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Be careful. You may find yourself walking down the street, lost in your personal reverie, when all of a sudden you are picking yourself off the pavement; the only evidence of your encounter is the waffle-soled boot marks of a Mt. Hoffman Challenger up your back.

Do you know where the photo below was taken? Does it looks a lot like Downtown Gilroy, with the exception of the lights in the trees? Notice the one lane of travel in each direction, mid-block crossings, angled parking (all full) and real street trees that aren’t those pathetic crepe myrtles that are planted everywhere. 

I was anxious to see Janu and Jason Goelz’s brand new tasting room, inside The Stomping Ground, an ambitious and exciting venture between the Goelz’ and Tim Slater, owner of Sarah’s Vineyard. A three-year plan for the venue includes several other boutique wineries, a brewery and a distillery—along with upscale eateries. I passed through a courtyard with tables and a water feature as I made my way into the eclectic tasting room.Instead of the usual adjectives to describe each wine, the extensive menu only lists the percentages of the various grapes contained in each wine. Bill Corneth, pouring wines that day, explained, “We don’t try to tell you what you’re going to taste because we don’t want you to feel like you’ve done something wrong if you don’t taste what you think you should.” Bill poured the first wine, a Pixalated Rose, a blend of grenache, mourvedre and pinot noir grapes. It is a dry rose, with a creamy mouthfeel—a pretty aperitif for the holidays.  The 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a juicy bing cherry of a wine with a long, smooth finish. It’s 80 percent cabernet—blended along with four other varietals. Thoughts of pairing this wine with a rib eye steak drizzled with melted blue cheese crossed my mind.I tend to like wines with a little age on them so really enjoyed the 2011 Estate Merlot. This is a rich, full-bodied wine with complex flavors of dark fruits and well-structured tannins, making it an age-worthy wine. Purchasing two bottles before I left, I’ll have one bottle at this year’s holiday and save the other for next year.

Just a quick couple of random thoughts off the top this morning. I went to the Gavilan men's basketball game Wednesday afternoon, and aside from keeping stats, I also kept tabs on the fans in the bleachers - all 50 or so of them. The game started at 3 p.m., but before that gets used as an excuse, contests that start at 7 p.m. get about the same response. And beside, I see plenty of people out and about at 3 p.m. when I make my afternoon coffee runs. So, time of day defense doesn’t cut it.