This winter has been a bit on the brutal side for the Midwest. My wife and I left Kansas City on Saturday morning when it was zero degrees. Most of us were happy. The weather forecast predicted -15. Fortunately, we were getting on an airplane and heading to Palm Desert for the week. Temperatures in the mid-70’s and sunny skies. Quite a relief from the freezing weather in Kansas City.

I was actually on vacation when I started writing this blog. I was enjoying a reserve syrah that I brought with me. Part of a case of selected wines I took from my cellar. I usually take a case with me if I am going to be gone for a week or more. My selections will include Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and sparkling wines. Usually limited production or nicely aged wines that I really wish to enjoy when I am relaxing.

Each year, the Kansas City Symphony goes on the road to the Flint Hills of Kansas to put on a charity fundraiser to support the preservation of open prairie lands. This year my wife and I attend this spectacular event. The location moves each year. This time it was about 130 mile outside of Kansas City and 5 miles from the nearest paved road. The site was on a private ranch of about 30,000 acres of open prairie.

My wife and I were headed east on I-70, leaving a week of rainy weather in Avon, Colorado, when we took a needed break at an Information and Rest Stop in Georgetown, Colorado. As we exited the interstate, we saw a sign stating “Wine Tasting” on a building close to the Rest Stop. We had plenty of time to make our flight in Denver, so we decided to amuse ourselves by sampling some Colorado wine. In some of our previous travels, we tried Colorado wine before and found they tasted unripe, green and very herbal. But we had a little time to kill, so we drove into t