We had a very quiet dinner at home on Valentine’s Day.  It is not that I do not like to be out with my Bride, as I think my articles would differ with that assumption.  I do not like going out, when the rest of the world feels that they must go out.  I have found that evenings of this genre produce mediocre food and strained and poor service from the additional crowds.  There is also the potential for problems when people think they have to drink to excess, so I tend to avoid these scenes.

My Bride surprised me, with the suggestion of a pizza.  I don’t have pizza that often and that sounded like a nice change of pace, and she could relax and not have to worry about cooking or cleaning up.  So she brought home a pizza for us to have at home.

So then I had to decide what wine, do we have that would pair with a pizza in the cellar.  I looked at a few bottles of Chianti from Italy and then I remembered the wine that I had received from our friend at Christmas time.  So I went to the area in the rack where I have miscellaneous red wines, and there it was.  Project Happiness Syrah 2011 from the Oreana Winery in Lodi, California.  I thought here was a wine that might be interesting for our casual dinner at home.  I was impressed with the wine, as I swirled the wine in the glass I noticed good legs on the side of the glass.  The first glass of wine when I tasted it straight from being uncorked had a fruit forward taste and a heavy alcohol “heat” for a lack of a better term.  I am not fond of listing multiple tastes, especially when some of the images are very esoteric or ethereal.  As the wine opened up the heavy fruit and “heat” both softened and a very nice glass of wine was there.  My Bride who is not as fond of a California Syrah, but she adores a glass of Cotes du Rhone was happy with the wine.  In the bigger picture of life, that is important and then there is “Happiness.”