Four years ago, my then girlfriend and I managed to get into Girl and the Goat in Chicago semi last minute. Growing up without means in a rural area, I definitely wasn’t used to nice restaurants and had certainly never spent $200 for a single dinner.
We had an absolute blast and had ordered a bottle of the house red, knowing next to nothing about wine, other than most on the list was way more than I’d ever want to spend (at the time).
The house red is a custom label for the restaurant by Saviah Cellars in Walla Walla. It’s roughly half Petit Verdot, 35% Cab Franc and the rest Cab Sauv.
The dinner later inspired a trip to Walla Walla where we fell in love with wine country, tastings, talking about wine, etc. On that first trip, a visit to Saviah landed us another bottle of the Girl and the Goat, 2013 vintage, which was promptly stashed away for a special occasion.
Fast forward a few years, a wedding, the birth of our daughter, lots bottles purchased/consumed, an off-site locker and a palate that much more appreciates less fruit forward wines, and we open our saved bottle on our anniversary.
No need for tasting notes and as it serves the singular purpose of reminding us of that beginning…the beginning of our relationship, of our desire to slow down and enjoy simple things like wine and all of the great times we’ll share together ahead. This is exactly why I love this hobby.
