Rosy Light

We have gotten over a foot of snow during the past couple of days. As a skier I should be ecstatic, but I find myself feeling grumbly and frustrated. Part of me wants to tell myself; “…itsa notso bad, aw shuttuppa yo face!” like that old silly song. (You don’t know what I’m talking about do you?) The other part of me is thinking, why does Eaglecrest have to be closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays? I really need to work on my powder skiing technique and don’t have a climbing set-up. Can’t they call an emergency opener? The weather report says that this snow is supposed to turn to rain and it seems that it is beginning to happen already as the temperatures have risen to just above freezing. I headed out for a classical ski to the Mendenhall Campground today thinking that the snow would be dry enough for a hard kick wax, but there was just enough moisture in the snow that my skis slipped out the back during the kick phase of my stride and stuck during my glide phase. I know, I know, I need to quit my kvetching.

I did manage to make it up our steep, curvy and unshovelled driveway, so that’s something. Also, I have something to look forward to later this month. Yesterday afternoon I got an e-mail notification from Soter Vineyards Wine Club that my wines would be shipping out in the next few weeks. The club ships out two times a year and I joined because I wanted to ensure that I would have access to Soter’s Brut Rosé which goes out with club shipments in the fall. In my opinion, Soter is making some of the best sparkling wine in the country, if not the best. Because Soter is not volume driven in their production, the wine is becoming more and more difficult to find without buying directly from the winery. Soter Brut Rosé is a vintage produced wine and the 2006 vintage was produced with 40% Chardonnay and 60% Pinot Noir from the Yamhill-Carlton district of the Willamette Valley. The rosé is rich and lovely in color and is as versatile as any Brut Rosé; standing up to any main course, but Fred from The Wine Loft in Flagstaff said that this wine also went really well with his Birthday fruit tart. The trade sheet for 2006 states, “Notes of wild strawberries, orange blossom, golden apples and honey dance on your palate with fine effervescence and are balanced by a beam of bright acidity. A lengthy finish suggests its inherent complexity and as a versatile wine it will impress as an aperitif all on its own, shine with oysters and delight with numerous seafood preparations.”

I am really looking forward to that fall shipment.

Mel