Dinner In The Vineyard

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Four of us headed down the highway towards the Santa Ynez Valley to have "Dinner In The Vineyard" at Stolpman's vineyard. This is the 3rd annual dinner and I have been to all. For once I had a designated driver so it was nice to be able to relax and leave the driving to someone else.

We arrived at the vineyards and the festivities were in full swing. We decided not to do the vineyard tour as we had done it before. After heading to the table with the wine we made a beeline to the appetizer table. After all it had been over 30 minutes since we had eaten at Clos Pepe. By time the bell sounded for dinner I was fully packed. I did put a very small amount on my plate and I had trouble eating that. What I did eat was very good. The beef was excellent, tender and full of flavor. The wines flowed freely,the band was playing and a couple of people did get up and dance

A friend my mine came up and said they were going to Patrick's Side Street Cafe later and wanted me to join them. I had to decline at I don't think I could out another bite into my mouth for the rest of the day and I was riding with other people so that would not have been too cool to exclude them.

The sun was starting to set and as there is no electricity at the vineyard it was time to leave. We let and went back to our hotel, sat around the pool and finished off a bottle of wine. A perfect ending to a perfect day. I am already looking forward to next year.