Wine and Cheese

Nevada and I went to a great wine and cheese party last night. It was our friend Kevin's birthday party and it was an awesome time. I got to try some good wines and some not so good wines. I enjoyed a Shirazz that Adrienne brought and I also enjoyed the Claret (Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot) that Enoch brought. It was from the Coppola winery in Northern California. I had watched a Discovery Travel and Living show on Francis Ford Coppola's (director of Godfather) wine interests so it was a great opportunity to sample his product. I did not like the wine from Chile, way to spicy and there was this Starwberry wine that was so sweet it almost tasted like syrop. It was also a privilege to eat some fancy cheeses: Brie, Blue Chees, Edam, Smoked Gouda and the American entry "Philadelphia Cream Cheese". They don't really do cheese in Taiwan...it's not a part of Chinese food at all so it's a big deal when one can sample these exotic cheeses over here. Kevin found them at the Taipei 101, which caters to the more affluent and foreigner based community. I had some great conversations with people I had never met...we talked about all sorts of things: wine, cheese, politics, religion, basketball, relationships, sex etc. It was one of those intellectually stimulating evenings that are few and far between. A funny thing was that someone brought a stack of cheese slices to the party as a contribution. Imagine processed bright orange cheese slices next to a wheel of Brie or a triangle of Blue cheese. It was gold. Kevin and I also joked about having a specific Americana wine and cheese table that would have Cheese Balls (Cheesie Poofs) and Bud Light. Maybe next time. The whole evening reminded me of a few summer nights I spent with the Hickey's this summer. Sitting around chatting about life and enjoying a soothing glass of wine and the arome of cheeses from the Bulk Cheese Warehouse. I believe I am growing up as the appeal of a night of beer, loud hip-hop music and attractive women has been replaced with wine, cheese and conversations about religion and politics.