Wine and Friends

We usually go to Long Island to visit the Massouds and our annual pilgrimage this year occurred in early December. This time, winemaker, Kareem and his family were visiting us! They were on their first leg of a trip that would take them from Rhode Island to Florida with a few stops along the way. The impetus was to take their two children, ages 10 and 8 to the Polar Express Train ride in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Our home is on the way and we were delighted that they were able to spend the evening with us.
The train ride ended around 8:30 and they were at our home a little after 9:30. We had a late dinner with them that my husband made. Leg of lamb grilled and braised so that it was tender and falling apart, Greek lemon potatoes and a Greek salad. We had a wonderful evening, the children hung in there and after having a nice meal of buttered spaghetti and a side of parmesan cheese, which they ate with gusto, hung out in our livingroom.
My husband brought out two wines, a Philip Togni 1995 and a Cascina Ballarin Barolo Bricco Rocca 2001 to pair with the meal and they did not disappoint.
Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the meal, but here are the wines that we drank:

The first wine that we had with the meal was a 2001 Barolo. We have learned by watching the show "V is for Vino" that nebbiolo, the grape used to make the Cascina Ballarin Bricco Rocca, is a more masculine expression of the nebbiolo because it is grown in Barolo, which made it an excellent pairing with the lamb.
As with all good wine and food pairings, the Barolo disappeared in the course of talking, eating and general enjoyment of the evening. Next, my husband brought out this 1995 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon. The last time that we had a 1995 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon was in 2011. At that time we had the wine with cowboy steak. I wrote that the wine stood up to the steak and although it was at that time, 16 years old, I felt that it could still be cellared. Fast forward 14 years, the wine was still tasting youthful with fruit and soft tannins that made it the perfect complement to the lamb.
As is the case with good wine, food and good friends, the conversation flowed and in no time it was 12:30! For us, this is what wine is about, sharing with friends and creating memories to be cherished and remembered!