Blame it on Rioja

I found myself earlier this week in the northern foothills of the Catskills, near Cooperstown, driving over rolling pastures framed by largely leafless forests (only the dark amber leaves of towering oak trees remained, making sunset quite a thing). My traveling companion, Lily, who grew up in these parts, motioned towards a herd of Holstein cows who seemed to be settling in for a nap, and said, “Looks like it’s gonna rain.”

But later that night, after enjoying the ineffable comfort of a long simmered beef stew at her mom’s house in Charlotteville, we stepped outside for some fresh air, and after a few moments she said, “Actually, it smells like snow.”

And snow it did, some fifteen inches by the following afternoon. Our plans for a day in Woodstock suddenly, happily, turned into a day by the fire, eating leftover stew (even better the next day), watching movies, and drinking a wide selection of red wine that we had brought with us (from Rioja, Sicily, Chinon).

All of which came to mind when I came across a blog post by one of my favorite wine bloggers, Tyler Colman, a.k.a. Dr. Vino, whose new book, A Year in Wine: Great Pairings, Great Buys, and What to Sip for Each Season comes out on November 11.

“In it, a collection of essays and hundreds of wine recommendations,” Tyler writes, “I encourage readers to break out of their chardonnay or cabernet rut and drink different by plotting a seasonal arc to their wine consumption.”

I like the way he thinks, and writes.