By: AJ McClellan
A few months ago Graileys took our members on a trip to Napa to have a great time tasting wines at a few of our favorite wineries. It was during this visit we stopped into Jones Family and over several great glasses of wine we played around 5 games of Bocce Ball. In fact we would have stayed there all night, the scenery was so beautiful and the company was great, but we had another appointment that night for a wonderful dinner with Bob Egelhoff.
Well, last week Graileys got its long awaited Bocce Ball court! After playing in Napa everyone had such a great time that Simon decided that we needed one in Graileys. There was some trial and error involved. At first we tried ordering just the balls, but after a few trial throws we learned that it is very hard to play Bocce Ball on stained concrete. We put our heads together and did a little research to find a solution to the problem. Then we came up with the idea of astro turf! It wasn’t long before we had a few rolls of the fake green grass to play on…
As soon as we got the court it was time to give it a roll. As chance would have it Dave was in town for the event and we immediately split up into teams. The blue team was Greg and Dave while the red team was Simon and I. We popped a stunning 2002 Joseph Drouhin Drouhin Chambolle Musigny as a little bit of Burgundy always helps the games begin. The wine was the antithesis of the Bocce Balls, soft and supple with sharp acidity and a finish that lasted through the game. And what a game it was! Simon and I started off with a 3-0 lead but it quickly went downhill as Dave and Greg continued to make great roll after great roll… After popping a 2010 D’Ardhuy Corton Charlemagne to calm the event we finally broke down after the blue team made a very controversial roll. Simon and I had to consult the Bocce Ball authorities to see if team blue indeed won the game…
After much deliberation (aka very vocal arguments) and a cream and rich 2001 Vincent Girardin Le Montrachet we have decided that the GBBC (Graileys Bocce Ball Championship) is still undecided. Although I did discover that all of the staff here at Graileys is very competitive when it comes to any forms of sports… Stay tuned for more details of the GBBC and upcoming tournaments that we will be holding.