We have had quite a few graduation parties to attend this year, that is one of the benefits of getting older.  Most of them have been nephews or nieces and some are the children of cousins, that is what happens when you belong to a large family on both sides.  In the normal course of celebrations, one tries to maintain a certain fairness and a form of aloofness, because one doesn’t want to show favoritism.  There are always exceptions to the rules and my Bride tries to be fair, but this was her Godson and I guess that takes precedence over some of the others (did I say that?).  Well, we helped out as much as possible, after all we can be considered an amateur caterer at times.  We sent over three conference tables, a couple of card tables and a load of folding chairs.

My Bride also did some cooking and so did some of her sisters as well.  There was plenty of food being brought over and I kind of wondered why we didn’t take our electric chaffing dishes as well.   Along with all of the food that was brought over by the families, the parents at the request of the man of the hour wanted food from a chain known as Chipotles, and then there were additional sterno lit chaffing dishes from that company, along with all of the different foods and extras so that one could make soft and hard tacos, tamales and other personal creations.  We also brought along some coolers to help out with the beverages and ice cream treats.  It was quite a display of tents in the front yard and the back, as well as in the house to keep the guests comfortable.  I have to say that I even ate to my heart’s content and that is sometimes a rarity for me at functions of this nature, as my Bride thinks that I am a pain in the arse when it comes to party food.

Even though this was a graduation party, and there was plenty of soft drinks available, the adults were not forgotten about.  I mean there is nothing worse for this Raconteur than to attend a “dry” party or wedding, after all I thought that ended with Prohibition and a few odd counties in across this country.  The adults were thought about and there was a collection of assorted beers and then there was wine.  We brought some wines with us as well, some tried and true Chardonnay wines to keep my Bride happy, some sweeter wines to keep some of the other women happy, and I even brought along something different for the heat of the day and could count on our host to have something to try as well.  One of the wines that I had during the course of the day, into the evening was a red wine that was furnished by the hosts.  The Hope Family Wines established a winery in Paso Robles in 1978 and named it after a one-room school house from the area.  The Liberty School Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 was a very easy and moderate bodied Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine was a blend of over fifty different farmers and vineyards from the area, and I am sure that they can maintain a consistent taste value year after year with the assorted fruits that are harvested.  It also was an easy wine to pair with the “Mexican” food from the chain restaurant.   I wanted to bring a wine that was a little different from the Chardonnay wines that my Bride so enjoys on a hot day, and I brought a wine that is not as popular or as often seen here.  The Les Costieres de Pomerols Hugues Beaulieu Picpoul de Pinet AOP 2016 brought some minerality to the glass.  Les Costieres de Pomerols is a group affair that was started in 1932 and there are now about three-hundred-fifty growers in the concern, and the town is Pomerols, not to be confused with Pomerol from the Bordeaux.  Picpoul de Pinet AOP is a sub region of the Languedoc, that was originally known as the Coteaux du Languedoc, part of the much larger Languedoc-Roussillon.  Picpoul de Pinet can only be made from the Picpoul grape, which kind of translates to “sting the lips” from the highly acidic nature of the wine.  I could not find much about the actual winemaking notes about this wine other than it spent forty-eight hours on the fine lees, but I am sure that it was not aged long, as the wine is favored in France for its floral, fruity and mineral taste.  I found it to be rather refreshing on a very hot day of the party, but the great news was that it didn’t rain, which was the concern of the hosts and the attendees.