Troglodytes by nature are not so communal, but the generosity of those who are, neither expected nor necessary, has forced me to actually acquire friends to help me with some of this wine that has come my way. Here's my report.
Main Course: soft shell crabs marinated in olive oil, garlic, and anise seed on the grill, served as sandwiches with lime, cilantro and mustard. Salad: frisee, fresh fennel, endive, and figs with lemon and olive oil. The Conversation: the Tour de France, of course. (We all ride.)
The Wine: 2004 Chablis 1er Cru "Les Forets."
The wine, my first white, was really good. It was completely honest and it was austere in a simple and unadorned kind of way, the wine that walks into a room and you sit a little straighter just by the space it commands, minus anything else.Dessert: honeydew, apricots, blueberries with a small array of soft and blue cheeses, breads, nuts and fennel green olives. The Conversation: the dentist in Beverly Hills who has a woman giving foot messages while your teeth are being worked on. The Wine: There is a gentleman who cellars here who makes his award-winning wine from that which is indigenous to his home Norway - various berries and, in this case, kumquats. While I could very easily have encountered an item one might find in a canister at IHOP amongst the boysenberry and blueberry syrups, this wine was really a beautiful balance of all things contained. It was delicately proffered and gently present, a lovely bit of regard.
I'm working on the menu for the next total solar eclipse when I again venture to the earth's surface; will report back accordingly.