Join us in the Lovers Corner with couples we admire this Valentine's season, starting with the Post Flirtation love birds themselves: Martha and her husband, Jon.
Firstly, can you introduce yourselves and tell us how long you’ve been together.
MES: Ciao tutti, I’m Martha, the owner and winemaker! :)
MES: Gosh, I measure time against vintages, let’s see, we started dating after harvest 2015. Google calendar tells me our First dateiversary is Nov 17, 2015. So over 9 years :)
JP: I’m Martha’s husband, and I like to imagine, muse.
MES: Uh, also you’re the guy who came up with the name Post Flirtation and drew those cute people on the label!
Can you tell us a sweet memory from your first date?
MES: Not the first, but 3rd date: We went to Jon’s work holiday party together, we were on such a high that even when the uber driver made a wrong turn up a freeway off-ramp and had to back down—normally scary—all we could do was crack up laughing.
What’s a favorite moment you’ve shared over a bottle of wine (and what the wine was, if you remember!)
JP: Prior to our first date, I invited Martha and a few friends over to my house for dinner. Martha brought over a bottle of 2010 COS Rami and we started crushing on each other while doing the dishes together. I had a premonition that the empty bottle might be significant so I put it on my shelf, just in case. It’s on our mantle all these years later.
Are there any meals (at home or out at a restaurant) you particularly enjoy sharing?
JP: In J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s massive Wok cookbook, he mentioned his favorite dish is Mapo Tofu, which I had never tried. It has a mix of ground beef, tofu, and szechuan peppercorns, which was instantly comforting. We’ve been eating it at least once a week for the past few months.
MES: I was going to say Mapo Tofu!
What ways do you integrate play in your everyday life?
MES: Our lives are so busy these days with raising a kid, me running the biz, and Jon working, that we feel like we have a lot less time for conversation than we used to, but it doesn’t mean we can’t be playful. Mostly it involves leaving something for the other person to discover, like when Jon folds my laundry…
JP: Because we have a son, we try to infuse play into most everything we do. Kids are much more likely to engage in play-based communication, so you’re better off making everything a game. Like having a special dance when the blender switch is toggled to high, making a “Ninja Turtle Smoothie” (ie: contains spinach) or counting down to a piggy-back rocket launch from the living room when it’s time for bed.FILL IN THE BLANK
A sunny weekend afternoon on the Russian River is the perfect occasion for a glass of wine.
We feel most playful when we’re: Flossing (MES: we’re old, Jon literally means the teeth cleaning). Time stops and you’re kind of between destinations, like a private airport terminal. It’s the perfect time for random conversations.
Our favorite thing to do together is: if you go to an AM yoga class together, you will win the weekend.
