JANENE ROBERTS - San DiegoIt's a mix of one bride and groom, a beautiful Syrah, and a drunken guest, all at a Sonoma winery-no it's not a Harlequin romance novel, but a wedding I attended during this fall's harvest.
So a wedding at a winery in Sonoma, California, what could be more romantic than that? I was thinking that anyway when my friend Dave, asked me to go to his cousin's wedding at Nicholson Ranch. It was September and the wineries would be harvesting their latest creations and I couldn't wait. Like all romance novels, err, weddings, there are unique characters wound into an almost too beautiful to be real setting. The sun was lowering itself as the bride and groom said their vows under a flower-embellished arbor among the vineyards.
There was a glint of emotion in the groom's eyes and voice. The bride was beautiful in a shoulder less dress that reportedly was a copy of the one worn by Marcia Cross. The four bridesmaids all wore a different shade of purple. In the background was a hilly knoll of grass that had turned into straw.
A family friend officiated and the vows were quickly exchanged. Once the bride and groom strolled down the aisle the guests luxuriously walked through a thick carpet of rose pedals toward the reception that was held in the courtyard of the winery. White lights flanked guests overhead. I kept wondering if I had stepped into a photo shoot for Wine Spectator magazine.
Round reception tables were dressed in white and purple floor length tablecloths that blew in the wind. Heat lamps blazed near the tables and the guests found their seats. Wine was flowing around the table and that's when the star appeared. Of course, the star beyond the bride and groom. The object of my attention was dressed in deep purple and sparkled against glass.
When I gazed intently at it I thought I was being winked at. The aroma was a mix of my favorite cologne and luscious raspberries. I became intoxicated by the scent. It wasn't enough just to look at it and breathe in the aroma. I had to have a taste. I drank in the warm glow of plush berries and perfume. This, I decided was what they meant when they described a wine as being perfumy. I imbibed in a full glass of the 2004 Bennett Valley Syrah, and was so thrilled to have found a wine soul mate that I barely noticed the drunken guest sitting next to Dave.
She was loudly clanging the wine and water glasses and eventually aroused enough attention in the bride and groom that they kissed. I was so enthralled with the wine that I just smiled and sank in the sparkle hoping some of its star power would glow inside of me.
You can find the wine at http://www.nicholsonranch.com/syrah.shtml
2004 Bennett Valley Syrah (listed $35/bottle)
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