Well, it’s been an interesting 48 hours here in Houston. Most people not in mandatory evacuation zones stayed and braced for Hurricane Ike. And speaking as someone who has weathered a number of hurricanes and tropical storms in her life, I can say that this one was a whopper.

After it was all over, many of us lucky enough not to have bigger problems face days or even weeks (“surely not,” we keep muttering) of power outages and the resultant ruin of freezers full of goodies. This has translated into some fairly odd impromptu block parties, with charcoal grills and carefully lit gas stoves cooking up all manner of beasts, fish and fowl. I’ve had invitations for generator-cooked gumbo, grilled venison chops and quail (hey, this is Texas), and steaks galore.

And of course, there’s alcohol. Cocktails-a-plenty and oodles of wine.

Last night, after a few hours of hacksawing, dragging and piling a yard full of tree limbs, I gratefully tucked into a neighbor’s mixed grill, plucking a choice New York strip from among the offerings, and plopping myself down on the porch in the path of a generator-powered oscillating fan.

I had brought an assortment of wines to the festivities and chose to let the soothing powers of the Robert Craig 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder ($70) do their thing. Honestly, if there’s a better time to treat yourself to a deliciously pricey wine, I don’t know what it would be. Besides, I believe Mr. Craig is a Texas native, so it seemed appropriate…

This wine offers loads of cedar and cigar box accents to the super-concentrated blackberry and plum fruit. Just a baby now, it still packs a wallop of a long, intense finish. Should age beautifully for at least ten years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

And we all raised grateful glasses and took a moment to remember those who had a much worse time of it with this hurricane, to the memory of a longtime and much-loved local restaurant, Brennan’s of Houston, that burned down during the storm, and to the speedy return of electricity for all.