The Wine of My Ancestors

There once were two brothers, Andrew and Balthasar Ress. They were born in Bavaria in the 1820's. When Andrew grew up, he left Bavaria for America and settled in Ohio. When Balthasar grew up he left Bavaria for Rheingau and planted a vineyard. Andrew is my great, great, great grandfather. I found my fifth cousin, Christian Ress on Facebook. He looks like my brother. He and his father, Stefan Ress, who looks like my father, run the Balthasar Ress Winery.

It took a little work, but I was able to find a local wine store that was willing to order a few bottles of Balthasar Ress Riesling for me. I was hoping I'd love it. The bottle does, after all, have my name on it. I opened a bottle last night to have with pork roast, hot buttered egg noodles, and steamed mustard greens. The smell of it was crisp and citrusy. The first taste was a wonderful lemony, tart apple, that ends with a butter-honey finish. This wine is both refreshing and rich. It's lovely. The wine of my ancestors is a divine nectar.

Mr. McMurphy Would Like a Petite Sirah

My parents are wine people. They’ve been collecting and enjoying wine since the 70’s when whites were all the rage. They have been to wine country…many of them, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Australia, and several times to California. So, when they recommend a wine, I listen. This year for my birthday, they sent me three Pedroncellis from Sonoma. I opened one of them last night, a Petite Sirah. I knew that Petite Sirah (no relation, whatsoever, to Syrah) was a very heavy red. But I did not know what a grown up wine it was. This wine is structured, balanced and tight. There was nothing fruity about it. If it were a person, Pedroncelli Petite Sirah would be nurse Ratched, strict and humorless, yes, but also very focused, disciplined, and intense. The color is a deep purple red. The nose is peppery, cedar and the flavor has hints of licorice. The finish is long with good tannins. All in all, the Pedroncelli Petite Sirah is a very satisfying, grown-up glass of wine.