Oatmeal Before Wine but Barely

Carpe diem, especially when it involves wine in the morning.

I'd been invited to a wine tasting at 11 a.m. and while that's a tad early to start drinking, I've actually been at wineries at that hour before, so it's not completely unheard of for me.

We were going to be swinging between France and Virginia, making for an interesting tasting.

First up was Chateau Lestrille Entre-Deux-Mers, an easy drinking Sauvignon Blanc clearly made by a winemaker who'd visited New Zealand and brought back a few lessons learned.

More to my taste was the Prieure Saint-Hippolyte Languedoc Rose, a medium-bodied beauty tasting of  currant and raspberry, but with just a hint of herbs.

Of course my enthusiasm for drinking pink became the topic of conversation, as we discussed how great it would be to live in a world where roses were available year-round.

From there, we moved across the pond to Cardinal Point, a winery I know well since I've poured for them at the annual wine expo twice now.

We were tasting their Viognier, with its lovely floral nose and delicate peach and pineapple notes. I've gone through many bottles of this wine the past few summers, so I knew what it was all about.

When we moved on to Gabrielle Rausse's wines, it was with great anticipation.

The man in charge of plant propagation for the gardens at Monticello is known for making some beautiful European-style wines and we were eager to taste them.

The Rosso, a red table wine blend, was a light red color and, having had no exposure to oak, was the kind of red that even white wine-only types might enjoy.

It was a wine that could even pair well with a meatless meal (not that I have many of those).

I was more into Rausse's Merlot, appreciating that it didn't disappoint in that way that merlot can sometimes.

But the finale was the Rausse Nebbiolo Reserve, an understated beauty with hints of fig and prune and just enough oak (although nothing like an oak monster), to put it firmly in the "Oh my, yes, let's have a bottle of this with dinner" category if I saw it on a list.

The only disappointing part was learning that Gabrielle Rausse has no tasting room on his small farm winery, although we may be fortunate enough to be able to make an appointment to do a full tasting soon.

And you know what? Forget 11:00 in the morning, if he wants us there at 9 a.m. to taste, I'm there.

I can carpe diem any time of the night or day. Just make me the right offer.