Bonus question: what is featured in the picture behind the wine?Wine always tastes better when it is shared.

A few months ago, I had dinner with a few colleagues while on a business trip in Alexandria, Virginia. The conversation turned to wine and some of the wine regions and wineries we all liked to visit. My friend Pat told me about a winery in Napa Valley that she and her husband really enjoyed called Benessere. I made a note to check it out on the next time Sally and I were up there.

The next day at work, Pat surprised me with a bottle of 2008 Beneserre Zinfandel. She was really enthusiastic about the wine and wanted to share it with Sally and I.

Sally and I enjoyed the bottle with dinner a few nights ago. The wine was light and jammy with very light pepper and a smooth finish. As Sally would say, this was an “ingredients to dessert” wine, meaning you could open it while cooking and enjoy it all the way through to dessert.

We started with some Dubliner cheese and crackers. The Beneserre Zinfandel complimented the sharpness of the cheese quite nicely. Dinner consisted of teriyaki steak kabobs from our favorite butcher shop, Iowa Meat Farms, and grilled vegetables. The wine paired with the teriyaki was outstanding. Unfortunately, it was so good that there was no wine left by the time it was time for dessert!

Sally and I raised a glass to toast Pat for the amazing bottle of wine. Hopefully, I’ll see Pat soon and get a chance to share a bottle with her!