Va bene!

Apologies to Suzie, if that's not how you say "Wow!" in Italian.

The highly anticipated Swirl occurred last night at Barry and Suzie's cucina, the pork roast holding center court. The usual suspects were on hand, save for that social butterfly Kay, who has created such a delightful oasis in Salem that her guest beds are seldom, if ever, empty.  We soldiered on without her, hardy souls that we are :-D

My angst over the perfect wine for the cubano pork settled on a 2001 Mas Donis, Capcanes, from the montsant region of Spain, the area surrounding the more famous priorat.  Made mostly from old vines (80+ years) garnacha, it seemed a good choice for a sumptuously roasted pig.  Indeed it was, the earthiness complementing the moist, succulent pork to a "T"...at least in this taster's opinion.

Yes, we had more than pork (but it is the pork that still resonates most in my mind).  Jewel blessed the proceedings with a kale/corn saute that was a divine choice. Ruth brought a potato dish (?kugel) that baked up yummy with mushrooms nestled within.  KT freshened our palates with a splendid spinach, roasted red pepper salad, and Lee (with Rick doing the "flip") brought it all home with a dreamy, creamy pumpkin caramel creation.

The table also sported a lovely melange of wines: barbera d' alba from Vietti (!), very lively with lots of festive italian fruit; pirouette from WW Long Shadows, dark fruit candied goodness in it for the long haul; cabernet sauvignon from Bogle, a really approachable Cali cab - words I don't often utter; and another very drinkable cab from Cali with the moniker of "Cask"....so drinkable, in fact, that it was drained first!

These crisp beautiful autumnal days are off to a flying start.  I love this "shoulder" wine season. Still time to revel in whites and roses (like there's an 'off' season for that!), yet the fare begins to resemble the dinner hour and the wine choices, growing darker by the day.  This my friends is truly la dolce vita.