Landon Is Drunk Brian

I've heard Brian and Amy say their youngest son Landon is like drunk Brian.  Apparently he's pretty mischievous and displays behaviors you might expect to see from a drunk 40 year old at a winery.  I've never witnessed the kid acting like that, but I've seen his dad do it a couple times and it's always good for a laugh.

Over the weekend we all headed up North to Coppola Winery for a tour and dinner.  We're members there and have occasion to eat and taste wine several times. The food and wine are excellent but the best part may be the resort atmosphere.  On the grounds is a large pool where reservations must be made in advance.  It's the only winery in the valley with a pool.  Now, I don't really care about that, but apparently some people like to swim.  What I do like, however, are the two full service bars, one located outside in a tikki hut style surrounding, and the other indoors for when it gets too hot.   Having a full service bar is unusual for a winery, let alone two.  I enjoy wine tasting, but I'm usually good after about 15 minutes, which makes the bar even more enticing.  While Nikki and Amy set about trying to taste all 15 varietals, I took Brian over to the bar to explore the differences and subtle nuances of bourbon/whiskey/scotch.

Brian is still in the infantile stages of bourbon tasting, so he corrupted a perfectly good Jameson with ginger ale.  On the second one, though, he got the soda on the side and actually tried it straight.  His face puckered up immediately.  He still needs some work.  I had a couple of Blanton's, which has become my favorite, recently surpassing Woodford Reserve at the top of my list.  I'm no expert, but I'm trying to learn and experience more.

As such, we got into a conversation about the differences between Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey.  There are legal definitions for all three and we were researching the differences when the Bro next to us at the bar chimed in (unsolicited), "It has to be aged in Oak, that's about all I know".   Thank god we got that information out of him.  Useful.

Which leads me down another road.  Bars used to be a place where you could go to brag and tell tall tales about any manner of things and not be found out, at least not while you were there.  The advent of smart phones, however, has eliminated that aspect of the communal gathering.  I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but I'm leaning towards bad.  It's generally fun to listen to people who are full of shit, which this guy definitely was.  Another point:  Why do people feel the need to chime in about things they know absolutely nothing about?  I've always been fascinated by that.

Unbeknownst to me, Brian was slowly transforming into Landon.  The bourbon began to take it's toll and by the end of dinner, Brian was off and running.  Literally.  He ran down into the vineyard clearing, ready to show himself in his most childlike state, which he did eventually.  Out of respect, I have agreed not to show the final act, but you might imagine what came next.   It was good for a laugh.

I think the winery will still have us back unless there is videotape of the general area, in which case it might all be over.  Although, in reality, he showed much less skin that what I saw at the pool.  And less offensive in many cases.

Cheers!

Brian in a moment of repose, imbibing his first Bourbon.  He has not yet become Landon.

Nikki and Amy.  Brian is running, behind them, down to the clearing.

The inside bar.  The bro with the shades on his head provided us with invaluable information.

The bartender actually knew what he was talking about in regards to bourbon.  That's a Blanton's on the left.  Note to self: Try "Hooker's House" bourbon, a Sonoma County spirit.

Brian in the clearing, waiting for the right moment to unleash the albino moon.

I believe this is a neoclassical Roman pose.