Almost famous.

I had totally forgotten all about being asked to write a review for Making Your Own Mead.  Then recently, whilst I was looking for an unrelated email, I came across the original email with the request for a review of what, I still think, is a great little book.  I had furnished a quick review after reading the book last April, then heard no more.  I don't consider myself a particularly good writer, so I had no expectations of Fox Chapel Publishing using my brief write-up.  However, curiosity piqued, I hopped over to Amazon and did a quick search.
Lo and behold, there it was, my review, in all its black and white glory.  Upon showing my published vino-critique to Vinomaker, he just laughed and said, "Quintessential Vinogirl."  Hey!  I resemble that remark.

Don't dump on Trump.

Don't dump on Trump Winery, that is.
It is no secret that Vinomaker loves Viognier, so I thought I'd try to find something a little out of the ordinary for him to drink.  The Trump Winery, 2015 Viognier (Monticello AVA) fit the bill perfectly.  (Yes, that's correct, I did indeed type T.R.U.M.P.)  Obviously, anything to do with the name Trump is very controversial at the moment, but, please, don't shoot the messenger.
Winemaker Jonathon Wheeler (who, according to his bio, has worked in wineries in Sonoma, CA) has crafted a really pretty Viognier from fruit grown on the Trump Winery estate which is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Planted to 200 acres of Vitis vinifera varieties, the Trump Winery's vineyard is Virginia's largest vineyard and the largest planting of V. vinifera on the East Coast.  (That's huge.  Huge.)
A fairly typical Viognier, this wine had oodles of orange blossom, honeysuckle and apricot on the nose, and a strange (but strange in a good way) caramel-apple lollipop richness on the palate. The wine was a tiny bit flabby, but was otherwise well-balanced.
I bought this wine on Amazon as it was slightly less expensive to buy the wine through Amazon than directly from the winery.  However, it was still shipped from the winery in Virginia. Vinomaker and I paired this wine with a chicken salad, not Hispanic food (titter, titter).

Reunited.

Vinogirl was 17 years old when she first received a copy of Hugh Johnson's Wine as a gift from her brother, Thud. As a novice wine enthusiast, she was enthralled by this simple, yet comprehensive, account of all things wine. Unfortunately, about 11 years ago she was separated from her original copy. But, never fear...Amazon is here.
Oh, the joys of Amazon.com. Little did I think that I would own a copy of this book ever again, as it has been out of print for some time. Lo and behold, today in my mailbox there appeared a large padded manila envelope containing a hardback copy, in excellent condition, of one of my favourite wine books of all time...for the grand total of $4.51.
Oh joy, together again!