Ahh, Friday.  Coming off of a three-day weekend meant cramming five days of work into four days.  Add to the mix an event in San Marcos–the Chamber’s 6th Annual Luau–and you have a reason to be happy it’s Friday.  To start the day, Brian visited our local Taco Cabana to bring breakfast tacos to the ladies who sit at the front desk. . .without their smiling faces and knowledge of the area, the Chamber would be hard-pressed to take care of all visitors, callers and questions received in a given day.  So, with bag in hand, he arrived with said tacos and had put some pico de gallo into one of the cups at the salsa bar. . .the perfect compliment to a bacon and egg breakfast taco!

When Jean brought home tonight’s wine from a really cool place in Austin–we’ll talk more about this place tomorrow night–we immediately thought about pico–pico de gallo!  However, there is a huge difference between Picos del Montgo and pico de gallo. . .but because Brian’s brain works in strange and mysterious ways, he thought that there was a common denominator.  This wine is surprisingly bold. . .at 90% Tempranillo and 10% Syrah–we expected a lighter wine with a bolder taste.  Instead we got a big wine with a bigger taste!   Aromas were all dark fruits that were newly ripened. Black cherry, blackberry. Nose was actually very abundant, very strong. On the palate was black cherry, dark chocolate, cassis, coffee, giving way to a woodsy-taste on the mid-palate with a lot of the fruit dying off, leaving mostly dark chocolate, caramel, coffee, roasted figs.  It has been said that Tempranillo is Spain’s answer to Cabernet……… Is it true?  Certainly it has the spine for it. It is thick-skinned. It is deeply colored. It often exhibits the aromas that we associate with Cabernet, like spice, tobacco, olive, herb. But unlike Cabernet, Tempranillo can also have exuberant fruit. The Tempranillo we’ve found is grown in Castilla-La Mancha, the “Spanish Meseta”, in central Spain, at 1650-2300 feet above sea level. This is Spain at its most extreme! Insufferable summers, gruelingly cold winters. For a vine to flourish there it must have grit, character, a strong sense of self.

At less than $10 a bottle, tonight’s wine is a lot like last night’s wine. . .it’s all in the nose and the palate because the finish for us, left us wanting more!  Don’t get us wrong–it’s a great value and for the money that you’ll pay for this wine, you’ll be amazed.  Good wine.  Good price.  Fair value.

We are ready for an early morning as daughter #2 heads back east. . .it’s been a pure pleasure having her around the house for the past-almost-month. . .but the combination of a summer job and summer school are calling.  As we’ve seen one graduate from college this spring and another one embarking on junior year, we understand everyday what people told us years ago–they’ll grow up before your eyes!  Yep, that’s exactly what happened.

Thank you Sir, I’ll Have Another. . .and we’ll be back here tomorrow evening. . .until then remember to enjoy your favorite wine responsibly and recycle whenever possible.