(Continued from June 17, 2010)
“I am happy that our Zinfandel won’t have any chemicals in it. Do all store-bought wines contain chemicals?”
“Most of them do. Wineries use a chemical product to stop the fermentation, which brings about sediment. Many wine drinkers don’t like the sight of sediment.”
“It is becoming obvious to me that certain folks may well need to have two different kinds of wine on hand,” Thea proclaimed. “One kind, with chemicals and without sediment, to offer to clients or fussy visitors. The wine that one drinks oneself can be syphoned off just before consumption.”
“Richard, in Tokyo, buys his wine at Costco. He has found there a Chilean brand that contains sediment in each bottle. When I have dinner at his place, it is the Chilean wine that he serves. The sediment comes out in clumps, which, we tell each other, is prove that the wine is as old as the label claims.”
During the short ride from the shopping center to the place, near my apartment, where Thea dropped me off, she requested that I provide a few more details about Richard and his family.
Upon entering the front room of my condo, I noticed the blinking light of the answering machine. There was a message from Alphonse. He requested to be contacted immediately and he underlined the urgency by supplying his cell number.
It was the development that I had hoped for. Alphonse would be waiting for my call. It often wasn’t easy to contact him during the day. He seemed to prefer the space of his Mini to that of his apartment. Furthermore, recently, he had frequently left his cell at home. “The money I save, by not being subjected to unnecessary chatting on my cell, buys the fuel for my Mini,” he asserted with a chuckle of satisfaction.
I did not have a cell phone, a situation that was about to change. “I supply all the volunteers with cell phones,” Thea had told me. “Aunt Dorothy’s accountant made an agreement with a telephone company. Volume buying really does work out well.”
The contact with Alphonse was immediate. “Where have you been all afternoon?” my young friend wanted to know.
I explained about the time spent on the farm and I briefly mentioned the winemaking store. I then realized that he would definitely want to know the purpose of our stopping off at the shop. So, I told him about Thea’s wonderful Zinfandel grapes.
(To be continued)
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