I almost forgot to mention that when we were out in Las Vegas, our son gave us some presents for Christmas. Most people say that I especially am hard to shop for, but I don’t know if that is true. I used to listen to my kids constantly tell me that I should have gone on the Jeopardy television show when they were growing up, because I would be in another room doing a project and I would announce the answer, before any of the contestants would. I guess my brain is filled with useless bits of knowledge, because the only phone number that I can remember was the one to our home in Detroit when I was a kid, and back then the phone numbers had exchanges like “Vinewood” instead of 84, for any of you that wonder why there are still letters under each digit on a phone keypad. My ability to recall these random bits of memory did make me very popular if I was on a team playing Trivial Pursuit when the game came out, but I was not that popular for the opposing team. All of this rambling brings me back to the subject of the gifts that I brought back.

The first gift was aimed at my Bride, because she is the culinary one among us, I like to eat, but she has a real talent for cooking. I may never starve, but she is the talented one. Her gift was a game called “Foodie Fight,” a trivia game for serious food lovers. I liked the quote from Mario Batali “play this fun game after your next dinner party. The losers have to wash the dishes.” This compact game comes with a board, game pieces and a die. It has six different categories including “celebrity chefs,” “food science” and “proper dining etiquette.” An example of the type of questions in this game is “Who was the host of America’s first TV cooking show ‘I Love to Eat,’ which debuted in 1946.” The answer is James Beard whose name is still hallowed across the country.

The other game was geared for me and it is “Wine Wars” a trivia game for wine geeks and wannabes. They have a quote from the author and Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein “Whether you’re an aspiring Master Sommelier or a passionate enogeek, ‘Wine Wars’ is just the ticket to challenge your grape to glass savvy – striking an edutaining balance of bacchanalian trivia with those need to know factoids.” The game sounds daunting to me, considering that I have no formal training in wines. Like the first game, it has the same accoutrements and some of the categories are “Vine to Vino,” “Wine Cellar” and “Cork Culture.” One of the sample questions is “Which famous French wine is typically made  from a blend of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle Grapes – Sauternes or Champagne?” OK, I know this answer and I would venture that most of you do too, as the answer is Sauternes. I guess I might have a chance with this game, now we just have to find some willing contestants.