Another post from my time at home, I told you we’d be drinking!  On Saturday we went to the ranch with some friends for a picnic lunch and manzanita tree cutting.  Instead of the standard Christmas tree, Laura and Frankie wanted a big manzanita branch to put in a wooden box and decorate with lights and ornaments.  Jeffrey knew of a manzanita grove on the ranch so we headed out there with an electric saw in hand to find the perfect branch!

After a successful find we headed back to Grandma’s house for lunch.  While I didn’t do much work with the actually tree cutting/hauling, I did put myself to work assembling the perfect cheese board.  I’m really quite proud of my handy-work!

As for what we drank?  Hendry 2011 Pinot Gris.  It was the perfect wine for our charcuterie lunch.  The nose was like biting into a tart green apple, while the mid-palate to finish was notes of pear, citrus and a hint of vanilla; smooth, well balanced, light and refreshing.  A perfect picnic wine.

They didn’t exactly bring the right car to get the branch home in, or maybe they didn’t expect to go home with such a big branch…but we made it work!