I love Groth!

I blame it all on my sister, La Serenissima.  She had played a little bit of tennis back in grammar school (with nuns, in habits), but come British summertime she'd be glued to the telly for the entire fortnight of Wimbledon.  I mean, nonstop.  And being 10 years younger, what was a little Vinogirl to do?  La Serenissima soon had me hooked. Nowadays, if I am not watching the news, or something English on PBS, I am watching tennis. Only now, I get to blame my fondness for the game on Vinomaker, who does actually play tennis 3 or 4 times a week.
I tried learning to play tennis a few years ago (a funny story in itself), but I wasn't very good, as, alas, most English people aren't.  So, in lieu of having countrymen and women to cheer on, I gravitated towards the Australian players who were all just so good at chasing that little white ball - I'm showing my age - around the court.
Tennis is hard, really hard, and that's why I appreciate a player like Sam Groth, a current Australian player on the ATP tour.  Sam has the distinction of having the fastest serve on record (that's serve, actually getting the ball in play), which was clocked at an incredible 163.4 mph.
I love tennis.  And I have it on good authority that Sam is, "a big wine fan."
Go Grothy!
Photograph courtesy of Samuel Groth, professional tennis player.

Take me to church.

Vinomaker loves wine.  Vinomaker also loves tennis.  But when he doesn't love playing with a particular tennis racquet he'll barter said tennis racquet for a really nice bottle of wine.  Really nice.  And I always benefit.  Hallelujah!  This bottle of Long Meadow Ranch Winery's E.J. Church, 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Napa Valley AVA) was one such bottle of wine. And it was simply fabulous.
Produced from fruit grown at 1300 feet, relatively high in the Mayacamas (yes, the same Mayacamas as in my last post), this wine was young, but oh-so-flavourful.  With abundant sweet vanilla, red fruit and white pepper I found it a little hard to believe that this wine was 100% Cabernet sauvignon.  But what do I know?   And I did't even care.  The E.J. Church paired well with my meal of dead-cow (piled high with mushrooms and onions).  So moreish.  I'm a believer.