Endings, or Maybe Beginnings

Flying off into the Sunset

There are some cool pictures of my last flight at a friend's website. Click this link to see them.
As with most of my career with The Martin Agency, the flight went safely, but not particularly in accordance with the original plan. We were taking the Chairman and his wife to NY for a dinner, and upon trying to return, Richmond was shut down in fog. So we hustled some hotel rooms for everyone, and tried again in the morning. Kate Meacham, from our "First Monday" wine group, was the Air Traffic Controller on duty for the Richmond landing, and you need to see the pictures to see what she set up for my last flight. It was a touching ending to a fine career. Many thanks to all who made it safe and meaningful.

It's Freezing, Part Deux

The great thawing finally took place. Read back to the blog title about Freezing Wines to catch up on the reasons for the experiment. I thawed each bottle at room temperature, though I am told the microwave thaw cycle is no problem as long as you have VACCUSEALED. Both wines had been frozen for 5 weeks when I finally got to them, a point where they would certainly have been toast if left using standard methods of preservation. Results were mixed. The Red was fine, every bit as good as when it went in. The white, while tasting fine, did indeed have the expected tartaric acid crystals in the bottle. Not just a few, but maybe a half inch coating the bottom of the bottle. Every pour stirred them up, and clouded the wine. It was hard to conceive that you would find that appetizing to see when pouring into a glass. Perhaps decanting, but we have already gone to so much trouble, you certainly would say "Forget it! Open something else".
So, for a valuable red that you just can't finish over a couple of days, freezing is worth a try. For a white, not so much. Time to make white wine vinegar.

Off To The Pasture

One more week of avaition for your Mayor, and then it's off to see what's next. This has been an interesting time for me. A fond farewell from the Agency yesterday and a few small parties to attend for the holidays to say my good byes. I had originally decided to take a few months off, figuring my next opportunity would present itself. But then the Tax Bug bit and I decided to work the season at HR Block, so I start training next week for that. Probably not a lot of corporate tax returns, but it'll be eye opening to have to work at a desk for a while. They end their season around Feb. 23rd for us first year guys, so it won't be that tough. Apparently the rush is the first two weeks in February. It's amazing how much sleep I have lost over this whole thing. But as it comes to fruition, there's light at the end.
On the Wine front, there's a fun tasting in January at Fleming's which will secondarily celebrate my recent 50th Bday. Come by on the 8th from 530 til 7.