I have mentioned before that one of the things that I really enjoy about food and wine is that dining becomes part of the whole story of various life events. And that was the case a bit ago when we had a barbecue to celebrate nothing in particular. We invited our daughter and son-in-law over for the barbecue, which is always amusing since Joey only eats meat that is absolutely, thoroughly well-done, and we like our meat more on the medium-rare side. It becomes an interesting drill to ensure that the meat is “done” without completely overdoing ours or turning Joey’s into a charred mess.

That particular day, we were having burgers and also Ernie’s famous (or infamous) slow-cooked ribs. He has a rub for the ribs that is just fantastic, and the ribs turn out deliciously moist and also wonderfully flavorful. And it makes the question of "done or not?" moot, since you grill the ribs until the meat is falling off the bones. To accompany the combination of the smoky ribs and the burgers, we opened a bottle of Grifalco Aglianico del Vulture wine, a fabulously bold red wine that is a specialty of the Basilicata region in southern Italy. What a great wine - lots of tannins, bold fruit flavor, a strong finish, and a perfect match for the meat.

While we were cooking, Krissy gave Ernie a gift in a small box. That was a surprise, as we were not expecting anything special for this barbecue. However, that nice little family dinner became extremely special, as in the box was an announcement:

The memory of that barbecue is now imprinted in our minds, as it signified a new direction for Krissy and Joey and also for Ernie and I. They are parents-to-be; we are now going to be grandparents. And the Grifalco wine and the slow-cooked ribs and burgers have a different significance to us. We’ll always remember getting the little bib in the box to announce the impending arrival of a lovely bundle of joy.