Last week I was up at Newman, visiting Sara and serving as a faculty member. On Saturday, Sara had the day off (and Rachel was also up at camp), so the three of us went wine tasting in the Napa Valley.
We had an amazing time at all the wineries we visited, but we had the best time at a winery called Merryvale, which we stumbled into basically by accident. It happened to be across the street from Taylor's Refresher (see below), and it was easier to make a right turn out of the Taylor's parking lot then a left. So we turned right, then pulled a quick left into the Merryvale parking lot.
We tasted a flight of white wines which culminated in a pretty good late-harvest riesling (the pourer taught us wine ignoramuses about "noble rot"). We were a bit tipsy, and we were making conversation with a couple (about our parents' age) standing next to us. They were regulars at the winery, members of the wine club who come in frequently for complimentary wine tastings. The gentleman told Rachel about how they own a number of homes in California, and whenever they're at their home in wine country, they come to taste what's new at Merryvalle. They both told us about their favorite wine, a unique dessert Muscat called "Antigua."
Apparently, the pourers at the winery have developed a sort of cocktail made out of the wine (which is fortified, so it's kind of a cocktail already) where they pour it over ice with some lemon juice. They ordered some for themselves, and then shared a sip with each of us. When Rachel announced to the pourer and to our new friends that Sara and I were newlyweds, the pourer immediately poured us glasses of the Antigua and then also made us a couple of the ice-lemon cocktails.
After receiving all this free wine, I felt obliged to buy a bottle (also, it was very very delicious, so I figured it would make a nice souvenir of the day). The next thing I know, the woman who'd been chatting with us nodded to the pourer, who explained that our new friend was buying our bottle for us.
A total stranger just bought us a bottle of wine. They accepted our sincere thank yous and left.
Sara and I were so touched by the gesture and we couldn't stop saying so. (We were a little drunk... but still. When was the last time a complete stranger bought you a gift, let alone a nice bottle of wine?)
We wrote the anonymous couple a thank-you note, and the pourer, who had the couple's address in the winery's database, agreed to mail it for us. In our note, we promised to one day do the same thing for another newly married couple.
And we can't wait to enjoy the wine!
Comments