previously mentioned my wine education. A few years ago I took a two- year wine course at a local college. After completion, I passed the Introductory Court of Masters Sommelier test. Currently, I am signed up for the certification test in November. One of the many obstacles for me in passing is that I do not have any significant experience in the wine industry.

When I heard about a class that offered assistance in preparing for the test, I immediately signed up. On Sunday, at noon, I kissed Dr. Alex and White Fang good-bye, jumped in my car and toddled over to a local meeting place where the class was being offered. The class was a wake up call for me about how much more I needed to learn. The day-long test consists of two blind wine assessments and a fifty question written test. OMG! I have ninety-two days left to learn so many things: how to serve champagne properly, pairings, vintages, cigars, aperitifs, cocktails, cognac and a whole host of other questions. I am scared apron-less just thinking about all I will need to know in such a short amount of time.

Please wish me luck. If anyone out there has any test-prep suggestion, or simply morale support, please send me comments. Mrs. Reed would be eternally grateful for any assistance.

Chateau Montrose 1986-with great appreciation to Jack and Wonder-5 aprons.

Wishing all of you a patchwork apron filled with love and of course amazing wine.

XXOO

Mrs. Reed