Rolos Anyone?
I have to say formulating our specialty pairings is one of the hardest jobs we have here at the winery, but somebody’s gotta do it! Hopefully you picked up on the sarcasm in that note. We don’t normally give sneak peaks of our tastings, but I just had to share this one. When we were concocting our Halloween candy and wine pairing, one of the options for the candy was Rolos. I said, “We have to use Rolos! They are special to me as they are a source of one of my fondest, yet most embarrassing memories”.
When William and I started dating over 25 years ago at the University of Maryland, it came time for our Thanksgiving break and I was going to take him home to meet my family for the very first time. My brothers were both waiting at home excited to harass and intimidate their little sister’s new boyfriend. What should have been a 4 hour trip turned into what a 7 hour trip as they shut down the turnpike and we sat in the darkness, for what seemed like it was an eternity; having a discussion if we were going uphill or downhill – that’s how dark it was. William never travels without snacks, and on this fateful trip, one of those was a pack of Rolos. While sitting in the darkness apparently several of those Rolos got loose, and I guess from moving around they made their way to my seat. So, for the next several hours, I unknowingly sat on, squirmed around on and smooshed those Rolos all over the seat of his car and my pants! I never suspected a thing until we arrived at my house three hours late. We got out of the car and William asks,” What’s all over your pants?” I was mortified! Not only did I look like I had a horrible bathroom accident, the chocolate and caramel were smeared all over William’s cloth seats!! My brothers now found it more fun to make fun of me rather than harass William. But, when William did not get mad and just chuckled, I knew he was a keeper!
So with all that in mind, I hope when you are enjoying our pairing of Rise Up Red with the Rolos this little story will bring a smile to your face!
-Jennifer Layton
