And here we sit–T-Minus 9 . . . about 12 months ago, we got this hair-brained idea that we, yes . . . we, the then 53 old, self defined “old farts” decided that we should do a wine blog . . . you know, we’d watched Julie & Julia one too many times and, oh, what a great idea – blog about a different wine EVERY night for a year.  Yeah, we know . . . blah, blah, blah – but, truth be told – we were gamers.  Yup, we thought silently — and then aloud. . . . oh, heck – this will be easy, doing something we enjoy (tasting wine) . . . we are so in!

BUT…like all things in life, the truth of the matter is . . . we’ve just ’bout run out of the will to finish.  It was fun in September. . .even better in October when we took a trip to Paso Robles, California.  November was a delight but December just wasn’t right. . .January came and went and February seemed spent.  March roared in like a lion but by April we’d begun cryin’. May and June weren’t easy and July made us feel queasy.  So here we are in August and the finish line is just ahead, all we’re hoping is that when we get there, no one’s feeling dead!!

Tonight we opened a 2009 Tempranillo from Alicante, Spain.  “The Tapas Wine Collection” Tempranillo–it’s got an imposing name and an equally graphic label. Tempranillo is a variety of red grape that is widely grown in Spain to produce full-bodied red wines. It has been grown on the Iberian Peninsula since Phoenician times. Tempranillo wines are often characterized by a dark ruby color with aromas and flavors of berries, plum, tobacco, vanilla leather and herbs.  Interesting fact: Tempranillo is the most widely planted red grape variety in Spain.  And while the preferred foods would be red meat, spicy foods, cured meats and cooked vegetables, we opted for a more traditional Dominos Pizza!  On a Thursday night, after a Business After Hours for Brian and extended office time for Jean, the thought of cooking something to match the wine–well, it JUST wasn’t happening!  However, that said, the pizza turned out to be the perfect complement to the wine.  A Dominos Extravaganza which DID have cured meat and cooked vegetables was the ideal pairing for us with this wine.  Priced at around $11 a bottle, you’re NOT going to confuse this wine with a bottle of Clio from the same year. . .OH NO, not even close; however, you may think you’ve stumbled upon something because it has a 2009 vintage, and those year’s wines are getting harder and harder to find.  A pick up from our recent visit to World Market, if you’re in the mood for a nice, smoky Tempranillo, then by all means get a  hold of this bottle.  However, if you looking for long and smooth to be a part of the conversation, with all due respect, you’ll probably look elsewhere.

So, maybe–just maybe–we’re a bit melodramatic in our journey.  Surely, if it was that BAD, we’d have abandoned our quest long ago.  And the short answer to that would be ‘you’re right’.  There have been a number of times when we thought that it would be best to stop it in our tracks and be done with it.  What motivated us to continue?  What motivates anyone to continue?  Never quitting!  By golly, we’re going to make this happen!  It’s like the character of General Custer in the movie, “Night At The Museum, Battle of The Smithsonian”…”We’re Americans, we don’t think, we DO!”  Yeah. . .kind of like that!

We hope you’ll stay with us for the rest of the blog. . .actually, you can help us by passing it on to friends and family. . .we’d love to get more folks reading just in time to stop!  No! Not really, but it sounded good!  AND, if you’ve been with us from the start or any portion of the journey, help us by sharing your thoughts about a Top Ten List-if you’ve enjoyed some of the wines we’ve written about, tell us about your thoughts and which ones should be on the BJWINE365 Wall of Fame!

Thanks for staying with us; enjoy your next bottle of wine responsibly and remember to recycle when you’re done.