2006 Westport Rivers Brut Cuvée

Our friends, Barry and Mary came on Sunday to help us pick rocks from our vine rows. We had them over for dinner to thank them for their hard work which resulted in 6 more rockless rows. We started the evening with this 2006 Westport Rivers Brut Cuvée and paired it with sliced Fuji apples and cheddar cheese. It went very well. Our meal was a butterflied leg of lamb which my husband had marinated overnight in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and rosemary. He then seared the lamb on the grill and then wrapped it in foil and cooked it off the heat for another hour. It was delicious! We paired the lamb with a 1998 Chateau de Beaucastel. (How many more of these do we have, I wondered?) The side dish was a tabouli salad which was a refreshing complement to the lamb. The leg of lamb is a very nice substitute for lamb chops, at 1/3rd the price. We finished off the meal with figs topped with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar. It was a delightful evening with friends willing to sacrifice their relaxing Sunday to pick rocks out of a vineyard. Barry came again today, for another dose of rock picking!