Succumbing to the Hands of Time

Every once in a while I stumble across an interesting wine when I'm out to dinner. The other night was no exception.  I was hosting a dinner for a client at Eddie & Merlot's around the corner from my office.

It was a Wednesday night and I anticipated that the restaurant would be more crowded than it was. We had a number of folks drop out from dinner so it was a smaller, more intimate gathering.  I had only been there once and chose the restaurant mostly because of its close proximity to the office and to the client's hotel.

I guess I hadn't realized that it is primarily a steak house but it does have some other items on the menu.  Since we were primarily eating steaks, I took the opportunity to select a new red wine that I hadn't heard of before.

Now when selecting a new wine, I often look for a label that I have had in the past or that I know something about.  This time the wine I selected had come from Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.  Knowing a little about the region but not a lot about the winery, I was anticipating something special from this red blend.

I was not disappointed.

Unfortunately I have not been able to find this wine at my local Binny's Superstore. Reasonably priced for a restaurant bottle, this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah was the perfect solution for the various steaks and accouterments that went with dinner.

And then, again, I was intrigued by the story behind the wine as well.  The Hands of Time wine is reflection of an event that took place a decade ago.  One day in February 2003 thirty five prominent vintners gathered together for a celebration.  They had many things in common but one thing brought them together on this day -- they had all served time and learned their craft while working at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. This event was called: Hands of Time: Winemaker's Reunion.

Here's how the winery describes the event:

A day of celebration and reflection, the event honored winemakers and viticulturists who at one time or another had worked at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and "lent a hand" in the winery's success. The event started with each vintner placing his or her hand into a plaque of French limestone putty. These cast handprints are what now comprise the "Hands of Time" exhibit, permantly installed at the Napa Valley winery.

The celebration inspired a string of memories, toasts and tribute, and emotional outpourings of gratitude.  All gave credit to Stag's Leap Wine Cellars for imbuing in them a passion for learning, a respect for the land, and an abiding love of winemaking and viticulture.

Somewhere along the way, they created a wine to match this event. And it was a wine to match the event we were celebrating. I guess celebration isn't exactly the right term but it was an evening to connect outside the day's business.

The wine steward came by and offered to give us a tour of the wine room.  I was able to pick out some of my favorite wines in the room.  They had a couple of bottles of Seghesio's Sonoma Zinfandel.

I took a few moments to recommend that they consider adding some of Seghesio's other varietals as well as some of the delicious Pinot Noir's from Chamisal Vineyards. It's hard not to recommend some of the wines from my friends in Sonoma.

Coming later this week a post about what Pete and Cathy Seghesio are up to in their next adventure.