Wining at the end of the year...

The Goddess of Wine took off a couple of weeks from writing this month because this time of year always stops me in my tracks. Like pretty much everyone, I've been musing on the year that's passed; great moments, terrible losses, everything in between. This year we've lost some dear friends, and happily, made some new ones. We've seen some great theater and some dreadful. Attended some wonderful events, and some...not so much. Like all years, a mix.

This was the year I got my shoulder fixed after damaging it a second time. The first was saving a case a wine from falling at a LearnAboutWine event 5 or 6 years ago, rupturing my rotator cuff in two places; the second was this April, pulling my chair up to my desk and ripping my long-head biceps tendon. Six months post-surgery, I'm doing great, with full rotation and upper arm strength returned.

This year JD also had some relatively minor knee surgery after tearing his miniscus earlier in the year. I fear that this is just the precursor to a full knee replacement, but we'll see how his recovery continues.

The Wineaux of the Goddess, our avid tasting group, spent the year investigating different wine regions - Champagne, Greece, South Africa, the Northern Rhone Valley, Toro, Anderson Valley, Argentina, Israel,  Jerez, Cava, and Washington State. What a fun group of explorers! And many, many thanks to the amazing Xochitl, who has been hosting our meetings and providing delicious and perfect food pairings to enhance the experience. I value the time spent with JD, Shawn H, Debra, Rico, Barbara, Xochitl, Marya, Michelle, and I look forward to our new-ish members, Shannan and Shawn B, to add to the mix. Although I am the nominal leader of this merry band, I learn so much from my friends, who bring their great knowledge and passion to the table.

In the past 12 months, I have been privileged to meet winemakers who took huge leaps of faith to follow their dream, and I'll be writing about them in the upcoming weeks. I've tasted some amazing wines and food, shared with old friends and new, and look forward to more!

So, just a brief, but heartfelt, Happy New Year to all. 2014 promises to be a year of great change for so many of us, so let's embrace the change and go boldly into the New Year! Cheers! And thanks for joining me on the journey.