"Wining" about the rain

Wow! We had forgotten how bad the traffic is in the DC area! We drove from our hotel near Dulles Airport in Virginia to Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania this morning, and it was bumper-to-bumper-at-80-miles-per-hour most of the way. I had a bunch of gray hairs by the time we pulled into the parking lot of Ruby Tuesday’s where we were meeting Don Gaunter for lunch. He greeted us with a big smile and a bear hug … looking the same as he did on our wedding day when he was the commander of the saber detail. Don was the irascible Army colonel for whom Bill worked as a young major in the 1st Armored Division (Germany) and the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Don fell in love with German wines, and bought some rolling acreage in southern Pennsylvania 27 years ago, turning it into what is, really, a world-class vineyard. Don, weinmeister extraordinaire, is the second-highest ranked amateur winemaker in the nation according to the American Wine Society.

Even in his 70s, Don has more energy than anyone we know. He took us on a tour of his recent projects at the vineyard, which include a gigantic patio of inlaid pavers, and a 40-foot waterfall … he hauled the boulders in a canoe and kayak and rolled them down a hill into place with the winch on his Gator (like a super golf cart). We inspected some vines (just starting to sprout leaves) and then climbed down the stairs to the wine cellar, where he has 100 gallons of white wine and 50 of red wine fermenting. Actually, the whites are ready to bottle, and Don opened at least seven glass carboys, siphoning off some fruit of the vine from each with a “wine thief” (which does exactly that … steals wine from the 5-gallon jug). While singing along to the Mama Mia soundtrack, we had a custom wine tasting: Kerner, Scheurebe, Ortega, Traminette, Pinot Gris, Gruner Veltliner, and my two favorites, Muscat and Don’s Secret Blend. Ummm … this made for a really lovely albeit rainy afternoon! We left the vineyard with warm hearts and two bottles of a custom white blend. Thank you, Don!!

Fighting the rush hour traffic back to Virginia … oh, okay. Bill fought it. I fell asleep. That’s what happens when I taste wine in the afternoon. But I woke up in time to have dinner at Busara, one of our old favorite Thai restaurants at the Reston Town Center … which has doubled in size and now boasts about 20 skyscraper office buildings. Later, we came back to the Country Inn and skyped Ashley and Cooper. We had a lovely chat, although Cooper wasn’t that interested. Which actually made me happy … he’s not lying on the floor moaning, “Kiki, Kiki … why did you leave me? I’m going to be warped for life …”