These shoes are made for running, and this wine is made for drinking!!

I made 2 magnificent purchases this weekend. The shoes are Saucony Progrid Kinvara. Completely awesome, neon pink, fits like a glove, perfect running shoe. You see, I fancy myself a runner - jogger actually. For me, buying new running shoes is almost (almost, not quite) as good as buying a new car. I totally love the new smell, the new feel. I love it, I love it.

The next magnificent thing I purchased was this Lucky Star 2009 Pinot Noir from Graton, California which is Sonoma County wine country. The label reads: "Star light, star bright, your Pinot Noir wishes have been granted" I thought that very catchy.

The label further describes ripe raspberry and red cherry. Thats an accurate description as it is a fruity wine, but not too sweet or grape juicy. I was so proud of my 21 year old wine connoisseur daughter. She took a sip and right away identified the raspberry while I was still fumbling around with my wine glass and looking for my glasses and wine journal.

The wine had a bit of a tart finish initially, but this smoothed out beautifully as we slowly drank it with our lunch. The last sentence on the label is quite thoughtful "May our wine shine brightly at your table and bring good fortune to you and those who share it". What a lovely thought.

If you're not a Pinot Noir fan, you likely won't like this wine as it is on the light side. If your on the fence, this one will probably push you right over into being a fan.

We purchased a bottle at the restaurant for $15.00. It was $7.50/glass, and a nice full glass it was. Actually the entire lunch was fabulous. It was by sheer luck that we ended up at a place called Brix American Bistro in Great Falls. It was excellent. The food was fabulous and our server was very attentive. The food took a bit long to get to us, but we were in no hurry so it was not an issue.

We will definitely return to this restaurant and I will definitely shop for this wine the next time I'm at a wine store.

So Cheers, and here's to great shoes and great wine.