Happy Monday...

Did someone get the license plate number of the pollen that hit me? Wow. What a beautiful weekend, apparently full of blooming death flowers from Mars.

Beyond that, it was a fun weekend for the Mihan bunch. Cheesesteaks, fishing, sleepovers...I even cleaned up my old air rifle and started teaching EC the do's n' don'ts of gun safety and range shooting. I don't pretend to be a "gun guy" but I've always enjoyed target shooting with any number of projectile weapons, and I figure it's got to be a better way of getting him comfortable with them rather than the alternatives. Nella had zero interest, but she was the one wrapped up in the sleepover madness, which resulted in her perfecting her sleepy teenager face and attitude. And yes, she's still 12. Advanced in math, reading, and "uggh."

Well, Chris found this pic in the archives. Glimmerglass Opera, 1999. Probably our first time acknowledging we liked each other more than we had been admitting openly to, well, everyone including our, by that point, exes. This was taken at the Tryon Inn, a local pub and after-opera "hang" for artists, Young Artists, and scattered opera queens. Great steak au poivre, and their burger was excellent as well. Hard upon the heels of my parent's 50th, one thinks of how remarkable it is to have been with someone when you were both so much younger. I don't think we've changed all that much...not the core values, anyhow. Yeah...that was a great night.

Maybe that's what you find in your children, the chance to feel young again...or at least, make sure they know to enjoy it while you act your part...even to the point where when Chris and I escape them for a date night, we feel a bit like we did in '99.



Current regular hours: Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 12-4.
Please visit our website: www.bangorwineandcheese.com
Don't forget to catch Eric each Tuesday at 4:40pm on Downtown with Rich Kimball on WZON AM 620. Downtown airs weekdays from 4-6pm.
Wine Of The Week
Campagne Sarriere
"Patience" Syrah

"After working for domains in Provence and elsewhere, Ludovic Blairon created Campagne Sarriere in 2017 by piecing together a number of small and remote plots in the villages of Peypin D’Aigues, St Martin de la Brasque and La Motte d’Aigues, all on the south side of the Mont Luberon. The vineyards have an average elevation of 450 meters. Ludovic’s goal is to create an “integrated” farm that includes diverse crops and animals. He farms according to bio-dynamic principles and the winery is certified organic. He is one of a small group of vignerons who does not plough his vineyards, preferring to leave the ground completely undisturbed with the exception of cutting the natural grasses twice a year. In his own words, Ludovic says that his winemaking techniques are original and leave room for improvisation, all in the service of creating wines with a strong personality." - Ed & Barb, Wine Traditions, Importers

I've been featuring a lot of wine brought to these shores by my friends at Wine Traditions, and for good reason. I find, in this business, that if you find a "source" from a like-minded palate, the chances of success in finding what you want...what you really, really want...increase appreciably. So it was that I found myself last Friday morning, far too early to really enjoy it, tasting through about 30 wines (followed at 11 by 20 or so more, but who's counting? Not me, by that point.) that Ed & Barb represent, many new to me, or at least new vintages of old friends. Several were really great, but the wines of Ludovic really stood out and so I took the Syrah already in stock and requested some of the red blend he makes, which I'll feature another time.

His wines are brooding in the way a dense forest might be brooding, perhaps after a rainstorm. Fresh and lush, but somehow mysterious and foreboding at the same time. This Syrah needs time to open, but you'll be rewarded for your...you know...Patience.
Campagne Sarriere "Patience" Syrah
W.O.W. Price: $28.79
Bangor Wine And Cheese
86 Hammond Street,
Bangor, ME 04401
(207) 942 3338