A week or so ago Kim & I were in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for our usual May romp at the beach. I love the slower, empty pace of the beach during the off-season and the weather is usually ripe enough for poking around on the beach and paddling (unless of course when we bring in the hurricane like weather for their annual sidewalk sale – there are indeed merchants who cringe when they hear we are coming and start bringing out the rain gear). On this trip we had an extra special splurge and got to bask in fine food and California wines. A super prelude to our planned fall trip to California wine country I might add!

I subscribe to the ‘buy experiences, not things’ philosophy that Nina recently wrote about. That has been my motto for at least the last decade. If it wasn’t I would certainly Wine Tasting Rehoboth Beachbe in a bigger house by now. However, I have gotten intensely protective of my budget for vacation, travel, and experiences and it eclipses my desire to simply move up to a bigger mortgage (although I suspect that will happen when the time and locale is just right). That’s why choosing a night full of a six course meal complete with personalized service from a member of the winemaking family was a ‘no-brainer’ splurge. The best part of this whole experience was it was an unexpected surprise.

We have always been a fan of tasting menus that are paired with different wines. As a two person household it just isn’t feasible to open say 3-6 bottles of wine at home to pair our meals, at least not as a habit. With no real wine enthusiast friends it can get lonely too. We have also said for years that we would like to attend one of those winemaker dinners where people wax poetic about the intimate details of the food and wine. That’s why we were totally shocked and jazzed when we went to one of our favorite Rehoboth Beach restaurants, Espuma for dinner and found out they were having a special six course winemaker dinner. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

The menu consisted of six courses of Jay Caputo’s (chef/owner) outrageously good food paired with wines from Truchard Vineyards. The food at Espuma is simply divine and a cut above. The right mix of conscious creation, flair, and a staff that treats you right. With a fine wine list and uber creative mixes from the bar we just pounce at the chance to eat here every trip. And the martinis keep me coming back to the bar even on days we dine at some of our other faves.

Because this evening was a special event featuring the tasting menu and Truchard wines, we enjoyed Anthony Truchard II as our wine tour guide. It was an utter blast to have him join us at our table at the start of each course to talk about the wine and answer our questions. Of course being the wine geek and ever curious person that I am, I was never at a shortage for questions! As a small, family owned winery in the Carneros region, they are committed to creating high quality wines that are really true to the varietals they produce. All I can say is we were in heaven tasting wines that are hard to come by (in Pennsylvania’s antiquated, lack of free commerce wine dictatorship) where we live. With great complexity and food friendliness the wine made the food shine more and the food enhanced the wine. It was one of those culinary evenings of perfection that make me more than eager to blow the dining budget with absolutely zero regret.

So, other than my long-winded explanation of a great evening of food and wine, what’s my point? Splurging is a good thing. While I (and others at Queercents) write at great length about how to make the most of your savings, investments, and debt-free strategies, at the end of the day money is just a means to an end. My philosophy is to maximize enjoyment of life by buying experiences like these without upending the bigger financial picture. Every now and then you just need to savor the splurge…