Join a 17 th Century English Christmas Celebration. If I were to choose my favorite place in the world, I would have to say Yosemite. The Valley is unique in its grandeur, scope and sheer beauty. And within the valley is the grand Ahwahnee Hotel that is perfect in its design which blends rustic beauty with the natural surroundings. The focal point of the hotel is the Great Lounge which flows into the magnificent Dining Room.
The scope of the dining room with its wood beam structure and foot ceiling height is truly awe-inspiring. Again, it is a perfect match for the grandeur of the natural surroundings. As part of our honeymoon trip in , my wife, Laurie, and I visited Yosemite and the Ahwahnee Hotel for the first time. It was indeed very special, although at that time, the hotel was in need of some repair. Since then the hotel has been impeccably renovated and restored.
And since that first visit over 40 years ago, we have been back dozens of times. I have spent many birthdays there including my 65 th last year.
Always we have dinner in the hotel and I bring older bottles of wine, mostly older California wines because they just seem to fit so perfectly with the surroundings. Last year I brought several wines for my birthday dinner, including a Inglenook Cabernet and, from my birth year, a Inglenook Cabernet.
The vintage was great virtually everywhere in the world but the vintage was poor nearly everywhere. I have had Romanee-Conti on several occasions and it has always been gorgeous. The bottles were in beautiful condition with high shoulder fills. They had come from a cool San Francisco Bay cellar where they had rested since the original release.
