Tuesday, May 13, 2008

red table wine.

CHEAP RED WINE
Vin Ordinaire Ltd.
CALIFORNIA

x-fact ~ this is another of those don't judge a bottle by its label deals.

red table wine california
paid 4.99
reg. @5

yes, you red that right. cheap red wine is the name of the wine. and yes, you read that right, i bought this for 4.99 on sale, and listed the regular price as @5. aren't those the same, you say. sure, but not really because it's anywhere from 4.50 to 5.50 depending on where you purchase it.

so, i've seen this wine for awhile now. another one of those "ironic" wine labels that made me just look away without even picking it up or checking the price.

cheap red wine stamped in stenciled lettering on a plain brown label, like a box marked for shipping. or a cheap grocery bag. frankly, it irritated me.

whatever, i said.

oh, and as an aside, i do talk to myself OUT LOUD in the wine aisle. i've come to terms with it.

and that whatever meant i've missed out all this time! all this time i could have been enjoying something so delicious! so smooth! so CHEAP!

this is a great wine for the price. even for a pricier price. and it took the forever designated driver bringing it home to me for me to try it.

"here's a cheap wine for your blog."

i waited until he left the room to roll my eyes.

oh, the eyerolling! i was so wrong! forgive me, cheap red wine. i will make it up to you. mainly by continuing to drink you. which really just benefits me. but...where was i?

this wine is smooth from first sip throughout. it's got a bit of the jam, but around the edges at first and then really rounds out and blooms on the tongue a few more sips in.

it's deep and rich. the kind of deep and rich you'd expect from a pricier wine. and it's not that heavy or cloying that you sometimes get in a cheaper wine to mask the well, cheap. and did i mention how smooth it is? i did? well, it is.

and you know how i do love a red table wine. and this is just the red table wine i'm talking about when i describe what i love about a red table wine.

straightforward good taste, drinkable, affordable.

i'd say unpretentious, but that would make me pretentious.

it's just damn good.

there's this thing about being snobby about wines. not with price even, just with the look of a bottle. when you've decided they're trying too hard to appeal. or not appeal, and that's the appeal.

so much lately in the marketing of wine are the twists on the names, the clever and snarky descriptions, the ironic labels.

and if you're gonna be weird about that you're gonna miss out. trust me.

it's like NOT trying the 1.00 hot dog at the little league snack shack because it's a 1.00 hot dog at the little league snack shack.

but one day, you're sitting out there on those cold metal bleachers for the umpteenth time that week, wondering where in the sam hell spring is for the umpteenth time that month until you can stand the cold and the hunger no longer.

you cobble together a buck in change and head to the snack shack. feeling foolish, knowing your disappointment before it comes, plunking down the change and rolling your eyes in your head because it would be rude to do so to the parent volunteer.

and then they put that puppy, oh sorry, dog, in your hands and you slather on the ketchup and mustard and take a bite and it's the best thing you've had in so long you can't remember enjoying a hot dog more.

the hot dog is hot and snaps when you bite into it, the bun is warm and a bit toasty on the top. the ketchup is sweet and the mustard bright yellow and tangy just the way it should be.

it's delicious and you hardly believe it when it's already gone. too soon! you wish there was more.

as you toss the napkins and that little white paper tray in the trash you think to yourself how satisfying that was. how damned good that hot dog was.

all for one dollar.

right there at the snack shack all along.

it really is a good idea to put aside what we think might be and see what actually is.

sure, not every dollar will bring a damned good hot dog, nor will every bottle of wine we pick up be something to blog home about.

BUT, life would not be living if we didn't find that out for ourselves.

(or have a fairy blogmother to tap us on the shoulder and tip us off)

bippity boppity boo!

x.




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