Well folks, it looks like my little vacation will be sadly coming to an end.
Yes, I’m entering the working world again after being unconstrained by employment for a brief respite. Today is exactly the 2 month anniversary of when I voluntarily stopped working, and tomorrow will be my first day back in the office.
I feel a tinge of sadness, but also a sense of relief, and excitement about the new gig. As much as I enjoyed my fun-employment brunches, afternoon naps, and mid day workouts- I did start to feel that maybe it was time to start doing something with myself.
So I tried….
1. Reading.
I read the Hours, which was probably one of the most overrated pieces of work that I’ve read in a while. Trite, pointless, and boring!
After I finished that I got started on a self help tome on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy aptly titled Feeling Good. I’ve spent hundreds (probably thousands) of dollars, hours, not to mention sanity trying to “work on myself” and figured that at $19.99 I could save a lot of cash on future therapy sessions and anti depressants.
2. Sleeping (a lot)
Enough said. It’s definitely underrated.
3. Working Out
I despise the gym and finally quit it- and it forced me to mix things up. With this gorgeous summer weather I got in a lot of mid day bike rides, lunch time yoga sessions, and mid morning jogs.
4. Eating, and Drinking. Drinking, a lot.
This is a given, with the whole theme of this blog. I’ve gone through a shameless number of bottles of wine in the past 2 months, all for the sake of “research”. #4 and #5 actually go hand in hand together, because I can’t continue to overindulge in #5 without pairing it with #4.
So readers, your question is, how did I end up leaving my fantabulous unemployed state?
First, mainly out of boredom and a bit of curiosity- I started passively looking at jobs. I started dropping a few resumes, thinking it would take a while for anyone at all to get back to me. Astoundingly, no later than a few weeks after I went on a couple interviews I got a job offer. At a not so secret online wine retailer whose name I will reveal later. And I ended up accepting it, figuring it would perfectly marry my love for beverages, in a startup environment.
But, back to what’s important. On Labor Day, my friends G* and M* figured it would be fun to celebrate my second to last day of funemployment with a sojourn to St. Helena to do what we do best- drinking copious amounts of wine, and eating like linebackers.
Our first stop was at Addendum, in Yountville. Addendum is the sister (or daughter) restaurant of Per Se and G* wanted to check it out because she had heard that they offered delicious lunch boxes to go, featuring the most amazing fried chicken ever.
We got there at 11:40 and proceeded to stand in line for the next hour. G* M* and I got increasingly hungry (and annoyed) and at some point I left, walked to the store, bought a bottle of rose and I came back and the line had not moved at all.
We finally got to the front and ordered all the lunch options- baby back ribs, fried chicken, and a lobster roll. Each dish came with sides- potato salad, cornbread, and succotash. We opted to eat the meal outside on picnic tables and everything was amazing. Especially the fried chicken.
It was moist, succulent in perfectly crisp batter. G* suspected the chicken had probably been brined for some time which added to the complex flavor. We devoured every last bite and did not bother engaging in conversation.
The next standout was the Lobster roll- it was the perfect combination of crisp butter bread, big chunks of lobster, and just the right amount of mayo. At $20 for a tiny sandwich it was on the pricier end of the spectrum but they were generous enough with the lobster for us to justify the cost.
The baby back ribs were tasty, smoky and juicy and fell off the bone perfectly, but it was not the standout dish here. If I come back, I’ll be getting a couple extra orders of that fried chicken.
M* was eager to have a more intimate wine tasting experience, so to escape the masses and get some one on one attention I booked a couple appointments for semi private tastings for us. We also had U*, their dog with us and figured it would be best to go to some wineries that had enough open space for U* to run around in.
Our first stop was at Salvestrin. It’s a small (10000+/- ) case a year winery, and has been operated by the Salvestrin family since 1931. Prior to the 90’s, the Salvestrin’s were solely grape farmers- they didn’t start making wine until 1995 or so. The grounds were beautiful and we had the luxury of doing the tasting at our own little private table and couches out on the patio.
My favorite was the Retaggio. It was a balanced, subdued wine with some hints of spice and ripe berry hints. Unlike a lot of California reds it was not overwhelmingly fruit forward. It reminded me of an old world style Italian wine.
Then we were off to our next stop, at Tres Sabores, which I was particularly interested in because they only sold organic, biodynamic wine.
Tres Sabores was located slightly off the beaten path, a couple miles down South Whitehall late in St Helena. We were greeted by signs announcing the organic certification and parked and were greeted by the friendly owner, Julie Johnson. We got an amazing tour and U* was thrilled because there were two golden retrievers on the property that he was able to play with and generally had free reign of the place.
First, we visited the wine production area- harvest has just started and they had began to process grapes. Next, we headed into the back of their property, glasses of rose in hand and took a look at the lovely gardens. There were wildflowers galore, and there were vegetables and fruits of every kind growing in the back.
Artichokes, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, berries, pomegranates. It was G’s fantasy come true.
Julie said that there was no way they could produce enough vegetables to sell on the open market, so they mainly used what they grew from farm to table.
We were then given a taste of the PorQue No and En Medio, which I particularly loved. The En Medio was a blend of grenache, and other Rhone varietals- it was balanced, fruit forward and had hints of cinnamon and pepper on the nose. I think you can buy it at the winery direct only. We then made ourselves at home in the back of the vineyard.
Julie brought over half a bottle of Syrah to our table and we finished it off between us and enjoyed the scenery. When we checked our watches, we realized that we had been at Tres for about an hour and a half! We each bought a couple bottles of wine and headed back to the car. M* and G* were especially pleased with the whole experience. Said M*, “I was kind of put off by the $25 tasting fee, but we got an experience, not a tasting. And we got to try sooo many wines.”
I’ll be back- especially because as of tomorrow, I’ll be a mere stones’ throw away 
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