May 2008 Archives

Last night was family night where the kids fix dinner for mom and dad and mom and dad get to sit on the porch drinking wine until dinner is served. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven. (Except in heaven the hot dogs are grilled and the buns are warm.) We try to do this every now and again and it always results in a hilarious parody of what life is like for a 10 and 15 year old whose parents are in the wine business. Tonight it became clear that our children think our profession is…well, absurd.

The Husband had just poured a glass of our yet to be released 2004 Endeavour Cabernet. We were out of regular clean wine glasses so we decided to use those flat bottomed indented ones that only us wine geeks have taken to because of the enhanced aromatic subtleties. “Ahhhh, cherries, leather and bittersweet chocolate…” he pronounced upon taking a big sniff. Both kids started giggling and quickly rolled their eyes in disgust. There was a brief pause. We then asked the eldest what she thought it smelled like. She grabbed the glass and without hesitation responded, “toilet cleanser.”  The youngest followed suit, sticking his short little turned up nose deep into the glass and adding that it helped clear out his sinuses and made his nose tickle too. Hmm. Not a good sign. “Ostrich poop and cinnamon with a touch of vanilla. Dog breath and blackberries with a touch of pepper.” The two waxed on poetically, expounding on the miraculous smells coming from the bouquet of this beloved wine. Smells that no self-respecting vintner, winemaker, or winery owner should ever have to subject themselves to smelling or hearing.

So, while friends of ours are bragging about the brilliant sensorial abilities of their offspring, ours are thumbing their noses at us in utter disgust.

So much for the future of the winery being in good hands!

Best of all, we’ve launched a very cool new website, www.whatisfume.com. You simply have to check it out. It’s your one stop shop for all things Fumé related, right down to especially designed recipes by our good friend, chef Tim Vallery…who incidentally will be opening a hot new restaurant, Peloton, in Healdsburg soon. (Remember, you heard it here first!)