Here we are the final hours of 2012 and we have to ask ourselves the proverbial question – where has the last year gone?  Seriously, has it been 365 days since we were in this same position and asking ourselves the same question about 2011 – the only difference was that we weren’t blogging about it.

Last year we kicked off the year enjoying the beauty of Big Bend National Park and Lajitas with “the gang” – commonly known as P & L and M & D.  Needless to say it was a great time away from the rest of the civilized world.  The hike to the “Window” was downhill and awesome – the view was glorious and the picnic was a perfect – the hike back was uphill and although a few more stops were needed, was equally as awesome.  We enjoyed the stay and came back to reality ready to face the challenges that awaited us in 2012.

So tonight, we figured we take a few and recount the highlights of our year – the best way to start the year was the finding of Jasmine (see, she got out while we were in Lajitas – and turned up on New Year’s Eve – we were so relieved – those four legged kids kinda grow on you)

Next up was Brian’s one year anniversary at the SM Chamber, our 29th wedding anniversary, Daughter #1 turning 21,  Spring Break at the beach, reserving our travel plans to Paso, Dad aka Bill moving back to Texas, Daughter #2 working in Boston for the Summer and turning 19, our 53rd birthday, Jean celebrating one year at the DOA, an offshore fishing trip that yielded 4 sailfish, THE trip to Paso – we could talk about this forever!, Thanksgiving in Stephenville with Jean’s family, Christmas with Bea aka Grams – Brian’s mom at our house – – – not to mention starting this blog and enjoying a number of really great wines (and yes, some not so great) with great friends and family.

To finish off the year, we opened a bottle of yet another one of our favorite wines – Hall 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon.  We really love Hall (rumor has it that sister Sara has a membership and we are waiting for a bottle of Darwin to grace our doorstep) and really enjoy the great wines they produce.  This Cab did not disappoint – a snoot full of tobacco greeted us and the taste was long and strong with flavors of black cherry, cranberry. . .all coming together in a long, smooth finish that treated the front, mid and back palates.  This wine was clearly meant to be enjoyed with food–rich food, scrumptious food; however, being that it was New Year’s Eve, we chose to sample it for our blog–save some smoked venison sausage, cheese and crackers provided by P&L while waiting to gather Daughter #2 and return back to San Marcos – – – – it’s been a long road tonight, but wonderful NYE.  This is a terrific wine and while the price is a little more than our preferred pricing category, when a New Year’s Eve comes around, you want to do things right!  With Hall Wines, you’ll do things right every time.

So, as we move into 2013, we hope that you’ll continue reading our blog and hope that each of you has a terrific year filled with many glasses of your favorite wine – let us know about more of your favorites – Red or White or Other.  If you like what you’re reading, pass it on to people you know.  And, if you’ve followed us and commented to us since we began this endeavor, thank you . . . we really appreciated hearing from you, whether it’s a good friend from Kerrville or another cool wine blogger from somewhere else around the globe!  It’s part of what makes this medium so cool, so portable and so informative!

Have a terrific year and remember to continue enjoying your favorite wine responsibly and recycle whenever possible.