Rib Eye, Cornerstone & Bourgeois Bob

Hello again from beautiful Southwest Florida!

Dee & Dad during a visit to FL

This weekend, I (Dee's Dad) volunteered as a Fire Marshal at the annual ACE Classic Championship (Senior PGA players all over 50) at the beautiful Twin Eagles Country Club in Naples, Florida.

This event has raised tens of millions of dollars for local charities since it's inception. ACE is the largest property/casualty insurance company in the world, and this is one of the ways they give back to the communities they are involved with.

Imagine, me, acting as a Fire Marshal! My marshaling duties were assigned to the 18th hole, usually a dramatic spot, and it was again this year. The 18th hole volunteer's nightmare is a playoff. A playoff means we stay to the end, usually getting to dinner at about midnight (well not quite that late, but late for someone who is retired). This year, the 3 leaders were tied on the 18th tee box - OMG. Luckily for us volunteers, only one was able to make a par on the monstrous 457 yard par 4 and things were wrapped up quickly.

ACE Classic Championship winner Kirk Triplett

(photo c/o Octagon Events)

Golf was good and since it is my second favorite hobby apart from wine & food, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Let's not mention the "breaks" I took at the Charles Schwab viewing tent...I'd like to "volunteer" again next year.

Now to the point, the volunteer Marshals are fed with boxed lunches. Unfortunately, they were not quite up to "par" and we were found wanting. Needless to say I was ready to EAT by the end of the event.

Back at the homestead, our local purveyor had provided me with a 1 1/2 pound Rib Eye. This is a hunk of meat worthy of kings, queens or anyone with grilling skills. Inexplicably, I was able to do it (we had the other half for dinner this evening...num num num).

Now, what wine to have with this beast.

Many of the blessed and successful golf professionals have or own interests in vineyards from California to South Africa to Australia and beyond. Most are spectacular, but we looked to one of our favorites for this meal. 

Cornerstone Cellars in St Helena, Napa Valley, California makes beautiful wines. This night, we paired our roast with their 1995 Howell Mountain Beatty Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. The front end cherry, and the toasty tannins were brilliant. Cornerstone is a fantastic family of wines with vineyards in Napa, California and the Willamette Valley in Oregon. They make a fabulously expensive Pinot Noir...check them out if you're willing to pay the bill. It is worth every penny.

(photo c/o Cornerstone Cellars)

That's all for now. To the many of you "Up North" in the cold, our sympathies.

Talk soon.

Bourgeois Bob