The Great British Barbecue.

Absolutely not one single person in England barbecued when I was a kid, but nowadays it seems that just about everybody does.  I find it a rather strange phenomenon given the awfully unpredictable weather in Blighty.  Barbecuing was just something Australians did. 
Today I experienced my first ever this-side-of-the-pond BBQ.  And the weather cooperated, well, for the most part.  However, it was a distinctly English affair.  Yes, there were plenty of burgers and pizzas, which paired well with a fabulous Black Cat Vineyards, 2010 Howell Mountain Zinfandel, but the pork and Bramley apple hotdogs were my favourite.  Yum!  Dessert, kindly provided by Tenbellies, was Eton Mess (a traditional English dessert that did indeed originate at Eton College), washed down with a mug of Earl Grey.  Double yum!

Vino inferno.

What a great idea, burning old cordons in a BBQ instead of briquettes.  Today was the annual harvest party that the vineyard workers at TWWIAGE throw for everybody.  It's the best Mexican food, ever!  The hot, bubbled, cordon-toasted tortillas were delicious.  Burn baby burn.

Redempt-zin.

Perhaps, in an effort to make up for bringing a Charbono to Vinoland's recent Zinfandel tasting, Sky King appeared last night for a BBQ rib dinner with a fairly decent bottle of the aforementioned wine-tasting varietal.  The Trecini 2007 Rockpile (Rocky Ridge Vineyard, Sonoma) wasn't the most typical Zinfandel I have ever tasted, and at $40 it wasn't the cheapest either, but when it came to pairing it with pork ribs it performed rather admirably.

To further redeem himself, Sky King also brought dessert, a Raspberry Frangipane tart from the Basque Café (Sonoma's 'Bistro on the Square'). But wait, Sky King wasn't finished - he paired dessert with a Fritz Winery 1998 Late Harvest Zinfandel (also Sonoma) which was delightful.  Oh yum!
Sky King - he's a good lad!