Geez, Irene!  Why do you have to disappear all the time?  Can’t you hang out for a while even once?!?

When I started this several weeks ago – I’m embarrassed – there was a lot going on. I just added a word here and there and didn’t get to finish the most important posting of the year – the first one.

I’m going to go over a few events in 2010 that affected me, Vegas Wineaux, and the local wine scene in general.

First, the Vegas Wineaux Wine Club has absolutely exploded. New members, assistant organizers (I can’t do it by myself), a variety of events, both in home and public, have seen incredible participation and enthusiasm.  The club purchased a barrel from the Grape Expectations Nevada School of Winemaking, and we’re very excited about bottling our own wine this year!  We are also tentatively planning a meetup in May at the Paso Robles Wine Festival, and I can hardly wait!

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Here’s another “Blast” from the past! This was the interview I did in 2008 with John Curtas, our own intrepid restaurant critic who has gone on to bigger and better things, including Iron Chef America judge, author, and separated-at-birth celebrity!  Since he is now in the rarefied realm of the autograph giver, I thought I’d rerun it.  The photo is from the day we talked, and while we’re both a little more road weary, you wouldn’t mistake us for anybody else.  Well, me, anyway.

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Technically, this interview should appear on MirePoix Vegas, but I just had to present it here because John is a Wineaux as well as a Foodie. So here we go!

If you’ve ever seen John Curtas on Channel 8 or listened to him on KNPR radio, you already know that he’s a high-energy, dynamic, and animated person. I can tell you from my brief, in-person experience that this is not an act. What you see on TV is exactly what you get in person. He and his long-suffering lovely girlfriend, Alexandra, met me at Starbucks, and the hour or so that we spent there flew by in camaraderie, laughter, and fun.

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Let’s just say that November was a very bad month for me. It contained a lot of consoling, loving, grieving, hugging, and being a friend.  Being a friend was the most important of all of these.  I wish the circumstances had been different, but sometimes the best (or only) way to show friendship is during difficult times.

In between, however, was real life, and this time real life consisted of HenderZIN!  The fifth annual HenderZIN was held, as usual, at the parking lot at Khoury’s at 9915 S. Eastern in Henderson, NV. OF COURSE I had to be there!  Of course I had to take pictures! Of course!

Without going into a lot of detail – however hard it may be – let me do a quick overview of the day.

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Actually, it all began in August with the first phone call from my dearest friend, Barb, who lives in Paso Robles (that’s a coincidence, more later) to tell me that DeeDee, her middle daughter, had a tumor on her brain.  After surgery the tumor was discovered to be benign, and it looked like a close call had been averted.  We all breathed a sigh of relief and continued on with life.

Unfortunately, DeeDee’s doctors discovered in September that her sudden continual backache and headaches were metastasized cancer.  In spite of the heroic efforts of her doctors, her loved ones, and her own extraordinary will, she passed away in her sleep on October 26.  It was a wrenching time for all of us, because Barb, Tom (her husband), their family and my family go back over 25 years.  I was bartender at DeeDee’s wedding where we all gathered in Santa Barbara and I made sure that the adult libations flowed.  Of course we could not have imagined that 18 years later, the next big gathering of all friends and family would be at DeeDee’s funeral.

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I went to the local grocery store a while ago, and I’m still fuming.

I love wine.  For the most part, wines are natural.  Sure, you have to ignore the Boone’s Farm, MD 20/20, Arbor Mist, and others of that ilk. Those are wines in label only.  In the real world, more and more wineries are farming sustainably and ensuring that their wines are as natural and unpolluted as possible.  Yes, wine is a health food.  Google it.

More and more vegetables are being sustainably grown, and local markets are looking outside of the Monsanto box in order to make sure that people get the purest, freshest produce possible.  I LOVE Farmers Markets and will do whatever I have to do to make sure that I get sustainable/organic produce and avoid the oversprayed, overshipped, GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) foods whenever possible.  Of course, I’m a Boomer with grown kids, so I don’t have to worry about budget restrictions the same way that many young families do.  Been there, done that.

Since I do most of my shopping at Whole Foods Market, Trader Joes, or any number of local ethnic markets, the Monsanto effect isn’t an issue.  And I know I’m not alone.  So where do these Frankenfoods go?

Look no further than your local market’s freezer or “middle” aisles.

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