Silver grapes

Today I finished reorganizing the wine cellar and updating the cellar inventory. But instead of crashing early, after a day of lugging cases of wine around, I stayed up late, reading. I just got the first of a series of mysteries set on a vineyard and winery in Virginia. It grabbed me, and I couldn't put it down. And as I read, I thought about our own wine collection, and the years Dave spent making wine, and that led to my favorite silver flatware pattern. My thoughts don't always travel in a straight line...

The pattern is called Vintage Grape, and was introduced in 1904 by 1847 Roger Bros. With my love of wine, collecting wine, wine tasting, wine anything... it's perfect for me. I found my first piece at a garage sale years ago, and never visit an antique store without looking for more. There are other silver patterns that have grapes in their design, and a few pieces have found their way into my collection. But Vintage is by far my favorite.

(excerpt from The Merlot Murders, copyright Ellen Crosby, all rights reserved)