Bears, Boats, Battlestar Galactica

We look forward to attending symphony performances at Regency Park every summer, though we only attend the ones that feature the classical masters. If the word "Broadway" is anywhere in the program, we stay away. I admit, though, the attraction is only about 30% for the cultural enrichment. The rest is sitting by the lake, picnicking and alcohol, or, as we've come to refer to it: Yuppie Tailgating.

An important part of Yuppie Tailgating is the shopping. This should take place the afternoon before so as to maximize impulse buying. Given plenty of time to think about the purchases, one might be tempted to get practical. I recommend several different varieties of cheese. For this outting I got Campo de Montalban because its a standby, Port Salut because the cheese lady recommended it and Edel de Cleron. Somebody who clearly knows a lot more about cheese than me wrote that "the flavor of L'Edel de Cleron is perfumed with scents of the Forest and a slight resinous aspect from the bark". Put another way, it's like brie.

If you have cheese, of course you need crackers. I always pick up some stoned wheat thins and this time I tried a multigrain cracker that could also double as a chip. For our crackers we had hummus and thin sliced salami that tasted great with any of the three cheeses. The multigrain went especially well with hummus.

To round out the snacks I picked up an assortment of dark chocolates.

Bearboat was the supreme impulse buy. I thought the label was funny and quirky and though I knew nothing about this wine, I figured a pinot would work pretty well with the snacks I'd assembled. Plus, it's from the Russian River Valley. I'm going to hear the Russian masters. I love symmetry! At $22.00 I felt I was owed a quality, if not exceptional wine. I wasn't disappointed. The wine was especially complimentary with dark chocolate with a hint of cherry and just a tiny bit of oak, not overpowering at all. In short, smooth, very smooth. I'm putting this one on my favorites under $25 list.

The show was lively and dramatic and the selection was really a treat. I love conductor William Henry Curry and the pianist, whose name I can't remember, was a willowy blonde in a huge, flowing, knockout red dress. Rachmaninoff's piano concerto #2 is pretty heavy and if you haven't heard it live, you should. Hearing it outside was both a blessing and a drawback. The nighttime view is great for an earthy feeling to go with the music, but I really wanted to immerse in the sounds. The background of occasional crickets and birds would have been better suited to a lighthearted fare like Vivaldi maybe. Plus, some nimrod drove past the venue blasting his music from open windows at one point. Cretin.

Still, point is, Bearboat is a good wine. Get thee some!