Wine, Ball, Friends, Jets, Thinking Inside the Barrel

It was a hot and picturesque day in Healdsburg yesterday. The Great Plotnik and The Great Ducknik met The Great Zinfandini (formerly known as Jim, Wine Expert) and family at Rosenblum Vineyards. It was a warm and picturesque day in Sonoma County, with the vines changing color and harvest in full swing. First, everyone tasted some wine. Zinfandini had that blissed-out look on his face again.



Miss Fee rested for the upcoming basketball game.



Then, the game began in earnest. Zinfandini was unstoppable above the rim.



Plotnik was in top form already, having played previously that morning.




But it was Little Miss Fee who was truly awesome. With a tiny boost from her father, she burst through Plotnik's defense to score.



What a great day: really friendly people in the Rosenblum and Amphora tasting rooms, 'way too much wine to taste and then the discovery of a 6 foot basket in the parking lot. Plotnik has what Ducknik calls 'Home Run Dreams' of being able to actually do stuff like this.



Afterwards, everyone drove back down to Fairfax to Villa Zinfandini for bbq pork tenderloin and zucchini, browned pasta with cream and a flight of '02 zinfandels. Somehow, Duck and Plottie managed to get home without falling asleep at the wheel.

Both Saturday and Sunday, the Plotniks spoke with several different people about living dreams instead of dreaming about living. At Kirby Cove, the Lucases and Monaghans were all mourning the death of their good friend Gar. Plotnik had only heard about this man, who seemed to be everyone's larger-than-life purveyor of good times. He lived hard and died young.

Plotnik doesn't know how he feels about that -- the 'die young' part does not appeal to him one bit. He would rather live just hard enough to die happy and very old.

The small vintners who blow their acquired (substantial) fortunes into making wine are trying to live their dreams...some of them, anyway. Making wine is not Plotnik's dream, but he likes seeing people do it. It is Plottie's experience that a lot of people know how to make money but a whole lot fewer ever learn how to enjoy it. Got to think inside the barrel.