Monday, December 29, 2003

My Favorite Christmas Present . . . Well, besides my new cozy-warm slippers (cold feet no more!) and the Kiehl's products (Santa knows me so well) and the plug-in kettle from my mom (tea for the impatient. . who, me? never) and so on and so forth (funds for a digital camera! curtains my sister is making for our house!). . . . . . but my favorite present is a wine book.  As if I need another wine book (I mean, we have a bookcase full of them).  . . but, at last, here is a really beautiful wine book.  Great writing, well-considered opinions (of course it helps that I agree with most of what he says, but then again I consider myself in the "pure wine" minority, so it is nice to see someone so intelligent espouse my favorite producers in published print).  Oh, and simply gorgeous photography -- perfect landscape shots, and wonderfully evocative, unposed portraits of great winemakers.  <New> great winemakers, make that -- not the stodgy old guard. Because this book is Andrew Jefford's The New France.  And it is a great wine book.  I'm so glad that such a truly great, beautiful, well-written wine book has been published!  Time to settle back on my well-rested, cookie-padded posterior for a few more moments of good reading before I nod off.  As if I need more sleep after this long, lazy weekend (with another one looming on the horizon).  But, hey, I'll give it my best shot <yawn>. Oh, and we had a rabbit-and-leek stew dinner on Christmas, pork roast stuffed with garlic spinach after that with my folks, and there is a salmon gravlax buffet extravaganza planned for New Year's Eve.  Food hasn't been too bad around here, neither.   9:49:57 PM    comment []