THAT PERFECT MAY WEEKEND: Sometimes you want last-minute tickets to an interesting concert or food event, and so you go for them, and purchase a pair, if any are still available. But isn't it rather enjoyable to take the long approach to a desired happening? Anticipation is too often in short order in this fast world, and the idea of putting a print-out of a ticket or a photo on the refrigerator for a few months, as a means to pre-enjoy something you're going to attend, is pleasurable indeed. Right now anticipating a wine weekend in beautiful Alexander Valley, a weekend that's set for nearly the middle of May, seems like just the balm for winter.
BY THE BY... has science yet discovered that the middle weekend of May is perhaps the most glorious on the calendar, in terms of flowers and breezes and longer days and general upbeat outlooks? Because they just might.
THE WEEKEND IN QUESTION... is May 16-18, and Taste Alexander Valley is the big to-do. It is, in fact, that wine region's major annual hoopla, meaning tickets are already on sale. As they should be: Over two dozen wineries will participate in tastings and special events, and the whole shebang kicks off at the historic Asti Winery in Cloverdale, where "original Champagne vaults," areas that "long proceeded Prohibition," will be viewed. Please. We'd go for that alone, especially to see some of the original stuff still there, like the "original signage for the Grand Prix Winner of the Torino Wine Exposition of 1911." Gazing up at such a sign, in a old bubbly vault, in the middle of May, in the middle of wine country, sounds like the start of a novel. Which is why pre-anticipation is key, and nabbing those tickets, to enjoy them for the next few months, is nice. Nice as a glass of something fizzy enjoyed in a winery's old vault? You can be the judge.
Advance weekend pass for Taste Alexander Valley is $65.
