Hot as hell and thirsty!

Wine - Claiborne and Churchill Nektar

Set the Mood - Hot as hell with prosciutto wrapped melon

We are such babies in California. It was 97 degrees on Saturday and we were all melting. Granted, we don’t have AC on the Central Coast of CA because we don’t have many days of heat. That being said, It was past lunch time, Charlie was napping after swimming in the blow up pool all morning, and I wasn’t hungry and I am ALWAYS hungry. It must have been the heat.

Have you ever had a Crenshaw Melon? My late grandfather, Ray Gardner, loved them. He loved them SO MUCH that when he got a good one, he wouldn’t even share with his sweet little blonde haired, blue eyed granddaughter (me!). Needless to say, every time I see the yellow, wrinkled skin, melon at the store, I buy one.

I cut up the nice cool melon, wrapped it in prosciutto that I from a local butcher (Freedom Meat Locker) and it was a match made in heaven. Now, for the beverage choice. I had the Claiborne and Churchill Nektar from a recent wine club shipment and hadn’t had it since I was in school down in San Luis Obispo. I popped that cork and took a sip of that Riesling and it went perfectly with the sweet melon and salty meat.

Their Nektar is a Riesling that they stop fermentation by cooling it, to leave some residual sugar. The result is lower alcohol than their Dry Riesling and a little sweet. What I love is that there is still an acidic finish, which rounds it out nicely, leaving it balanced and refreshing in the heat. I recommend it!