Yes, Valentine’s Day is almost here. Fellas, you have three short weeks to get your you-know-what together, or else spend the rest of this long, cold, dark winter doing manual labor. If you know what I mean.

Let me see if I can help. Sure, jewelry is always nice, but, in his economy, who can afford diamonds for some random “holiday,” made important by some fat sot of an English poet named Chaucer? Chocolate is always nice, and is a sweet symbol of love. And, what goes better with chocolate than wine? Specifically, a nice Syrah.

Speaking of Syrah, this Friday will be our first “Friday Night Ladies’ Flight Night,” featuring, you guessed it, Syrah. A beautiful grape, showing excellent fruit, balance and structure. One of a number of nearly ancient French varietals, we will be showcasing Syrahs from Washington and California. For $20, you will taste three Syrahs, get a full glass of the one you liked best, and a dinner special specifically created to pair with the wine.

Festivities begin at 7 p.m., and if you think you might be interested in attending, shoot me an email so I can gauge how many people might show. And, yes ladies, if you want to bring a male friend, we will allow it (but they will have to sit off to the side, and be on their best behavior!).

OK, back to daily business. We tasted over a dozen new wines over the past week (well, most were new…some we had tasted before, but we kept mum so the vendors would keep pouring!), as well as a couple bad boys compliments of our boy Jeremy. Monday was The Mayor’s birthday (he may look good, but he is getting old), and there was a small celebration Sunday with cake and wine. One of our customers made the cake for Joel, which is unbelievably nice. She also made the “2 Wine Guys” cake for our anniversary last May. Have I mentioned that we have the best customers?

We tasted a dirty, dirty French blend of Cab, Merlot, Cab Franc and Petite Verdot, along with an exceptional Pinot Noir and a Seghesio Sangiovese. Seghesio is an old Italian winemaking family from Sonoma, and, if you pay attention, I have written about their Zinfandel before. All of their wines are exceptional.

Anyhoo, Esther, from Ararat, will be pouring some South Americans this Thursday. Some nice red blends and a Chardonnay. Don’t be late!

Next week, I will have to try to get this newsletter out early as we have a wine trade show Tuesday, and a restaurant trade show Wednesday. I will be out of commission both days, for obvious reasons, so I hope to have this out Monday. We will see.

OK, enough information for now. The weather is beautiful, we are at the beach, and we have wine. Soooo, come on down to The Treehouse Bistro, and let the 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind pour you a glass and fix you a plate!
Shawn