Wine Tasting
A later addition to the list, but until the other weekend I’d never actually attended a wine tasting.* (That I can recall, which I think should be a caveat that I attach to everything on my list.) Fortunately, our friends Cindy and Matt had a voucher for just such an event in the Niagara region. So on a recent Saturday we met up and headed over to the Vineland Winery.
Actually, the meeting up process afforded me another new experience - leaving our car plugged into a public charger. We met Cindy and Matt in a carpool car park, which was actually full except for some electric car parking spaces. You were supposed to be plugged in and charging though, so I had to register and set up a ChargePoint account. That all seemed to work and I was able to tap the device, release the charging cable and plug in. Unfortunately at that point we had to pick the pace up to be on time for our wine tasting slot, so I didn’t check the car was actually charging before we left. It wasn’t. It just looked like it was. So, not a problem but not a complete success either.
We did though make it to the winery almost completely on time. We were given a glass of sparkling rosé as soon as we walked in the door and joined up with the rest of the tour just outside.
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and had some interesting anecdotes about his connection to the winery. We got to try a good selection of wines, from that first rosé all the way to a fulsome red. Fortunately the tasting was spaced out a little by the different stops on our tour, which ended in a rather extensive cellar. Actually it ended in the shop, because all tours end up in a shop. We were tempted by the large $300 bottle, but not nearly enough to buy it. Instead we went outside into the glorious sunshine to watch a wedding and play a few rounds of a get the beanbag in the hole game. There's probably a proper name for it.
After that and some sobering up, we headed off to find some waterfront to have the picnic that Cindy had packed. It was lovely to be sitting by the water, looking out to lake (not sea, of course). A very relaxing and enjoyable way to end the whole experience.
And the car was fine when we got back to it. If no more charged than when we left it.
I've not been so good at ticking off items on my list recently. Or of writing about what I have been up to. I am though still striving to make the most of opportunities that come along, and keep up with the habits I started with. I don't practice the piano as much as I'd like, but I'm continuing to work on chess and French; and I read for 20 minutes every day. I've also not yet missed a walk.
I very nearly managed to make some headway last weekend though. Chrissy and I booked a trip to Las Vegas so that I could visit a casino, visit the Hoover Dam and see the Grand Canyon. Bonus: Oliver was there on the first leg of his trip across America. Unfortunately, the last minute nature of the arrangements and slower than expected US visa processing meant that I didn't get the necessary authorisation to travel in time. Fortunately we've been able to just postpone most of the arrangements, so we're hoping to head there in December. Oliver had to make do on his own, which he seemed to do very well. He's since been to San Francisco and is currently in Boston.
When he makes it to Canada, I've got him lined up for some canoeing. I haven't told him that yet, so unless he reads this it will be a bit of a surprise.
Speaking of reading, I've made a start on the Canterbury Tales in the original Old English. Not particularly fast going, but - a bit like Ulysses - the rhythm of the writing pulls you along and provides a level of context and understanding that would be difficult to elicit from the words alone.
