You might call this post “Crazy Time in the Cellar Part 2,” because we’re at the place in the Wine Fest Preparations where the ceilings come down, and the walls start closing in.  Fortunately (for me, anyway) I can look at all the cases of wine and have a pretty good idea what to do.  The big crunch now is making sure all the reservations (and payments) have been received for the dinners.

You have no idea how glad I am that it isn’t my job.  The task is in the extremely capable hands of Ester Lee Machiz, who has turned out to be something of a poster girl for our event.  That’s her fabulous blonde excitement you see in all the ads for the SWFLWFF, arms upraised, fists clenched, smile dazzling.  It seems to be the photo that all the news media throw in when they do a writeup about us, and Ester is kind of sick of seeing it.  But around here the shot is more famous than the iconic photo of the Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima.

Ester sits at a desk (the way I imagine it) with her glasses at the tip of her nose, leafing through hundreds of RSVP cards and (hopefully) checks, poking the keys on her calculator, sorting out who is going to which dinner, which homes are filled, and which will have room for guests coming in from far away, such as my cousins David and Caroline, who need to eat, too.

Then she has the less than enviable task of coordinating all this with the generous dinner hosts, who update her regularly about the guest counts, which are as variable from day to day as the tides or the inconstant moon.  I’m glad I handle the wine.  She doesn’t get to drink the invitations.

It all works out in the end.  Over the next few days she’ll have all the paperwork filed in individual folders, if she doesn’t already, and she’ll know who has paid and who goes hungry.  I’ll be sorting the wines into boxes, labeling some that are destined for the Friday night dinners, others for the Grand Tasting, and still others that will be won at auction by fortunate bidders.

I’m thinking of giving up my gym membership.  Hauling around these boxes is enough of a workout.  As I was writing this, Nikki Sidebottom from Republic National showed up with Piper Heidsieck’s very generous donation of nine cases of bubbly, which will be served as the reception wine at all the Friday night dinners.  She did not, however, bring a handtruck.  We got a workout.

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