Think about Valentine’s Day wines to go with chocolate

RIP Kobe Bryant! In addition to being a star basketballer, he was a decent human being, a good role model for young fans and a very successful entrepreneur. As you are reading this, his good qualities have been fully discussed. How sad that with all the “ugly people,” one so loved and admired is snatched away so young.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. Here are two from The Prisoner Wine Company: Eternally Silenced 2018 shows a complex bouquet of cranberry, Picota cherry, pie spice and hints of pine nicely balanced. Enough tannin and color to say wait a bit; 89 McD under $50. Saldo 2017, another of their labels, rates 89 also but can be found well under $30; add a price point. Best recent vintage is 2015 at 91, and the 2016 is also solid at 89. Look for appropriate Zin aroma profile, cherry, pie spice, licorice and hints of black pepper. Both of these go well with chocolate and winter meat fare.

Those with time and cash on hand might wish to look into the Fifth Annual Willamette: The Pinot Noir Auction, Saturday, April 4, at The Allison Inn in Newberg, Ore. The trade-only auction will present 86 lots of 2018 Pinot Noir, already declared a modern classic by most famous scribblers and keyboardists. Also featured will be a selection of seven Chardonnay lots made in collaboration by current and past auction chairs. Each lot of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is one of a kind, produced in quantities of five, 10 or 20 cases, and will only become available to consumers through resale by the winning bidders. Wine wholesalers, restaurants and retailers can attend. I’m guessing air tickets to the West Coast are tanking now. Those looking for credentials and more info can contact Monique Geisen, monique@jarviscommunications.com.

Here’s an option for those resting in the snug confines of home this winter – Special Olympics DE events in Rehoboth this weekend. A very well-run effort to raise money for Special Olympics, a terrific charity event where nearly all the money goes to the charity. Join my daughter Marguerite’s team to donate, www.classy.org/team/273353. Marguerite and Team JMags have been participating for years and have raised several thousand dollars. There are many events on both Saturday and Sunday, in addition to the Polar Bear Plunge. The generosity of the bar and restaurant scenes in Lewes, Rehoboth and Dewey is on full display for Special Olympics events. It has amazed me for years that the region’s most giving community is always under close scrutiny and even attack by the towns, undercover police, government agencies and even some of our citizenry. Talk about gift horses and mouths!

Please don’t panic over the recent news of Coronavirus. But do take precautions where necessary as you would for any viral disease. Remember, antibiotics don’t cure viruses. Virus in Latin means slimy fluid or poison; in Sanskrit, Visam = poison. Recent news reportage has “the sky is falling” syndrome in full cry. Similar to SARS, 8,098 cases, 784 dead in early 2003-06; and MERS-CoV, 2018 to present, 2,494 reported, 858 dead; or the slightly more deadly four to five forms of hemorrhagic fevers, which pale by comparison with mosquito-borne illnesses like West Nile, Zika, and yellow and dengue fevers among others, which infect roughly 700 million/year and cause 1 million deaths. While for those who suffered or died these are major, in the scheme of world population as of October 2019, 7.7 billion, they are relatively small at 1.3 percent in aggregate. It should also be instructive that most of the deaths occurred in countries with poor medical services, and that the victims were already at risk: old or very young people, prone to respiratory issues prior, or those travelers who visit stricken areas. I’m not advising you should dismiss the new threat. Just don’t buy into the idea that bubonic plaque came from rat vermin and this is the year of the rat in China, so you should run for the hills or hide out in total isolation. On the good news front, a drug company has already developed a screen and it should be commercially available shortly because it is based on previous viral screeners and will be approved more quickly. A cure will take much longer. In the meantime, try to stay calm. Keep in mind this virus takes about 14 days to manifest; therefore, we’ll have a much better handle on its spread and volitility in two weeks. Most important, if it picks up steam, pay close attention to the CDC admonitions.