Thanksgiving Week of Wine

Now that my Dad is retired, I thought it would be nice to fly my parents out for Thanksgiving week to the California desert. Funny they had no idea what to expect - every time they heard me talk about it - they imagined a shack in the middle of the desert with a few cactus trees around. Little did they know how beautiful La Quinta is - with country clubs and golf courses on every block. And even the landscaping on the medians are well maintained.

Of course you have to get up and play golf every day - isn't that the law here? So my golf buddy Gary came down from Northern California to play too.
We had great rounds of golf at Silver Rock Resort (and did I mention breaking 90 in the round with the birdies on #10 and #18? Gary still beat me by a stroke!) Rancho LaQuinta Country Club and ended the week with an early round on the La Quinta Resort - Dunes course.

But of course Thanksgiving week was a good week of wine. Finally sampled some Beaujolais
with the old standby Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau Special Select didn't seem to be as special as last year.

The first night sat around the kitchen table and shared a 2001 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir - nice way to start the vacation.

With the 90 degree temperatures Chardonnays fit the bill - here's the consensus on the taste in order of their appeal; 2004 ZD Winery Chardonnay California, 2005 Sonoma Cutrer Winery Chardonnay Sonoma Coast, 2003 Flora Springs Wine Co. Chardonnay Select Cuvee Napa Valley and the winner 2005 Rombauer Vineyards Chardonnay Carneros.

With pizza one night opened 2001 Conn Creek Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley and when the decanter was almost empty thought I was opening a second bottle but it turned out to be 2002 Conn Creek Winery Cabernet Franc - so we made a little blend - it was fantastic.

For an early Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday had brought a magnum of the 1991 Franciscan Magnificat it was even autographed by winemaker Larry Levin - a Bordeaux Blend of 4 noble grapes was only missing Petit Verdot. That went fast so the back up was a few bottle of 2002 Franciscan Merlot.

With friends and family departing on Thanksgiving day I took my parents over to Arnold Palmer's Restaurant, we had a wonderful table outside next to the putting green. We ordered a few Bloody Marys to start as we took a look at the menu. They had a wonderful 4 course dinner for a reasonable $60 per person. Each course had 4 options - starters Risotto for Dad, Shrimp Cocktail for Mom and Tuna Sashimi for me - hey we had turkey yesterday. On to the second course - pear salad, iceberg wedge, lobster bisque. For the main course - we all opted for Prime Rib - the cut was so generous non of us could finish it. And by desert time we were all stuffed and ordered desert to go - some pecan pie. The nice touch was the bottomless glass of Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvee Brut, of course when you're not counting how many glasses you've had in the sun - we all ended up with an extended nap after dinner. But what a nice day with my parents. I'm so proud of them and my Dad is making a difference after Katrina as president of Habitat for Humanity in Picayune, MS (this is the 1st high ground outside of New Orleans 100 ft about sea level) - they hope to have 40 more houses built shortly. You can sponsor a house for a donation of $1500 http://www.habitat.org/

While playing golf on the last day a few ambulances went by, guess to prepare me for the sounds of NY as I take the red-eye back to Manhattan all tan and somewhat relaxed. At least its supposed to be warm this week there. It was a very special vacation with my parents.


-Brian