| 10. His beat-up Saab convertible is far less eco-friendly than the car I drive (41 MPG highway). 9. I have a full beard, not the sculpted scraggle he wears.
8. I have NEVER used the word soupçon in describing a wine.
7. Prep school portrayals like A Separate Peace are so unflattering.
6. Friends don’t let friends marry Armenians.
5. My mother’s hordes her secret cash stash in a 2,000 lb. vault.
4. The plays I write are filled with sardonic humor.
3. San Diego State???
2. Anyone who knows me knows I’d have gone for the Asian babe. Then
again, it was Sandra Oh, named by Maxim as the #3 Unsexiest Woman
in the World, behind Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Winehouse.
1. Robbe-Grillet? Château Cheval Blanc? Richebourg? This guy is a closet
Francophile!
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The folks who produce Pinot Days invited me up to a mini-preview tasting, along with a special showing of Sideways at the Lark Theater last night. I hadn’t seen my friend Sasha Verhage of Eno in ages, not since he and his fellow wineries at 805 Camelia had generously donated $1,000 in wines to the fundraiser for my playwrights’ group, Play Café in Berkeley.
Being that yesterday was Bike to Work Day, I decided to be extra-diligent in my sustainable transportation practices and brave the 16 mile jaunt from my humble abode in Pac Heights to Larkspur on my 14-speed Trek. Somehow, I managed to veer off the path I had carefully mapped out after crossing East Blithedale, but the ever-reliable Maps application on my iPhone quickly routed me back to Camino Alto, alongside Masada, Bill Graham’s former hilltop estate. (note to self: it will be a very long time before I cycle 16 miles to a wine tasting again).
I still managed to arrive 35 minutes before the curtain, plenty of time to compose myself and sample the Pinot Noir selections from the three participating winers: Eno, Ketcham Estate, and Suacci Carciere. Each winery brought their 2006 bottling and their current 2007. While the earlier vintage showed quite nicely for each, clearly the 2007s were more lush and textured, a well-balanced, nuance wine with subtle wafts of—good God, I am becoming Miles!
The movie was still quite entertaining after several years, and several of the locations were quite familiar to me this time. Unlike Miles, I was able to leave the venue quite clear headed and wound my way down to the base of Marin County. There are few experiences quite as serene as pedaling across the Golden Gate Bridge in the moonlight, but, alas, a most unwelcome fog was barreling through; with little scenery to distract me, I raced across the span in a valiant effort to stay warm. Back in San Francisco, the fog was heavy enough that it actually condensed in several spots through the Presidio, further delaying my arrival.
Back at home, the Ginkgo Girl was already under the covers. “What took you so long?” she asked. It was a moment Miles could onl
y have dreamed about. I quickly took a hot shower, but by the time I came back to bed, she was already sound asleep.
y have dreamed about. I quickly took a hot shower, but by the time I came back to bed, she was already sound asleep.