Last weekend was full of decadence. From the traditional kare-kare to the wine-tasting in Napa, it was a weekend that demanded a whole week for recovery of the mind and body. Let's hit some of the highlights shall we?

First on the list has got to be the wine-tasting. There was a time in my life in which I wondered why people loved wine. Sadly, through the influence of the hermit on the hill, I have become a wine snob. Or, as other wine snobs would put it, I'm a connoisseur. From now on, I will judge the people I associate with by what kind of wine I will serve them. Some comedian wine snob said that.

The first stop was Flora's Spring. I was most fascinated by the 1999 Wild Boar Cabernet Sauvignon. The story about this is that the winery once had a plot of land that was inhabited by boars. Well, said boars had the taste for every other grape vine except for the Cabs. So, only the Cabs grew in that particular plot.

Fast-forward to the present. Looking down upon the bar like a majestic king is the head of a boar. Most likely one of said boars who did not develop a taste for cabernets. The wild boar cabernet had a very strong flavor. It's like a rake being scraped upon my tongue. Unlike other snobs, I have not fully developed my sense of taste for wine. Another way to say it is that my tastebuds are intrigued by strong flavors. My tongue favors sharp intakes of flavor like a slap from the palm of a woman.

The second stop was Dutch Henry which is named after a pet dog. The winery had their open house and so had appetizers. It was fantastic because of brie. Brie was introduced to me while I was a graduate student. Knowing brie is probably one of my greater achievements in graduate school. Who could have ever thought that there were other cheeses besides Velveeta? Velveeta is the height of human ingenuity. You store it in shelves! It can last through twenty years of storage. It already looked radioactive so if there was a nuclear war, you were already prepared. Slap velveeta orange on duct tape and microwave it and you have yourself a pizza dinner.

However, as in life, my viewpoint was changed by brie. I was intrigued by cheese after tasting brie. Brie was creamy yet tasty. A complex taste full of cow dreams and promises of steak. When eating velveeta, you can feel your arteries hardening. When eating brie, the hardening is much subtler, more refined. You will die from eating brie, but oh, what death!!!

The Chardonnays from Dutch Henry was very pleasing. Soft, crisp and clear. Fruity to the palate with a slight acidity. Mmmmmmm. I must be channeling a long dead wine sommelier. Soft? Crisp? Fruity with acidity? How does this all relate to diet coke or lemon coke or vanilla coke? What is all this plum, cranberry and oak doing in my head? I have succumbed to the forces of hedonism and snobbery! I am lost! Lost I say!

After buying some bottles of wine, we staggered back to the chateau. The chateau is a different story. Suffice it to say that it is a palace in the sky. A gift from one heart to another. A dream become reality unto earth. A vision within the confines of physics. A miracle from hard work, poverty and perseverance. A death trap to moths. A playground to a hermit-writer. A veritable kitchen-paradise for artists who can cook. A showcase of a hundred Picassos toiling away in the midst of paradise. A mosaic of grandiosity. A river flowing from the mountain. The past of a glorious winery. The present of an artist colony.