A milestone occurs tonight–albeit a minor one, but a milestone nonetheless–tonight represents 265 days of a different wine each day, AND it also means that we are entering the final 100 days of our goal.  With that thought in mind we thought we’d share with you some of what’s transpired over the first 265 days of our blog. . .we’ve been fortunate enough to have been viewed by someone (not sure who or why) in just under 20 countries around the world!  Yes, we know that there are heavy-duty bloggers out there who have hundreds or thousands of followers from hundreds of countries.  But, we started this with nothing in mind other than to taste and write about a different wine every day for a year.  In that same time, we’ve had just shy of 9300 views; just under 50 regular followers and…here’s the best part…we’ve had comments from readers from all over the globe!  It’s one of those ‘sit back and soak up’ moments that keeps us going, and believe us, there have been days when the LAST thing we wanted to do was taste a wine and blog about it.

There have been great wines, good wines, so-so wines, and “OMG Bad Wines!” in the first 265 days–we’re guessing that there are still plenty of these still available in stores!  We tasted wines from all over the world with a biased preference for California wines, but have a growing affinity for Washington and even certain Texas wines!  We’ve tasted more white wines than we thought we’d try, and for the most part they have been pretty good.  We’ve had three guest bloggers which have come at perfect times and their experiences have certainly enhanced our quest!  It’s this zest for wine adventures that brings us to the doorstep of the final 100 days of our blog.  So, after scouring the blog rack for a wine to enjoy as a kick off to our Memorial Day weekend and seeing nothing, we went to the wine cooler and looked at the bottles and really didn’t find anything that grabbed our attention, so it was to the final stop. . .a little know spot where we keep some awesome wines from Paso Robles.

Tonight we revisited our tasting experience with Roger Nicolas in Paso Robles this past October.  A visit to his tasting room—his living room—looking out over acres of grapes and rolling hills of vines was a site of pure beauty.  Since we had arrived late for our first tasting back in 2007, we were certain to arrive early so as to not be chastised by our host for being late.  When we mentioned it to him upon our arrival. . .even he had a chuckle about it.  When another couple was late to the tasting, we expected the same treatment, but, no.  We guess that in the past five years, Roger decided it was more important to serve great wine than worry about late comers to the the table.  Regardless the wines were young, fruity, flavorful and all of them have a LOT of promise to be enjoyed several years from now.  Yes, they are that good that his wine can be laid down for a minimum of 5-7 years and be fantastic upon opening.  Of course, tonight being Day 265, it called for a special wine—and thus we opened and enjoyed a 2010 Cuvee des Artistes–a beautiful blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Petite Verdot.  While still young in the bottle, the nose was superb. . .dark fruits with hints of tobacco, leather and cedar.  The more we swirled the better the aromas–a sneak sniff of oak reassured us that this was going to be a tasty wine.  From the first sip, we were immediately brought back to Roger’s living room for the tastings. This was a seriously good–no Great–bottle of wine.  And, while it’s priced out of our normal range, for a special occasion wine, you simply can’t go wrong with an RN Estates Wine.

We are officially on the downward slide–yes, we talked about that at the midway point of the year, but when you get to the final 100 days, well, it’s time to start the count down!  We’re excited to start the countdown with such a fine wine and the company of family. . .what better way to enjoy something. . .along with a rack of smoked ribs!  We hope you’ll stay with us for the next 100 days—it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Until tomorrow, please enjoy your favorite wine responsibly and remember to recycle whenever possible.