There we were, the entire clan in Louisville, and all having a good time.  There was like eighteen people in and out of the house and the kitchen was definitely the center of attention.  The kitchen never closed.  How all the meals were made, always surprise me and I have watched this chaos for years.  We had brought a case of wine to the festivities and our hosts had even gone out to buy more wine for the weekend, it was just a good time.  Arrangements had been made so that everyone had seen the play Mary Poppins Jr. at least once during the weekend, since that was the whole reason for the party.

Wine was being opened at a rather continuous rhythm and the days and the nights were humming along.  There were times when my Brother-in-Law was giving me some joshing for taking photos of some of the wines that he thinks are just every day wines, and he said “why photograph those?”  I told him that most of the wines that I write about are “every day” wines, as I don’t and most people that I know don’t have the life style that First Growths require, I also don’t have that kind of an income stream.  I told him that I try to write about all types of wines from industrial bulk that are the backbone of the catering industries to the First Growths, if and when I encounter them.  I joked with him, that I think the same couple of bottles of DRC are photographed ad-nauseum for everyone to write about and extol the virtues of the wines, but most of the time, those high-powered bottles are shown not opened.  When I started writing, I used the labels that I had soaked off and put into scrapbooks along with notes, and to this day I am still removing labels.  That was one of the reasons that I have liked to show matchbooks from restaurants, just as additional proof.

The more I thought about it, the more I was sure that I was right, because what we might have considered every day, others will break out for special events.  While the event that brought all together was special, the attitude towards the wine and dine portion of the weekend was much more laid back.  Take for example the Bonterra Vineyards Chardonnay California 2017, here is a wine where the fruit has been harvested from different regions in the state.  Seventy percent of the juice is aged in a mix of French and American Oak and only fifteen percent is new, the other thirty is aged in Stainless Steel.  When all that juice is blended together there is a delicious bottle of Chardonnay that shows some of the creaminess without hitting you over the head with it.  The wine also delivers some crispness, and a touch of minerality and for the price, I think it is a great bargain, especially for crowds.  One of the other bottles that we were enjoying throughout the weekend was Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay California 2017.  Bogle is now one of the largest wine producers in the United States and it is still family owned, and they began with a small farm in 1968.  They endeavor to make a quality wine for a decent price, and they stick to all the basic grapes that have hit the big time in California like this Chardonnay.  This wine gets eight months of barrel aging and delivers a subtle Chardonnay that is very easy to drink.  The weekend was basically fish and chicken, so there was a lot of white wine to go around.  These are two white wines that I never have a problem with and yes, they should be photographed.