August 13
Today was our first wine tasting experience adventure, and it was the "All Italian Experience" at Muscardini Cellars, with a 2pm mid-afternoon reservation. All of us slept exceptionally well - for example, Kim and I typically are in bed around 10pm and up no later than 7am. We went to bed at 8:30pm local time - but that was like 11:30pm at home.....but we didn't wake up until 6:30am local time, which would mean we would have slept in until 9:30am at home - simply unheard of! Tom & Mary Pat were up about an hour before us and Pam & Bob were up about an hour after us. Walked outside only to find that the temperatures, under somewhat foggy conditions was a crisp mid-50 degree. So we all sat around the fireplace and had our morning coffee.
We passed the late morning and early afternoon chatting and playing pool. Then we headed out to Muscardini. Much to our surprise it was located less than a tenth of a mile up the road and we simply walked there enjoying the mild mid-70's temp and clear blue skies. We were early but they were ready for us. We got a tour of the grounds and a brief history of the business. Very interesting that the building itself was originally the one-room school house for Kenwood! After the tour we went into the tasting room for an "educational" lesson on more than half a dozen wines with various pairings. Our hostess Bethany was exceptional and after chatting with us picked out a specific wine from their selection that, based on our conversations, she thought each of us would individually like. The whole thing was just amazing. And at the end the owner, Michael came in to greet us. Told us he had to go to a meeting as he and some several friends/club members were going on a river cruise to Portugal along the Douro River - ironically that's where the six of us originally met in 2019! Tomorrow we have a 9:45am continental breakfast at Jordan Winery before an estate tour and a luncheon with wine tasting at a scenic overlook. Should be a highlight of the adventure!
