I’m turning 47 this week, and as my friend, mentor, former client and now “Junior” Advisor to my company, as well as corporate party band leader, Ray McKewon-co-founder (retired) of Accredited Home Lenders likes to say “life is good.” I’ve taken it one step further and have proclaimed that Life, Is Very Very Good for me.

In less than a year I’ll wed a wonderful woman who shares my passion for life, food, wine and technology, Dr. Helene Malabed. Our wedding, will take place somewhere that’s special to me, at the vineyard of a longtime friend who grows grapes and makes incredible wine in the Languedoc region of France, Domaine d’ Aupilhac.

This past Friday a dozen of my friends gathered for to start what is tabbed now, The Helene and Andy Birthday Month. What used to be a week or so when I was single has rapidly expanded into an almost non-stop daily gathering of friends. On Friday we took over the Private Dining Room at The Del Mar (CA) Marriott’s Arterra and Brian Pekarcik, the new chef whipped up a dinner worthy of royalty, dishing out, or I should say plating up incredible treats ranging from Lamb Four Ways to go with the vertical of Domaine de Trevallon to the Duck Four Ways to match up perfectly with a vertical of Sang de Cailloux reds, the Opah Tartare and Opah Belly that was my pairing with Rieslings of the World (Austrian, Australian, French-Alsace, German MSR and USA-Santa Barbara).

As the night went on I surprised Helene and company with wines from the vineyard our wedding ceremony will take place in as well as the 2001 Domaine de La Modoree Lirac La Rein de Bois from the Rhone Valley, which was the wine Helene and got engaged officially over last year in Avignon at Restaurant Christian Etienne.

Last night, nearly 40 people showed up, creating an overflow crowd at Carl Schroeder’s new restaurant, the soon to be differently named Blackhorse Grille that he purchased just two weeks ago. Along with a cornucopia of wines I chose from my own collection, came food that Carl somehow managed to whip up that was mind boggling. His crab cakes,cedar plank Salmon and mouthwatering Kobe Beef Flat Iron steaks and even the side dishes were outrageous. Wines from Spain, France, Australia and the USA were poured but what flowed the most was the love of our friends and their joy in gathering around for a special night.

But what really made it special was the people. From all walks of life, at all stages of development, coming together to celebrate and enjoy the art of wine and food. That and an early morning birthday present made it very, very special and a great lead up to my real birthday on Tuesday, August 8th, 2006.

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