The time of the year is upon us, where we get to celebrate our graduates. One of my cousin’s daughters was an honoree this year and they had a party at their house. There was a huge pavilion erected in their back yard and I am sure that they were cooking up a storm prior to the party. There was an assortment of Armenian and Italian dishes prepared to cover both sides of the family involved, and that is not to mention all of the desserts that were set out on a sweet table. I would venture that nobody went hungry that evening.

There were beverages set up all over the grounds, from water and soft drinks, beer and wine, as well as mixed drinks; so all of the basics were covered. There were also two iced urns of homemade Sangria, one white and one red, which I thought was a nice touch, instead of some of the store bought Sangria wines that are marketed.

There was an ice tub with a selection of three wines on ice. The first bottle of wine was Luna Pinot Grigio 2012 with a California AVA. Ménage a Trois Midnight 2012 from the Trinchero Family Estates was the second bottle in the tub. This wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot and it had a very deep color, perhaps that is why they named it Midnight. The third bottle was from the Duckhorn group of wines, their Decoy Sauvignon Blanc 2013 from Napa Valley and this wine also had some Semillon blended with the Sauvignon Blanc. Of the three wines that were on ice, I seemed to keep going back to the Sauvignon Blanc as it was the most refreshing and had the best taste for my liking.

There was also a selection of two other red wines that were located in the house to keep a more steady temperature instead of being out in the sun. There was Carnivore Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 which carried a California AVA. The other wine was from Cryptic Wines, their Cryptic Red Wine 2012 which had a rather eclectic blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and another 7% of other red varietals. This wine also had a California AVA as the grapes were harvested from Paso Robles, Clarksburg, the North Coast, the Central Coast and some other California locations as well. I have to admit that I did not try either of these two wines, as I was enjoying myself with family and friends under the pavilion and the chilled wines were fitting the need aptly.