Have I mentioned that Ernie loves to cook? Hey, I'm no dummy - I found a great husband. Especially since I am not the best cook in the world. (I do love to bake, but I digress.)

Ernie loves to experiment with his cooking, and a few years ago, he started experimenting with spices for grilling rubs. He came up with several winners, to include his famous "Father's Day Rub". It is absolutely perfect on slow-grilled beef brisket and on spareribs. Several people have even asked if they could buy the concoction from him - so he has sold several boxes to friends and acquaintences.

And fortunately for us, we found a perfect wine (among so many!) to go with the special grilling recipe. At a wine dinner up in Towson several years ago, Cafe Troia featured wines from Le Marche. Our favorite was the Lacrima di Morro D'Alba 2009 wine, produced by Velenosi. This is a really unique wine, if you want to try something different. The Lacrima grape is found in a very small D.O.C. region near Morro d'Alba in Le Marche. The grape is very dark-skinned, but apparently it has a tendency to split open and leak quite easily - therefore the name Lacrima, meaning "teardrops".

The very unique thing about this wine is the fabulous scent and the almost smoky taste. The scent is extremely intense, heavy with lavender, violets and rosebuds, but mixed with fruity scents of strawberry and maraschino cherries. And the taste consists of blueberries with vanilla and cinnamon. When we first had this wine at Cafe Troia, the chef had paired the wine with a smoky meat appetizer. So when we fire up the grill to put on the spareribs or brisket with Ernie's grilling rub, we open a bottle of the Lacrima di Morro d'Alba!

This wine is not terribly easy to come by. We have purchased it up in Baltimore County and in Howard County, as we never have found it in Montgomery. It is not an expensive wine - about $15 per bottle. It is a very unique wine, and one that I encourage you to try. Enjoy!