Silenced By Syrah Read Free

in as two materialistic, pompous gay men and had come out as two materialistic, pompous gay men who now believed they could balance people’s chakras and spout New Age wisdom courtesy of their famous guru. Man, if she could ever get her hands around that freakazoid’s neck . . . However, their return from Sedona prompted them to get more involved at the winery and vineyard, and they’d even come up with the idea of opening the hotel and spa on an area of land where the grapes didn’t grow too well.
    “You don’t need wine, honey. You need to get busy with the Spaniard.”
    “Can we talk about this later?”
    He sighed and looked at his watch. “I think we’re going to have to. Marco has me scheduled for the grapeseed facial.”
    “Wait a minute, you’re going to get a spa treatment while people are coming in and out of here like this is a zoo? I’m sure your help is needed.”
    He gave her a kiss on the cheek and squeezed her hand. “Oh Goldilocks, I tell you, it pays to be the boss. There are perks. And, to run a tight ship in the spa, which is my job, I should probably try out the treatments on a regular basis to make sure it’s what we want here at the Malveaux Inn. See you at that meditation; we’ll work through that pent-up angst.” He winked at her.
    Blah! Not just nails on a chalkboard, but the alarm clock on the nightstand at the crack of dawn, when Jose Cuervo was the best friend of choice the night before.
    Another thought crossed Nikki’s mind. Was Simon so annoying with his suggestions of taking her relationship to another level with Andrés because maybe he had a point? Was it time to give up her crush on Derek and take a leap with Andrés? Too much introspection to deal with at the moment. She had an eccentric chef to tend to. Hopefully, things were running smoothly at the restaurant and no one had pissed Georges off on opening day, or vice versa. Georges wasn’t necessarily known for his couth, and already a handful of employees who’d originally been staffed at the restaurant had either been fired by Georges or had quit. Napa Valley was basically a small town in the scheme of things and Georges was quickly becoming the topic of choice for the gossip circles. It was one way to attract customers—come to Georges on the Vineyard and meet the quirky chef. Hmmm, one could cross her fingers and hope everything would go off without a hitch tonight, but the knot in the pit of Nikki’s stomach told her it was doubtful.
    Pissaladiere with
Clos du Bois Shiraz
     
    Hosting your own wine tasting can be a lot of fun. Nikki would say that the best tastings go well with friends. Invite a dozen friends and ask that each bring a bottle of wine. Suggest on the invites which varietals, so that you don’t get a dozen Chardonnays. Also ask if everyone could bring an appetizer that they might pair with the wine. If your guests aren’t sure what that might be, then do the homework for them. There are many sites online, including ones from the various wineries that also have recipe sections that make suggestions for the wines. Have each guest bring the dish and a copy of the recipe so that you all go home with twelve new fabulous recipes and wine pairings for future reference.
    When hosting a wine tasting remind your guests to use all of their senses. In a well-lit room, hold your wine glass up to a white background. The color of the wine should be clear and intense, coming from the contact of the juice and grape during the wine-making process. Whites, depending on varietals, can be light green, clear, straw yellow, or gold with a slightly brown hue. Sweeter white wines start off with a deeper yellow.
    Red wines may be purple, ruby, or blood red. As red wine ages, it will lose color and appear more brick brown. Blush wines like dry rosés or white zinfandels are pink.
    For the special event at the Malveaux Inn and Spa, Nikki paired the Estate Syrah with a Pissaladiere, a.k.a. French-style, white pizza. Since