The first week of my fifty-second year has been damp and cool, and I’ve spent much of it alone, ruminating and remembering. I’m on day five of a persistent earworm; one I planted myself on a drive to the Capay Valley last Sunday, mining seventies soft rock classics for the hits so cheesy that no one bothers to dig them up for a listen. Bands with wholesome names like America, Ambrosia, and Bread. Songs that got tucked away in a dusty Dodge Dart while Fleetwood Mac and Chicago continue to get airplay. They’re not ‘good’ songs, but they haven’t been played to death, and they touch something deep inside me that’s been there since I was a little kid in a car listening to the radio on the way to a cello lesson, or a library, or an art class. ‘Lonely Boy’ by Andrew Gold is one; ‘You Are the Woman’ by Firefall is another. My wife, Julia, is too young to know them and thinks it’s funny when I sing along, and I surprise myself by how well I still know the words. This week it was ‘Crazy Love’ by Poco, and as it turns out, Poco’s guitarist Jim Messina turned seventy-six on Tuesday. You may recall my fellow Saggitarian from his days with Kenny Loggins and Buffalo Springfield, but it’s unlikely you’ve been on a Poco deep-dive. And I can’t say I’d advise it, although I do recommend reconnecting with long lost parts of yourself that remind you of who you once were and where you came from, cheese and all.

TONIGHT - Thursday Night Flights...CALIFORNIA REDS & FRENCH WHITES
Featuring reds from Amador, Mendocino & Lake Counties & whites from the Loire, Burgundy & Corbières:
2021 Poco a Poco Chapman Vineyard Carignan
2022 Isa Wines ‘Don’t Quit Your Day Job’ Mataro Red Blend
2021 Ultraviolet Cabernet Sauvignon
2022 Domaine Adèle Rouzé Quincy
2022 Berthenet Vieilles Vignes Aligoté
2020 Fond Cyprès Le Blanc des Garennes
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY: WILLAMETTE VALLEY FLIGHTS:
Taste two white blends, a Pinot Noir & Syrah from Oregon’s most famous wine region:
2022 Day Wines Vin de Days Blanc
2022 Cameron Winery Giuliano White Blend
2016 Willful Wine Co. Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
2017 Twill Cellars Syrah Stormy Morning Vineyard
Flights $18 from 2-6 and wines by the glass until 9pm

Cheers,

Max