The Morning After

Earlier this winter Linda Wertheimer hosted Martha Stewart on NPR to promote her new book, Martha’s Entertaining, A Year of Celebrations. I was very enamored with a section of the book that was discussed; the Burgundy Dinner. Apparently Martha bought an estate that had a cellar full of Burgundy wines that had some age on them. The former owners of the house chose not to take the wines with them because the wines had either already peaked or were already beyond their peak and were thought too delicate to transport. Martha felt spurred to consume these wines before it was too late and thus created a special party with the wines at its center. None of the details about the wines were revealed except for one of the wines that stood out; a Chambertin “Clos de Bèze” by Pierre Ponnele with no year was all the information that was available from the bottle that was pictured. All that was said about it was, “Chambertin was one of the most delicious of the Burgundies.” Oh to be a guest at this party. If money and availability were not obstacles to my wine enjoyment, I would seek out the wines of Burgundy. My experiences with wines from Burgundy have been few, but some have been memorable enough that I would like to find more and really start gaining a handle on the flavors that have fleeted past my palate.

Last night we had guests over for dinner and it was chaotic because our busy day got us started late on our preparations. Our friends did not seem to mind and chipped right in to get food on the table. We sat down to a set of flavors that came together beautifully with wines and drinks from all over the world and we made a big mess that was waiting for us in the morning. Good food, friends, and beautiful messes are some of the best things in life.

Mel