AficioNada

It's Christmas Eve!!! What are you doing?

I'm sitting in a Super8 Motel room writing this blog. Sounds de-lite-ful huh?

What about Jay Kell and Mike Brunson of Verge Wine Cellars? If I had to take a guess, I'd say there will be at least some form of incredible cookery and a whole lot of time spent with family for these two fantastically fun Sonoma Syrah producers.

I first met Jay, an Arkansas native and former cellar rat for Stags' Leap Wine Cellars, and Mike, the California-raised winemaker for Michel-Schlumberger at a summer BBQ held in Jay's very edible backyard. We ate their two sustainably raised pets, delicious pigs named Pate and Bacon. And I got to know these two wonderful guys and their generous families. Oh yeah, and I got to drink their rich, juicy Syrah. Lots and lots of Syrah.

Now, as I sit cross-legged on my motel bed, those Syrah memories are becoming tastier and tastier. Not to mention the sweet, fresh memories of a peach tart...but I digress.

If, like me, you're stuck in a motel, an airport or maybe you just need a break from your wonderful but overwhelming family, then maybe a little Holiday Free Asssociation with Jay and Mike is in order. For a few minutes, why don't you try on their holidays for size?

In fact, if you don't have anywhere else to be this Christmas, Mike says just come on over. They'll be having crab, prime rib and birthday cake. Oh, and the four bananas were received not given. Confused? Then read on.

Holiday Free Association with Mike Brunson

1. Alright, so naughty or nice this year?  Seriously?  I'm almost always nice...sometimes.  Alright, maybe 50-50.  

2. Most beloved Christmas tradition.  My wife Gail's Birthday!

3. The holiday routine at the Brunson house?  Celebrate Christmas until noon.  Then it's Gail's Birthday party!  Tough Luck Baby Jesus.  

4. Who would you “not mind” crashing your Christmas?  Anyone who doesn't have anywhere else to go.  

5. Most “outside the box” gift you’ve ever given or received:  4 bananas.

6. The wine equivalent of Victoria’s Secret Million Dollar Bra (other than yours, of course)?  Is there one?  

7. If it’s not wine, it’s… Rum based hot totties.

8. Best bubbles for holiday toasts?  Mr. Bubbles and Christian SENEZ Champagne.

9. Any traditional toasts in your family?  Happy Birthday Gail/Jesus toasts...lots of 'em.  

And What about bubbles and toasts in the Kell family, who will, by the way, be crisscrossing the backroads of Arkansas this Christmas?

8. Best bubbles for holiday toasts?  Roederer Hermitage from Anderson Valley

9. Any traditional toasts in your family?  “Arriba, Abajo, al centro, adentro”

10.Three foods no holiday should be without.  Braised Short Ribs, Quick fried Quail, Olive oil cake dusted with powdered sugar.

11.  And the wines you’d pour with them…   Jaboulet  Hermitage for the Ribs.  Since we have the quail as an appetizer, we drink something simple like a Beaujolais Villages. Then Mambourg Gewurtztraminer  from Marc Tempe for the Olive Oil Cake.

12. Winter Wonderland or…Fiji?  I see warm beaches, rum drinks and not a care in the world.

13.  If you chose Fiji and were en route and your plane went down and you found yourself stranded on a tiny desert island AND …two cases of wine suddenly floated ashore, what would you pray were in those cases? One would most definitely have to be sparkling and it might as well be something tasty.  Pol Roger Churchill Cuvee.

Then the 2006 VERGE Syrah.  That’s to remember the good times!

Alright, Last two, and they’re only loosely holiday related. If at all.

14.  Two common misconceptions about winemakers?  That we are uber selective in our wine drinking. Most winemakers will try just about any wine, whether it’s from the cellar or the box in the refrigerator. And Mike? That we drink only the finest wines. That our holiday free association answers are interesting for others to read

15. And...The Nebuchadnezzar. Obnoxious or ‘He#@ Yeah!’?

Oh hell yeah.  But you can only drink it with a lot of friends.

Please, please don't forget to check out Menu for Hope over at ChezPim. Or the wine prizes on Vinography.com. It's a beautiful holiday cause to get behind!