I guess we were all scofflaws, but we attempted to have a birthday celebration, just like we used to do before genteel society ended and we were all in a form of solitary confinement, unless one was in confinement, and then there was the possibility that you got your freedom.  It is convoluted, but to some, it makes sense.   Back when the sun was shining over the earth and only bank robbers wore masks, once a month we would celebrate and have a party for the family members that were born in each month, and some months were quite huge with celebrants.  With a family that has five married daughters, children and some grandchildren; the house can get quite packed.  There are rules about having too many people together at one time, unless it is a politically sanctioned funeral with photo ops, that is why I say that we were scofflaws.  We were going to have the party at our house, but another sister, even though she and her husband were going to be out of town, offered their house as it might be the last time for everyone to use their inground pool for the year.  This is Michigan and not New Mexico, so pools don’t have as long of a period of use here.

We got to the house early, to help the setup and we were also bringing a lot of assorted dishes and appetizers.  My Bride has everyone’s dietary requirements by rote, so that there is hardly a dish that can’t be enjoyed by all.  To give you an idea, one member has an allergy that is quite severe to the spice paprika and it is found in a myriad of prepared foods, that you would not even think that it would be in, as in commercially made mayonnaise.  I would venture to say that the culinary star of the day was our son who smoked a brisket for twenty hours, and just about all of it disappeared.  The little ones got excited, as always to open up their presents and some of the presents had to be opened later that day, during a Zoom session to show the gift givers the moment when they unwrapped the gifts.  One of the older recipients stayed humble and low keyed for the event.  

There were hardly any wine drinkers there for the party, but I did see a great bottle of wine that was empty and I asked one of the sons about it, and he said that he and his fiancé had it one night, and they were very impressed.  I can understand that, and I wish I could get more of that wine, perhaps another vintage.  I did bring a couple of back up wines, but the one wine that I wanted for the party is the one that I opened first and it basically sufficed for the two wine drinkers at the party.  We enjoyed a wine that we received from out wine club “A Taste of Monterey” and it was a bottle of Dawn’s Dream Pinot Noir Rosé Santa Lucia Highlands 2018 and it has been voted as the “Best Rosé of Monterey County” for six years in a row.  With Clone 236 Pinot Noir grapes and growing in Santa Lucia Highlands, it should win hands down always.  In the old days, this would have been referred to as a distaff winery, or to some a cottage industry, but with more woman being recognized for their talents in the wine industry, they are definitely held as peers.  Dawn Galante is the wife of Jack Galante of Galante Vineyards, and an officer of both wineries.  The wine is whole-cluster pressed, fermented and settled in Stainless Steel for a couple of months to maintain the delicate fruit flavors.   The nose offered tangerines and apricots, and along with a refreshing acidity there were notes of strawberries and watermelon, perfect for the last hurrah of summer.