Wine Maketh Glad the Heart of Man (and Woman, too) - Psalms, 104:15

Oh, how true it is! Dale and Bianca

and Kathy and Geoff gladly savoring one very fine wine!

But first, on Thursday evening we joined Mark, Janet, their son-in-law Christian and his friend Steve plus Janet's cousin Lois and Jim at Bistro Romano for the Bistro Romano Cellar Club's 9th annual wine event. A representative from Kendall-Jackson was there to introduce and share all of the wines in their repertoire, and passed hors d'oeuvres selected for each wine were offered. A cheese table featured four California cheeses and two Italian cheeses which were also selected for their affinity with the chosen wines, and the Truffle Tremor, a goat's milk with black truffle was particularly yummy. Following that portion of the evening, a buffet dinner was served that also featured foods pairing beautifully with the wines. The dessert buffet featured chocolate delicacies that were further enhanced by the final wine, a Hogue Late Harvest Reisling. Our favorite of the wines being offered during the event was the Murphy Goode "Liars Dice" Zinfandel, but we also really enjoyed the non-oaky Stonestreet Chardonnay and the Carmel Road Pinot Noir. The evening ended with a drawing for several prizes (as usual, we won not a thing) and the giveaway of a bottle of wine to each participant plus a gift certificate toward a bottle of wine from the Bistro Romano cellar. We most definitely put ourselves on the list to attend the 10th annual gathering next spring! Thanks to Mark and Janet for clueing us in on such a memorable event.

Last evening we attended the "Cezanne and Beyond" VERY interesting exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This treasure trove of the finest in early abstract art aptly and creatively showcased Cezanne's work and the effect he had upon late 19th and early to mid 20th century painters, especially Matisse, Picasso, Ellsworth Kelly and Jasper Johns . I particularly loved all of the Picasso's featured. I am a huge Picasso fan, but the Jasper Johns works were amazing, too.

South Jersey Ski Club friends Geoff Smith and Kathy Desmarais had tickets to the exhibit last evening as well, so after we completed our tour of the exhibit, we all headed up Fairmount to the packed L'Oca Trattoria. We each contributed wine for our delicious dinner, and after a wonderful Cotes du Rhone Rose from Janesse with the antipasti, we opened a Cuvee a l'Ancienne Chinon from Fabrice Gasnier. All agreed that it was absolutely sublime and the perfect wine to pair with our chosen dishes, a house made tortelli with a walnut, butter and sage sauce for Kathy and myself and an incredible lamb for Geoff and Dale. Thanks so much, Ashley and Jason, for that wine recommendation! After dinner we all walked down to The Brandywine B and B for an after dinner Port. What a lovely evening with good friends further enhanced by excellent wine!