Building bridges

Those that have read my blog for a while will know that my relationship with my father have been more than rocky over the past 8 years but more recently the last two have been a complete break down. As we started to drift apart more and more it’s been harder and harder to fix the gap that has kept us apart. People who know us both say that I’m very much like my father and just as stubborn, i have the same mannerisms and similar interest and skills as if those were past down in the blood.

I was 10 when i first took a drink of my fathers red wine and from that point i was hooked, interested in why someone would drink this stuff that sucked all the moisture out of my mouth. I had a taste when ever i could sneak it. Then when i was a little older around 17 my father shared a bottle of wine with me and this would be regular event when i went to stay with him on odd weekends. Most fathers and sons share their first pint when they turn 18 and for many years i was gutted that my father never took me the pub and bought me my first pint but looking back he did one better him introduced me to wine, red wine.

A couple of weeks ago my father and his partner came to visit for the first time since i left university and more importantly since i moved in and made a home with tenbellies. This was a big deal and i admit i wanted to cancel but by then end of the night i was glad and relieved we did it. We all shared a meal and then partook in our ritual, only for the first time it was my wine in our home and what made it even more special was the wine i chose. At this point i want to thank Vinogirl and Vinomaker for producing an excellent wine, the Claret was bottled on my visit Napa last year. This not only created excellent conversation but bought back great memories of a summer in Napa and in my eyes helped build bridges.