cabernet sauvignon.

x - fact ~ there is always wine.

south eastern australia cabernet sauvignon 2006
paid 8.99
reg. @12

oy vey. what a crappy day.

you know those days when you look in the mirror and see aging relatives and lumpiness and how in the hell did i get *here* looking back at you? the list of everything you did wrong, not only today but EVER, follows you around like those numbers on the screen in a stock ad?

the days when you're only as young as you feel means you're back to being 12, your life sucks, everyone hates you, and you will ALWAYS HAVE A COWLICK.

the days when your forever designated driver says "oh, i wish you were happier" and you say "after 36 years, i'm used to it. and seriously, after all this time together, you should be too"

oy. vey. mais. oui.

it was so crappy that while food shopping today and standing in the wine aisle i just. couldn't. even. pick.

and standing in the wine aisle and NOT being able to pick ANY wine, well, it was like that weird crack in the atmosphere that superman has to go all backwards for! or, i was just suffering a mild stroke.

it was like when the midwife said after all those hours of NOT that i could finally PUSH and i tried and then i COULDN'T.

i took a couple of deep breaths and repeated my full name out loud for good measure. i was hungry and grumpy and crazy and out of breath in the wine aisle and that's when i saw it.

EVIL. only upside down and backwards. perfect.

instead of any long and drawn out description on the back that talked about subtle flavors or notes of lush ripe whatevers with a hint of this that and the other it just said

It's just wrong.

and i knew i had my wine.

truthfully, it wouldn't have really mattered. the day, oh hell, longer than that because isn't it seriously never. just. the. day? isn't it just the culmination of many days building? don't we work up to any of our crises? aren't they always lurking just waiting for the right time?

but i lucked out. a day that could have found me totally and happily settling with a box of wine and a straw found me, instead, at the end, with a truly delicious bounty.

though, at first sip it had a slight, but noticeable bracing. this can be a bad sign in a lesser wine. (though the bitch of that is who knows until much later?) a sign that things will not get better from here.

but, being a lover of wine and a loyal gal, even at the first misstep (especially so if i've already shelled out 8.99!) i will give a wine a chance.

sadly, as a younger gal i cut my teeth on this credo with the less fairer sex. more than a chance. anyone who has ever hung around all. night. long. in order to re-gain the favor of her by now several times over for more than a few weeks date away from his own cousin, and ultimately at 6am had to call it a night (CUE THE BANJOS!) and admit her defeat deserves a medal.

better yet a slap across the face. good lord who was that girl? and let's not ask her back!

and, that's not even the worst of the stories. /shudder. ah, so i am an understanding soul. a compassionate person and compassionate drinker. a complete ass when it came to the boys.

we can't all be perfect. ( i need something better than a sigh to interject here. alas.)

but, luckily, compassion or the need to be a complete ass to get someone's attention was not the theme for this evening in relation to this wine.

at the third sip the flavor became very deep and complex. and it became smooth, the level of smooth i really desire and crave in a wine came later than i generally prefer, but smooth nonetheless. it just needed a bit of warming in the glass and it was just delicious.

don't be fooled, anything can change with a bit of warming. especially so from human touch. even the locked in battle of the raving bitching lunatic-ing of a mother AND her un-yielding stubborn boybarian of a 7 year old son.

the united nations never had it so hard. brokering the relations of the parent and child is more than tricky work indeed with more than long reaching implications. but, fortunately, or not so, i don't know, brokering doesn't happen a lot in the parent child relationship.

really, you just do the best you can. you apologize when necessary. and when all else fails as it often does, a cup of hot chocolate, a back-rub, and a bedtime story works wonders. wonders.

that's what does it for me anyway. you'll have to ask my kid what he likes.

thus, tomorrow is always another day.

but, before tomorrow comes and the evening is on you after a sucky day that's the time for wine.

and while sometimes anything will do, it's an added bonus to have the job more than done in complete satisfaction.

this wine will kind of take you by the hand at first with a "bear with me" with the bracing and waiting for smooth, but seriously, will more than happily have you totally satiated and then all warm and lit up in both the stomach and the blood stream at the end.

good lord a peek at the 15% alc. by volume on the back of the label just might have something to do with it! whoowee!

(please don't repeat that whoowee! i am not proud. though, for reasons i can't explain, it sticks)

it's got that kind of really big flavor that i love. rich and bold. i'm not sure i'd eat while drinking this wine as the flavor really seems to just need to stand on its own.

this is a wine to drink and be happy to be drinking, or drink when you want a wine to take over and be the evening. i could definitely see sharing a bottle of this, but really, it's just as good sipping alone.

the mark of a good wine is when you DON'T want to share!

regardless, as long as you go past the first two or three sips, it will bring you joy.

so to all the mothers and the kids of the mothers and hell, to all of you. i wish you well. i wish you all understanding of the other.

i wish you sweetness of thought, understanding of the difficult, a halting of tongue, and a full opening of heart. always.

and, in the end, be it wine or whatever, i wish you what you need to give you respite from the crappy. be it brief, total, or life changing.

life is just too god damned short to wait till 6 am.

x.