While we had the pleasure of Ms. Yoga’s company she was here on a business trip.  She also found some time to see her family and friends.  One of the days that she was able to blend everything together, she found some time to go shopping with her friends, and I think that is one of the most pleasurable pastimes that women enjoy.  I spent my entire career selling Men’s Couture, so the concept of shopping is beyond my realm of understanding as pleasure.  Most men from my era, do not shop, they go out and buy and it tends to be a singular pursuit, while women like to shop together; and they do it well.  Ms. Yoga and my Bride were going to meet another friend and go shopping one morning and they asked if I wanted to join them, which I politely declined, but they did invite me out for lunch when they were going to be finished and that I did agree upon.  You may have noticed by now, that I am quite partial to being fed, especially if the venue is decent, so that removes most popular priced chains.

We established a time to meet, that would enable the women to get some “quality” time shopping, as well as working up an appetite for lunch.  We also picked a suitable establishment that would be near where they were shopping, so I drove there separately and if I got there first, I would secure a table, since it was lunch time.  They decided upon one of the chains that I had not been to for awhile called J Alexander’s and surprisingly I did get there first and waited for the ladies to make their purchases, as at least they were out of the fitting rooms.  My Bride ordered the Carolina Crab Cakes, which were made from jumbo lump crab, chili mayonnaise and a mustard sauce with a side of fries.  I went with their Steak Burger, which was a blend of ground tenderloin and rib-eye, Tillamook Cheddar, grilled onions and Kiawah Island Dressing.

Since it was an unseasonably hot morning and I was waiting for the ladies to show up, I went with a manly drink and ordered a glass of Rosé, which even made me look even more questionable when the women ordered cocktails.  It is OK though, because I like a glass of Rosé and I had Chateau Val-Joanis Tradition Luberon 2017.  Luberon got its own designation in 1988 and to old guys like me, it was known as Cotes du Luberon and is located between the Rhone Valley and Provence but comes under the Rhone umbrella of districts.  This was a very easy and drinkable wine, that I will presume was done quickly in Stainless Steel due to the vintage, and it was Estate Bottled and a blend of Syrah and Grenache.  With my burger I went to a heavier red wine and California beckoned to me.  The Newton Vineyard Skyside Claret 2016 was from the North Coast.  The Skyside label is new, as they had originally called it the Red Label.  The Claret was a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.  Newton Vineyard was established in 1977 and they were the first winery in Napa Valley to create an un-filtered Chardonnay, and they were so successful, that in 2001 they were bought by the luxury group LVMH.  Newton Vineyard owns six-hundred-forty acres of land in Napa and nearby, and the land has been formed into one-hundred-twelve parcels, and each parcel only grows one varietal.  They also vinify each parcel separately, so that they have plenty of blending opportunities as well as bottling single vineyard wines.  They only use French Oak for aging, and they tunneled and built a marble cave for aging in the side of a hill.  Pairing with the burger, it was an excellent choice, though I am sure that most of the time, people would order this wine with a steak.