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Today is Father’s Day and I thought it would be a great opportunity to pay homage to some of the men who are or were father’s, whom I have really respected and loved, and have made such an impression that they have impacted my life.President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day in 1966. It was six years later, in 1972, when President Nixon made the day a permanent national holiday by signing it into law.I thought it would be fun to share a little of my life with you, of course let us not forget this show is all about wine. I put a great deal of thought into these men who have been important to me and thought about what wines that I have enjoyed recently that reminded me of these special men on Father’s Day.First I’ll talk about my dad, his name is Frederick. My dad grew up in a very poor family in Upstate New York, which is also where I grew up. My Dad’s life growing up was not easy, he is a survivor who has had to scrap for everything in life, but my dad was a dreamer. My dad went after his dreams and fought as hard as he could to live and achieve all that he could dream. For my Dad I raise my glass and toast him with a great Syrah from Walla Walla in Washington State from Reynvann Vineyards. For this toast I chose their Syrah “The Contender”, they make three great Syrah’s but this one that I think is one of the finest varietal examples seemed appropriate for my Dad.My Father-in-law, Paul Wright who was one of the toughest men I have known, and not due to his physical strength. He was tough enough to be a great man. Paul a recipient of the Purple Heart from the Korean War was hospitalized for nearly one year having been shot in the war, but he survived. Paul was a Nuclear Engineer, the father of five children, foster father to over 2,000 children who needed emergency short term(Ha Ha) care. These kids were raised alongside his own children wearing the same clothing, taking the same music lessons, and playing the same sports. My Father-in-law just lost a long and hard fought battle to Pancreatic Cancer, he seemed to even beat that though, he lived nearly two years after diagnosis. I raise a glass of Pinot Noir from Balletto Vineyards and Winery in the Russian River Valley. This is a great Pinot Noir that expresses true and real terroir at the hands of winemaker Anthony Beckman, that is what my father-in-law was true, real, and an example of something to model oneself after.My Grandfather on my mother’s side, Alfred Gates, was a survivor of World War II. He spent his time in the war on destroyer escorts, the support team for the big battleships. His boat survived the war and all the unbelievable storms at sea. This man taught me self respect, how to treat others, how to be a leader of a family. Al was loved by everyone who ever met him, and he enjoyed everyone he met. He is a person I miss a lot and think about from time to time even though he has been gone for over thirty years. I’m grateful for this man who always had a twinkle in his eye, for him I toast him with no other than a great sparkling wine, Gruet Brut Rose.Last but not least by any means, my Grandfather Tornatore from Sicily. My Grandfather came to this country with nothing through Ellis Island in New York. He eventually settled in a tiny place in Upstate New York named Mexico, New York. This man was a bull of a man, as wide as he was short, he was a pheasant who worked in a steel foundry and raised everything on his land to feed his family. I am forever grateful to this man for instilling my love and passion of wine, my grandfather also loved wine. As powerful a man as he was, his hand for the vine was gentle. He was a master of grafting fruit trees and grapevines, I followed him and learned a love of the land, a love of the vine, and he instilled his amazing passion for the wine to me. For this I’m eternally grateful, to him I raise a glass of Boroli Quattro FratelliThe wines reviewed today all receive the WineGuyMike™ Seal of Approval™From my table to yours,Social Media links;YouTube; My YouTube channel of course is WineGuyMike™ or the actual URL link: http://www.youtube.com/user/WineGuyMike?feature=mhumFacebook; WineGuyMike please “like”Twitter; @WineGuyMike please follow me