Wine & Country Living

San Francisco musicians of the1960s, gathered together over the weekend at Benny Franklin's home in Pacific Heights, for our five-year reunion.

Here we gather and talk, share photos, listen to old takes, play and sing for each before moving the party to Liverpool Lil's restaurant and Bar, for more cocktails, appetizers and a fresh seafood dinner.

This is something you may not know about me. I originally started out as a musician who played the clubs during the San Francisco music scene of the 1960s and '70s. Yes, by day I cooked with some of the best chefs of our time, and at night I played with the best musicians.

It was a cockeyed life, a small window of time when anything could happen and usually did. The thing is, the remaining few of us attending the reunion know how wonderful it was to have been in the right place at the right time and today we celebrate the fact we made it through such a turbulent time in American history. Graciously, we know we were part of a movement that today most folks only read about.

At the reunion, among the boisterous iconic personalities that gathered at Benny's, there sat a Walla Walla wine; a bottle of Charles Smith 2008 Pinot Noir. A dark, brooding wine, nose in sweet spice, cheeks swooshed with cedar tannin, chiffonade of fennel frond, a tongue wrapped in long lasting sassafras. I get a kick out of Charles though I don't see him much these days, but for this one San Francisco night he was with us in bottled spirit.

Charles, because you host the best Blues and Barbecue in town, (last event this Dec. 15, 6 to 9 p.m.) at the downtown tasting room, 35 South Spokane Street, and because you really have proven yourself to be a world famous winemaker, yours truly, Judith Henderson of Wine and Country Living gives 98 points for your lavished, Charles Smith '08 Pinot Noir. Congratulations! 509-526-5230.

Until next week, "Eat Art Drink Imagination!"

Quick Béarnaise

½-cup plain yogurt

6-tablespoons Mayo

1-teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

1-teaspoon tarragon

1-tablespoon water

2-teaspoons Dijon mustard

¼-teaspoon each: coarse salt/cracked pepper

Whisk all ingredients together: nap béarnaise lightly over pan-caramelized tofu steak and mushrooms paired with the voluptuous Charles Smith '08 Pinot Noir.

Judith's Cookbook, Wine and Country Living now on sale: 509-520-8748