To add to the pleasantries, Amy has many of the same symptoms and is not feeling real well either, but we've volunteered tonight to act as liaisons between a vintner from Ohio we know - yeah we know a vintner...pretty classy eh? - and a bunch of local
Since Amy and I are both on antibiotics and since I have to be at work early, our hope is to get everyone settled in, let the wine sampling begin and then duck out. I'm not certain how well that will work. I know we'll be on time, but lawyers, even sober ones, tend to have a different perspective on time - which probably explains how they can bill you for 26 hours of work in one day, but that's another matter.
Anyway, our friend's small winery is not in Ohio, which should make those of you who drink wine breathe a sigh of relief. The operation is in Spain. He's also a retired-for-the-moment urologist which is how he paid to live out his dream of becoming a vintner - I'm certain there's a metaphor there, but I'm not going to probe around to find it.
Suffice it to say he produces a number of very lovely wines sold in this country under the name Veleta.
Right now they are somewhat hard to find, but with recent changes in the the laws regarding the shipment of wines across state lines, he's hoping to expand his market and actually break even, if not make money, which would make his dream slightly more fulfilling I suspect.
However, after having dinner with him and his wife the other night, I realized that he is not in it for the money as much as the pleasure of watching the fruits of his labors develop. It's not a bad gig...he gets to spend a lot of time in Spain and he has a lot of wine to enjoy.
More importantly he has a lovely wife and a soon to be two year old daughter.
Any winemaker can tell you that there are many things in life which are worth waiting for in order to savor their full potential.
