Late and Great

I recently sat down to dinner with two good friends and one of their husbands, who, a trained chef, made us a wonderful dinner of perfectly roasted beef and several simple salads. A practicing carpenter, he did so in his modest yet functional kitchen, complete with fabulous cabinets and counters, crafted from his own deft hands. The meal was easy and satisfying, punctuated by special little touches (tiny flowers in the greens, kumquats amid the beans), but was pulled together by the careful selection of three gorgeous wines. The first was Lopez de Heredia "Vina Gravonia," a beautiful amber liquid, nutty and funky, redolent of flowers and honey. The second (courtesy of yours truly) was the 2007 Domaine Gramenon Sierra du Sud, a 100% syrah, spicy and seemingly coated in walnut oil. The last was the Macon-Cruzille red from our favorite Burgundians, Alain & Julien Guillot. At one point, during the enthusiastic conversation about wine and love and life, someone asked the rest to guess the time. My guess was midnight. It was nearly three.