I met Taylor, now Father Taylor, via Vivino, and soon after in person at a wine tasting in Omaha. A new wine enthusiast, his warm personality and genuine love of life make him wonderful to be around. So when he reached out about meeting for dinner last night, I was excited to introduce him to my family.

I was late getting out of my meeting, and by the time I arrived he was there chatting with Sonja and the kids. When he asked if he could help, I put him to work making salad while I threw the meat and corn on the grill. We talked, laughed, and sipped at a Riesling. Dinner came together quickly.

To pair with our steaks, I pulled an old BV Cab out of the cellar and decanted it for about an hour. Menthol, sulphur, smoked meat, pemmican, dried cherry — it held up beautifully, and paired very nicely with our tri tips.

“When were you born?” I asked our guest as I delicately removed the cork.

“1991,” he replied.

“That makes this wine three years your senior,” I teased him.

After dinner, Sonja and I escorted our friend to our front porch retreat, and together we talked memories, mysticism and more while we shared a late harvest Riesling from Prager. It was a terrific evening.

The sun is setting earlier these days, and this morning freshmen arrive at school. Autumn is nearly here. I find that reality depressing on a yearly basis, as much as I love football and the start of the fall running season. Having time in the evenings to wind down with Sonja — and from time to time other friends as well, is a sustaining factor, however, a constant, and a routine for which I am grateful. It is one that makes the coming change of seasons far more bearable.

Cheers to the impending advent of fall,

Mark