Wine for Unusual Proposals

As I mentioned in my last post, Steve and I are planning the mother of all trips, and in preparation for the Italy leg of our travels, I have enrolled myself in an Italian class. So far I have had two lessons, and I can now say various combinations of the verbs to be and to have, as well as the phrases: "My name is Jocelyn", "the cat is white" and "the car is red". Going forward, I will have to learn how to say "I do not want McDonald's" and "I did not vote for George Bush".

Steve and I in the course of our 9 years together have gone on quite a few fun trips, the main one of which was a big camping trip out west to Oregon, Idaho, Yellowstone and the Tetons among other places. The idea of me camping was something that surprised almost everyone who knew me, not least of all me because I am not really what you would call an outdoorsy girl normally.

I don't love dirt or being dirty, I tend to be very sensitive to bad smells and I have a bit of a fear of pit toilets, mainly because they are often disgusting, but also because you can never really be sure what is down there, and I imagine being attacked from below by a giant poo monster or some other beast of fecal origins.

But to my surprise I loved it. I came to enjoy not showering for several days at a time, I loved nothing more than sitting with Steve by the campfire at night, cooking corn, sweet potatoes, chicken and steak over it, and then afterward staring into the flames for hours on end; and amazingly, at the National Park Campgrounds the pit toilets were spotless and odor-free. I even managed, for the first time in my life, to pee outside while on hikes.

On one such hike, Steve and I had climbed six miles, essentially up a mountain. After a bit of crying (me) and a bit of cajoling (Steve), we finally reached the summit, and before us lay the most extraordinary views I have ever seen, and not another person in sight. Before starting back down the mountain, I made Steve hide behind a small, abandoned, stone Ranger's hut while I relieved myself, because if there's one thing i don't do, it's pee in front of people, not even my then-boyfriend.

So Steve obliged and hid behind the hut, assuring me that he wouldn't look at me. So I squatted down to do my business, staring down to make sure I didn't accidentally wee on my shoes, when I felt it: that feeling you get when someone is watching you. I looked up, and sure enough, not only was Steve watching me, but he was also taking my picture.

Outraged, I huffily flounced past him on my way down the mountain, when he grabbed me by the arm, stood me up on one of the rocks, and asked me to marry him. It was kind of hard to be mad about the whole wee-wee-photo debacle after that. Well played, Steve. That's one damn good way to get yourself out of an argument, that's for sure.

So, my Wine for Unusual Proposals is a Greenwood Ridge Vineyards 2006 Late Harvest White Riesling, because, come on, who doesn't love a Riesling, and a dessert, botrytis Riesling to boot? It's all the things a lovely dessert wine should be: peachy, apricot-ey, and honeysuckley, with a sweetness that is offset by some bright acidity. And at $22 a bottle, it's a steal!