Then there was the time when Peter Mayle (the author of A Year in Provence) first did a reading here. We brought in some wine and cheese, of course, but I was a little nervous about serving our "vin ordinaire" to someone with Peter Mayle's reputation as a gourmand. It was a hot summer evening, and when I told Peter Mayle we had some wine and cheese, he allowed as how he'd love a sip or two of wine before he began his reading. I told him of our wine's dubious quality, but he replied "If it's cold and wet, it will be wonderful."

Later that night, over dinner at the Magnolia Grill (where it was confirmed that Peter Mayle was a food enthusiast, not a snob-"You must try some of this amazing appetizer! Waiter, can we have another order of this?"), Peter Mayle told a story of going to dinner in Paris with his French publisher, at one of the top restaurants in the city. Looking to impress, the publisher ordered a $200.00 bottle of wine. But upon tasting it, he sent it back, saying something was not right with it. The publisher proceeded to do the same thing with six straight bottles of this wine, finally accepting the seventh bottle. My mouth wide open, I asked "And what was the seventh bottle like?" "Very much like the first six, I expect," Peter Mayle replied.