the fifth food group

shiraz.

2010-01-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

x-fact ~ 'corked' wine is wine that has been tainted by a particular chemical compound thought to be infesting the cork. in short it is terrible tasting and considered undrinkable by most people. and by 'most' apparently i don't mean 'me.'

paid 6.99
reg. @9

all right. so i had this wine some years ago. and it.was.awful. truly terrible. it tasted like badly roasted meat and horseshit. it was actually surprising how horrifying it was. i kept drinking it thinking it would get better and it never did. boy that was a chore to choke back. like work almost. my life, so hard.

anyhow, when i first realized how awful it was i said to the forever designated driver 'this tastes like badly roasted meat. and horseshit! like it was made in a stall!'

so i checked the back of the bottle and sure enough the vineyard was on land that used to be used to raise championship horses! ah ha! i should have known by the horse on the label something was up. BUT in my defense i like to believe that the label was different a few years ago. and besides, a horse on the label shouldn't mean it's going to taste like horseshit. (yes, i'm trying to see how many times i can work the word 'horseshit' in. is it even one word? in my world it is.) then i continued to read and it said it had a 'palate bursting with cherry, and blah, and blah, and SMOKED MEAT FLAVORS!' ah HA! and BLEH!

anyhow, so...so i drank it. and like i said, it did not get better. and it simply did not occur to me to A) STOP DRINKING IT. right? or B) that it was 100% totally certifiably CORKED. even with all i know apparently common sense isn't as common around here as it once was.

even so, while those 'flavors' were meant to be in there, i maintain there is simply NO WAY it was meant to be as bad as it was. even with my unrefined palate.

so. flash forward to a few weeks ago it was at the store and on sale and i said what the hell. let's give this sucker another try.

and you know what, i am so very glad i did. i mean i didn't drink it and start bursting into song or anything, but it's a good solid wine for the price.

it's got a subtle but clinging plum taste, and less so i can taste a little ripe berry. just a hint. certainly not juicy, but 'juicy adjacent' for sure. even as dry as it is, mostly it's pretty rich. hearty even. not heavily so, just noticeably so.

why you even read this i do not know. i clearly do not know what i'm talking about. sip. sip.

i know what i like, though, and speaking of juicy...the juicy, dripping legs down the glass coupled with the beautiful jewel tone and it's definitely a nice looking pour worthy of the table and glass sitting upon it. and not a hint of a horse pasture to be found. ahh.

this is a biggish sort of wine. bold. not for pairing with some dainty dish. well, unless you're into that sort of thing. i would like to serve this wine with the beef and mushroom stew i'm making later in the week. along with rustic bread and a simply dressed salad. perfect.

or better yet with a pakistani curry, the wine cutting perfectly through the spice and further complementing the flavors as they linger and mingle on the tongue. delicious.

tonight it's just me, long after dinner, in front of the computer at my perennially messy desk. even without benefit of a meal or proper aesthetics it's a fine choice this evening given the theme of second chances.

9 years ago tonight i began labor with my second child. a child by all rights anyone could understand me not wanting to have, let alone deliberately choosing to conceive. giving birth to my first child nearly killed me. well, there's some debate about the 'nearly.' as i could tell you story of me hanging out on the ceiling, floating really, watching the festivities below and making the conscious decision to come back down to earth. to give it a second chance. WANTING that second chance so badly i fought to get back down. it was a scary time complete with a debilitating and slow recovery.

then on top of that i got a taurus boy baby. oy.

but, i did give the whole baby having thing another chance. took the leap. and after 24 hours of labor, and only nearly 'nearly' dying the second time, i gave birth to one of the most awesome people this world has ever seen. and as i sit here i am basking in the beauty of choices, second chances, and my pair of awesome children.

so yea! to the second chance!

and while i sip this wine i'm imagining other possibilities. more possibilities of the gastric nature. the wild mushroom bourguignon i make only once a year and only during the height of mushroom season would be perfect with this. the toothy bite of the mushrooms and pasta enrobed in an earthy yet luxurious sauce would be a perfect partner with the boldness of this wine. or the pate de compagne i really have been dying to make and have not yet found the 'excuse' to. of course served with cornichons, mustard, a good bread, and this wine.

or a good friend, two glasses, and this wine. which to me IS the perfect 'meal.' the possibilities are endless. mais oui.

the second chance gives you so much more than the first. the opportunity to drop judgment and go forward with an open mind. the possibility of discovery, for the better. to put adventure in the place of fear. paving the way to finding out what you missed, what you didn't, and with either the chance to tie up any loose ends should you need to. in some cases, untying them.

the second chance is the do-over. the answer to the what-if. it's the end of the movie only this time you know what happens after he walked away. or ran. or she did. or, you did.

and isn't it so much more interesting to *really* see what's gonna happen? and then it does! and sometimes, a LOT of times, it's a whole lot more fun than the first time around.

the only thing that happened the first time i drank this wine is i got a headache.

this time around i'm happily sipping and planning future dates involving lots of good food and a few bottles of this wine. and hopefully more than a few good friends.

i'd like to believe we were all meant to be a little more forgiving and a lot more adventurous than we usually settle ourselves to be. that second chances can be the norm, and that we don't need to wait for them to open our hearts. to dissolve judgment. to make the leap.

that's what i'd like to believe, anyway.

be blessed.

x.

boone's.

2009-11-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

BOONE'S FARM STRAWBERRY HILL
Flavored Citrus Wine
Modesto, Ca

x-fact ~ oh come on. don't act so surprised. it's not like you didn't see this one coming.

paid then; 98c
paid now; 3.49

what can you write about love? what can you say that hasn't already been said and spin it anew? a girl and her drink. often a cautionary tale, but in this case just a love story.

boone's farm strawberry hill was cheap and sweet when i didn't have the finances or palate to know any better. thank god, right? because as far as cheap and sweet go this particular 'wine' had staying power. thus here sits the girl on a relatively normal tuesday evening, a little older, a little softer, and so much wiser than she has a right to be considering the shit she still pulls. drinking boone's strawberry hill and enjoying every single sip. perhaps it's the carbonation paired with the sweet paired with the nostalgia, but i might go so far as to say this is a pretty darned balanced flavor.

and holy mama! the carbonation paired with the sugar content puts the boone's right in the driver's seat at the first few sips. the breath lets out, the shoulders let down, and the corners of the mouth go up. nice.

now, i can't say for certain because i only had the two or so odd and illegal sips of cold duck so long ago it's maybe just a figment of my imagination, but i think i can reasonably compare the two. for those of you who haven't ever had boone's strawberry hill and need a touchstone. though the boone's is better than pink champagne, they are definitely similar. you know, if i'm remembering correctly. always a dicey proposition. and i know, that's not exactly a ringing endorsement, the brain addled encouraging drinking something that may or may not taste like a champagne that should have never been served even once. but, it's what i got.

boone's is definitely sweet, but not sticky. okay, it's a little sticky, more so if not drunk ice cold. but if it's cold it's really not cloying, with just the right amount of fizz cutting through. at least not if you're one who can appreciate a sweeter drink. i'd add in something like a floral undertone or something like that, but let's face it. it's boone's. it is what it is. and that's enough.

think of a summertime cocktail. like a pink lemonade and vodka, or a royal blush. something one might call a girl-drink-drunk. only easier. the drink, not the girl. stick a straw in the bottle and call it good.

let's be honest, i'm old enough to know there is no 'right' time to drink anything called a 'flavored citrus wine.' i'm also not too old to know that there is no 'wrong' time to, either.

good for the hotter weather, obviously. BBQs, picnics, hanging out by the river with your ne'er do well friends. even the more respectable ones. a kegger before your 20th high school reunion, swigging from the same bottle your new old friends are swigging from, too. all the better if you can swipe a bottle on your way out the door for later. good times.

of all the memories i have of boone's strawberry hill the one that stands out most is the college boyfriend i drank it with. though i remember him being a bit more 'accomplished' at the task than myself, it was a shared love. along with beat poetry and being together. boy, was he cute and i was a goner. he was already ahead of the game by saving me from a disastrous affair with my boss from the burger joint, but the piercing eyes and whole 'dark soul' thing didn't hurt either. i fell about as hard as a girl can fall.

of course when you're newly 18 everything is 'forever' until the fucker dumps you and you end up on the rebound for about a minute with a boy far prettier than you are. always sucks when the boys are prettier than you are.

ahh, but isn't everything meant to be broken? and in the end a good story is better than nothing.

the beauty of life is that time passes. which is a good thing. and some things remain the same. which is an even better thing.

the bottle i bought at target the other day, along with the laundry soap and band aids and socks for the eight year old boy who calls me mama, tastes just exactly the same as it did when i was younger and drinking it in parks and back seats and while wishing on shooting stars with an 18 year old boy who called me by a name nobody else knows and who i thought i would always love.

and when you wake up some days and look in the mirror and still feel 17 inside but everything external screams OTHERWISE! it's nice to know you can just slide a bit into the past. a little run away to when things were not 'easier,' just different. because you didn't know better. and things really could last 'forever.' which, as it turns out, can be about 2 1/2 months long.

hey, despite all that this is a good bottle. for whenever. just because. it's not everybody's taste, sure, but i'm almost certain there's a bottle of something out there that falls into this same category for you. your taste.

and i say the next time you're at the store pick it up. this bottle, another boone's flavor (if you must. but this in the *only* one for me), or the bottle you remember. not to be ironic or hip or anything more than to take a swig and get swept off your feet by a bit of the past.

even just for minute, to remember that boy or that girl or that time in your life. a different time than now. not better, just different. because it happened, however long ago, and it got woven somewhere in your soul. it sits somewhere in your heart or orbiting some atmosphere in your person. maybe just to say hi to your younger self and bring the story up to date.

because as kerouac once said, things don't tire of going and coming.

indeed.

sip sip.

x.

cabernet-shiraz.

2009-09-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

x-fact ~ "oak aged" just means wine that's stored for a particular amount of time with some amount of oak. this could be in the form of storing it in an oak barrel, or by adding oak chips during the fermentation process if the wine is stored in something other than oak. this process affects the color, flavor, and texture of the wine.

paid gift!
reg @13

because we almost lost our house and then we didn't, my father in law brought this wine to me. so this is a celebration. a celebration of the house and of the return of the wine blog. and the wine is EXCELLENT. whew, right?

first off it's a terribly presentable bottle. often times i find that the bigger the bottle (this was a 1.5 l bottle) the less i appreciate the appearance. thrifty in price for the size seems to spill over to the design. but this is a nice clean label, good lines, great graphics, and the foil at the top is the absolute best kind of blue. i once had a old BMW the exact color blue. cirrus it was called. i miss that car.

and who doesn't love a black sheep. always the life of the party, a seminal crowd pleaser. even if you are one of those who pretend to be offended. especially you. you love a black sheep. you just won't admit it.

so at first sip i didn't care for this wine at all. there. i said it. too much of that fetid fruit taste going all unformed and wonky on my tongue. same with the second sip. hmmm. but i am nothing if not a "patient" drinker so i pressed on.

by the fourth sip though it's tuesday i'm in love. oh my goodness this is goodness. smooth and jammy and juicy. all bursting on the tongue and begging to be drunk. the wine i mean. well, okay, and the girl.

it's a sexy pour too. a vixen if you will. all legs and sassy in the glass. and bear with the big official winewords here, but there is just the little smack at the back of your tongue of the ripest, juiciest black cherry you've ever eaten. it's just a smack, though. a love pat. not overpowering, and sweet, but certainly not overly sweet. in fact, it's quite dry for all the juiciness. god that makes sense somewhere. it makes sense here. tonight. with this wine in my glass. sip sip.

so i discovered after the first glass that this wine really needs a bigger glass. it's just too pretty and smells too good to be all cooped up. like a girl who needs room to groove, all hips and lips with her own back beat, so does this wine. so i abandoned my everyday glass and went for the big guns. the fancy glasses hidden in full display under glass. all lighted and pretty and begging to be used. i am so glad i did.

i needed to give it a minute to breathe in the bigger glass, a swirl, some time to warm in the hand. but when it had a chance to primp and preen it was perfect. that black cherry just hit my nose in the best way, bigger and juicier than before, but still a bit dry. still a bit mellow. and it just set the stage for the sip. which is big, but it isn't heavy. not in the least. like i said, mellow.

a perfect date wine if you ask me. all the best without the heft. though i'm sure the big ass bottle might seem a bit "presumptuous." but i'm certain with enough sips and the right company that would cease to be so.

and what i love about a wine like this is that it can go anywhere. a perfectly set table with a perfectly coordinated meal and the perfect balance of guests penciled in on the perfect seating chart. from the asiago stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto accompanied by the wilted greens with a warm sherry vinaigrette to start, to the flatiron steaks with creamy juniper sauce and hash browns to continue, to who needs desert after all that and with such a wonderful wine?

okay, something rich and decadent and gooey if you must. chocolate. or a warm caramel over a white whipped or melting concoction of some sort. or just a plate of cheese, some grapes, a knife. serve 'em if you got 'em. you won't need it, but why not gild the lily, right?

and hey, who says you might not need a little after after midnight snack for two, huh? providing one of the perfect guests decides to stay on a bit. a bit of forgotten, uneaten desert would be just the thing. hold the forks.

or if not a perfect dinner for many how about a hot tub for two on the edge of the pacific ocean? with only the cypress and the stars for sustenance. or for that matter, a tent in the middle of nowhere with just a fire and the person you love best in the world for company. and that's when you'll be thankful for the big bottle. what with the hot tub or the campfire relaxing muscles and stress you didn't even know you had? well, who wants to get up?

that's what i just adore and appreciate the most about a good wine. you do what you want with it and it just goes along. and like i always say, good wine need not be expensive, it just needs to be good.

and i love how indifferent this wine is in its charms. it just sneaks up on you until all of a sudden you realize how much you love it. how you are promising to buy it again. planning dinner parties that will revolve around it. stocking up for the fall and winter holidays and all their attendant parties.

it's just too charming and too drinkable and too reasonably priced to leave it for too long without drinking, and more importantly, sharing. well, when you're ready to that is.

this wine is like falling in love with the boy and getting to spend as much time as you want doing just that. then getting to introduce him around to everyone you know. and then you just sit back and accept the knowing smiles, the winks, the open jealousy and outright hostility disguised as happiness for you by those who only wished they had found him first. yeah.

wait, where was i? oh, yeah. i really think you'll like this wine.

delicious, sexy, accommodating? a wanton luxury that's easily acquired? well, shit. what in the hell are you waiting for?

really, in these economic times, or any times for that matter, could you ask for anything more?

don't answer that. just try this wine and be happy you did.

tendres baisers!

x.

white zinfandel.

2009-05-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

OAK LEAF VINEYARDS
White Zinfandel
California

x-fact~ please do not let the fact that this is a white zinfandel fool you. really, i know you're scared. so was i. but it's going to be okay. oh, and you can only get it at wal-mart. okay, okay, simmer down now, i told you it would be okay. trust me? of course you do.

paid; gift!
reg. 2.97

when i was a younger lass and unequipped with the basics, like a legal drinking age, much money, or any taste, white zinfandel was the classy wine. no foolin' this was it. oh sure, this was right about the time of the boone's. but let's face it, the boone's was just for the "every day," your out in the middle of the country parties, your surreptitious drinking in the park. the white zinfandel was for the special times.

and judging from historical pictorial evidence, i cannot for the life of me figure out what possessed me to think that the wearing of sunglasses and hawaiian skirts and drinking with a bunch of sweaty guys screamed special times, but apparently, judging from the bottle in my hand, it did.

so, as love affairs often do, my love affair with white zinfandel only lasted so long. as i aged so did my taste buds. and for the better. and while i thought fondly of my special times with the white zin, boy was i happy never to have to drink it again!

until now.

now. it was easter of this year, and this bottle was brought into my home. i did not seek this bottle out. and i had no wish to drink it. rather, i stuck it in the fridge and figured, at some distant point, i'd get a taker.

well, take one long rough day a few weeks later that finished in a early spring, warmish, evening and that taker ended up being me.

shocking. really.

may i say i love this wine? may i say this wine is not the white zin of my youth? if it's a white zin at all? this wine is more like a rose'. a delicate, dainty rose', and it's delicious.

it pours out into the prettiest pale pink color. and if you have it chilled just right, it's crisp and clean and sweet right away. but not too sweet, and just *the* right amount of crisp. but it has to be chilled right. i know this because i do extensive research on these things exclusively for your benefit. extensive.

and when i said it's delicate i mean that it's got just the flirtiest hint of floral undertones. and you know i don't use the word "floral." ever. so you're just gonna have to trust me on this one.

and even though this is all sounding precious and pearls, like i've just told you my colors are blush and bashful, please do not be mistaken.

oh, certainly, this would be a perfect before or during wine for that sunday brunch, spring luncheon, baby or wedding shower. perfect.

but i don't think this wine would like to be limited to the table. because i think deep down, underneath all the pink and the delicate, is a good ol' porch wine. meant to be pulled from the bucket of ice (not to be mistaken for an ice bucket, but literally a bucket filled with ice and a few bottles of this wine), pulled and then poured into a jelly jar and drunk on your front porch while you watch the afternoon go by.

the rocking chair and creaky screen door are optional.

all right, so yeah, if you serve this at the brunch, the lunch, or the shower, of course it would pair beautifully with any number of canapes, appetizers, or small flavorful bites. just be sure to be deferential to the individual flavors, keeping things simple, clean, true. don't try to get too fancy with the food of spring. it's got its own fabulousness that only needs a light hand and the chance to shine in its own glory. and darlings, you do know that presentation is everything. right? okay. good.

but what does a girl eat when she's decided to wile away the afternoon, sittin' on the porch, drinking from a jelly jar?

whatever the hell she wants. and who in the hell really cares?

because really, when you've decided to give the day over, i think the rest of it works itself out. quite beautifully in fact.

from my own porch i see the lilacs bursting forth, putting on their annual show. one of the best in the business. blink and you'll miss it. blink and they are already turning brown. the show that we bought the accompanying house for just to be sure we had front row seats for the rest of eternity.

i see the last of the pie cherry in all its fading glory, still holding its own against the lilacs. the apple blossoms are readying themselves, getting all primped backstage, waiting for their curtain call.

and the tulips are just doing what the tulips do best. brazenly turning themselves face up and seeking to soak in as much of the sun and sky and air as they can take.

what more could you ask for? well, maybe a sweetie to share the wine and the afternoon with? someone else who could really care as less as you do for what the food plan may be?

this wine is flirty and it's fun. the perfect color of a blushing cheek, bringing to mind those days before. days that afforded an afternoon spent on a front porch with a sweetie, without any sense of the passage of time, without even having to carve it out. without having to ask.

this wine makes a girl want to hike up her skirt a little more and soak up a little sun of her own. and sitting on her own porch she can do just that, and whatever else she wants.

and at 2.97 a bottle (and no, that's not a mistype. crazy, huh?) this wine can do all of the above, the fancy themed parties or the day on the porch, for the best price a girl could ask for. seriously, this is a stock up price for the season. and that's not the sale price either.

buy a bunch for the party and steam off the labels and add your own. a picture of you and your sweetie and your wedding date. a baby's footprint and due date. a beautiful picture of your yard for your spring/summer garden luncheon. or don't. the color is so pretty that just the naked bottles on the table or ice bucket or bucket of ice would be striking, too.

whatever you do, the effort you make, or don't, will be richly rewarded with a glass or two of this wine.

i know times are tough, and getting tougher all the time. all the better reason to purchase some cheap, yet delicious, wine and gather people together. or even just that one special one. even if that one special one is you.

me? the first possible afternoon i have i'm going to gather my own sweetie, the galvanized bucket from the shed (i'll give it a good rinse out), some ice, and a few bottles of this wine.

and we're going to sit on the porch here at the big red house and drink this wine from our wedding jelly jars and count our blessings. and i cannot imagine, as the afternoon fades away and the early evening comes on slowly, that we will possibly run out of blessings to count.

go ahead. pour your own glass and count your own blessings.

celebrate your one beautiful life.

x.

shiraz grenache.

2009-03-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

x-fact ~ the razor's edge is defined as "a difficult or precarious position."

shiraz grenache mclaren vale australia 2006
paid gift!
reg. @11.99

for some time now, "economic downturn" has been at some times a four letter word and at all times a very real and very pressing concern around these parts. so imagine my delight and surprise at being gifted such a nice bottle! and right when i was hoping to get back to the wine blog, too!

with not much more than my wal-mart special (please don't ask. it's good. really. for $2.97 it's good. it's no two buck chuck, sure. but, really, let's speak of happier things right now.) i didn't feel i had much to offer you other than a depression V2.0 special. which is all fine and good. but i'm glad to make it back with something a bit livelier. thank you jane!

so the bottle isn't anything i'd ever pick up. all that gray and red nonsense reminds me of someone who is trying too hard. and two decades too late to boot.

but the magical words shiraz and grenache were on the label with a big ol' bow from the giver and a tag that boasted 91 points from Wine Spectator. (psst. that's good.)

first off it's a great color. deep. and sexy like the great nail polishes you find once before they discontinue the color.

i took a sip and it was smooth right away. admittedly there was a little "ting" at the back of the throat. not metallic, really, but close to it. i can't really put my finger on it, but it lasted about 3 or 4 sips in then went away.

in the meantime the rest of it right away was just mouthfuls of jammy and belly warming fabulousness. and it clings to the glass like a pro.

it's been some time since i've had a real sassy, full bodied, take charge kinda wine. it's so different to have a whole body reaction to a wine. your mouth is filled, your belly warmed, your extremities get the initial tingling then the all over relaxation.

it's not unlike a perfect kiss. but then again you know my love for the grenache. a date in a bottle, baby! and this bottle promises to NOT be an exception to that proclamation. furthermore, good lord but this girl could use a date in a bottle right about now!

this wine stays smooth. getting ever so more jammy with little fruit bursts here and there. juicy, and yet there's a bit of the brisk to it. right on the top. marrying with the jammy, and keeping it from going full boar into too much. you know, when your good heavy jammy wine gets that bottom of the fruit bowl taste after awhile? no? maybe it's just me.

rest assured, this wine won't do that. even if you didn't know it did it in the first place. wait? where was i? and how many times can i really use the word "jammy?"

oh, yeah, anyhow, what i really loved was how the flavors just continued to develop and even gain some complexity as i drank on. in fact, i started out with our "new" drinkaday wine glasses when i first poured this. you know the kind. the short little ones they have in your middle of the road italian joints. they aren't new, but newish. i got them a few months ago when all the "good" glasses kept getting broken (by me) and couldn't get fully clean because they don't really go in the dishwasher and they are so thin they scare me when i hand wash them.

i eliminate this issue in the summer by just putting out jelly jars for our gatherings, but the winter holidays dictate something "fancier" and we couldn't afford to replace the pricier glasses.

but, i digress.

can i say about the drinkaday glasses that i LOVE them! i do! the perfect glass in terms of size and care. each pour is just enough. and when you're on a budget and sharing your wine it's good to portion it out to make the bottle stretch. and these glasses do just that.

sigh. i did just write that? my wine soaked muses are turning over in their barrels.

anyhow, i was drinking from one of those glasses at first and then i realized i couldn't get the full scope of the smell or bouquet (fancy, right!) of this wine. which i didn't really take notice of at first. but as i continued it became more pronounced.

so i got out a "good" glass. big enough to really get my nose in there before i took a sip. and it just turned the whole thing up.

full bodied and fruity with none of the overpowering alcohol notes you sometimes get. just a really good whiff or, you know, bouquet.

this wine makes me happy. sure, yeah, the nearly 15% alcohol by volume of the wine has something to do with it, but it's more. a touch of the fabulous when things, by necessity, feel as though they have become routine and required and regimented due to forces outside of your control.

like eating an amazing meal out, wearing kick ass heels, checking into a hotel and only having to pick up the phone for anything you want at top notch personalized service. there is just something to be said for quality. finesse. attention to detail. sexiness.

or, being able to get exactly what you want at the grocery, not having to decide which utility to pay and which to ignore, negotiating which kid possesses the most pressing need for this that and the other and which can make do with the existing, hand me downs, and cast offs. there's something to be said for making every day decisions without stress and fear of mis-utilizing meager resources.

lately, it's been my reality to default to the ultra and then some practical part of my self. though i am generally a practical gal anyway. that hasn't changed. my ability to purchase my way out of practicality, even for an evening, has gone away.

but along with my practical, i maintain my creative. my kids will always have what they need. we will always be warm, we will always eat. further, a fine meal can be made on any budget. one must only have a bit of skill at the grocery store and the stove.

"not poor, resourceful" as my mother would say.

but the incidentals, the "extras" if you will, good wine being chief among them, hell WINE IN GENERAL, are the first to be slashed when the budget goes south and then just stops all together.

i am the queen of liking wines of all budgets. even the non existent ones. but while inexpensive, those wines do come at the expense of a great deal that a wine can potentially offer.

you don't get the same wine at $2.97 that you do at other price points. not the kind that really involves all of the senses and transports you to another place and time, real, imagined, or otherwise.

the kind that engages your body and soul and gives just enough to help you to remember it hasn't always been like this. that life was a different life at one point. even as you have chosen this life, there was another. like the kind of wine that leaves you imagining sitting across the table from someone you love sharing a bottle and an afternoon. a wine that makes you want to share it. glass by glass you are giving a gift of deliciousness and time.

that kind of wine can't be had for $2.97.

and i have to say the one thing about our personal "economic downturn,"okay, well, shit, there have been so many! but apropos of our conversation here, one of the more particular and beautiful lessons i have been left with through this whole "economic downturn" here at the big red house is that i wouldn't need to concoct fictitious lovers or imaginary friends to share this bottle with.

that there are many i could call to my table. and they exist. with their open arms and their open hearts. that i have a partner in this, i have my kids, i have so much.

that even as so much falls away, and will likely be taken away in the near future, that the love i share with so many will not.

i knew this, and then again i needed the lesson, too. a little shake up to the soul.

that's what i love about good wine. this wine. a little engaging of all the senses, some reflection, a letting go enough to let the sap flow and run free.

in vino veritas, right?

oh indeed.

i would drink this wine with a lovely and simple, but well thought out meal. sumptuous, yet not too heavy. a bit rambling even, with breaks for sipping and visiting.

a bite here and a nibble there and they all add up eventually. a late afternoon lunch on the perfect spring day. a little chilly towards the wane of the afternoon because the sun is not yet accustomed to our neediness and the demands of a change of seasons. perfect for pulling on a sweater and sitting a bit closer. maybe a fire outside later to chase the chill. giving an equally perfect excuse to open another bottle and visit longer.

what reminds you of spring? what do you eat when the weather is teasing us all with the promise of brighter sunnier days ahead?

this wine is bringing to mind the promise of brighter sunnier days ahead for me. even as the frigid temperatures outside and the rocky financial road i am on suggest otherwise.

the thing is about food, and wine too!, is that those brighter sunnier days are always attainable. sure, we can't create the menu and meal of our dreams each night, nor can we indulge in wine we can't afford each night, either.

but for a moment, a few moments strung together, we can indulge even in lean times. a table of food made with love, a bottle of wine, friends and loved ones gathered. perfection comes so simply if we just adjust our ideas of what it can be.

even more special if we can get those first california strawberries, a bunch of asparagus, some spring lamb, a few meyer lemons to juice for a tart.

a bottle of this excellent wine and an afternoon.

and indulging, even as we decidedly have positive proof that we simply cannot afford to, can be done and can make all the difference in the world. perception and optimism are everything when you are faced with very little.

the dictionary defines the razor's edge as "a difficult or precarious position."

the back label on this bottle defines the razor's edge as "the thin line representing a perfect balance between extremes."

well, i have been on the razor's edge for some time now. and seriously, the wine bottle nailed it.

again, in vino veritas, right?

so should you find yourself with your arms wide open, stretched out and maneuvering the razor's edge, know that your arms wide open are your first and best move.

blessings!

x.

sangiovese.

2008-11-10T19:47:00.000-08:00

x-fact ~ the first 5 years of my life were spent in mendocino county. and i love sangiovese. i may be biased.

sangiovese mendocino county 2006
paid 9.99
reg. @13

I! LOVE! THIS! WINE! and i'm not biased. i'm not. this is great wine.

the forever designated driver brought this home weeks ago. and the moment i saw it i thought of my dear friend, jeni-o, who's sipping at the great wine bar beyond. the cheerful yellow label, her signature flower, a california coast wine. plus, her birthday was coming up and i had been thinking about her a LOT lately. so, i just couldn't drink it. yet.

i put the bottle aside, where i could still see it, but didn't open it.

i even put it out at our dia de los muertos gathering. but, um, sort of in the back. sort of behind the other bottles of cider and wine. and it lasted! no one opened it! which, um, may or may not have to do with the fact that halfway through the gathering i may or may not have stuffed it behind the recycling basket.

anyway, at first sip it's juicy and jammy and fresh. it just has this really fresh taste. crisp, even. and yet it's deep. and yet, yet, bear with me here, it's really drinkable.

i don't know if it's because this wine is from possibly one of the most amazing places on earth AND it's organic (oh, did i mention it's organic? no? well, it's organic. and not only is it organic, the label says it's VEGAN. really? okay. and yes, they put it in bold on the label. VEGAN wine. huh? who knew?) or not, but there's just something so fresh picked and accessible and yet divine about this wine. like all truly good food it's at once simple and sumptuous.

and it's such a pretty wine. actually, it's an absolutely gorgeous wine. all ruby jewel tone in the glass that breaks into a million glassy pieces on the top.

and like the wine, the day was gorgeous. today was a perfect fall day. i raked leaves and dead headed the last of the lavender and some other perennials that i didn't get to before.

and as i worked i thought about my friend jeni-o and what a gardener she was. gardener, crafter, cook. good lord if she saw the space i have and how i just let it go to pot. well, not let it. busy with kids and home schooling and life. but she knew that. she always listened, she would understand my plight, she would understand the state of this yard.

and as i wheeled the leaves to the back pasture i thought about how next spring might be different. another new start. the boys older. more able to help. a group effort. a gorgeous yard.

and perhaps come next fall, a whole swath of it filled with gorgeous sunflowers reaching towards the sky on a sunny crisp autumn day. not unlike today.

later, as i headed in the house and pulled off my boots and washed my hands the promise of being in the yard began to fade with being within four walls. as it is want to do, no?

ah, who knows if next year will yield a more gorgeous with the group effort yard or not?

i do know that an afternoon of yard work on a crisp day gives one a certain satisfaction that cannot be named, the four walls be damned. it however can be celebrated with, among other things, a glass of wine.

so i retrieved the bottle from behind the recycling basket (yes, i forgot about it until just then) and poured a glass.

and as i stood there with a sweaty brow and muddy pant legs i was happy with this delicious wine. and i thought about the day and the effort. and the more i sipped the more i warmed to the idea that yes, maybe, just maybe, next year will be different. that by next fall my yard will be weed free and gorgeous and awash in sunflowers.

it's possible. sip sip, indeed.

and then, again, i thought of my friend, jeni-o. how much she would have loved this wine, and how she would have probably picked up this very bottle in the store based on the label alone. and i thought about how much she would have loved this day. despite the lack of sunflowers, unruly yard, prolific weeds, and all. she would just bask in the beauty of fall and appreciate all it had to offer.

so here's to you, jeni-o.

i raise my glass in your honor tonight. you left us far too soon, my friend, and yet you are never far from the squishiest parts of my heart. especially so when i see a sunflower, each of which i believe blooms in your very name.

x.

cabernet merlot.

2008-10-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

x-fact ~ south australia not only has some really good wines, they have some really good wines at really great prices.

little boomey cabernet merlot south australia 2004
paid 3.97
reg @7

that's some crazy pic, huh? i haven't seen pink like that since the mid 80's. but what's this? less than 4 bucks? you don't say!

well, not only does australia have good wines at great prices, cost plus world market gathers a bunch of these wines and a bunch of other wines from all over and offers all of them at even greater every day prices than your average store.

granted, this is a really good sale price, but on the average i find that cost plus consistently seeks out lesser known value wines to offer at great deals in their stores. in addition, they have a lot of more popular and better known labels at great every day prices as well.

now. knowing nothing about this wine except that the name and the label are hokey and would not be given a second glance except for the price, did i get what i paid for? is this swill and i'm not out too much, or is this in the same league as the two buck chuck and i have in fact found another great deal?

it's good. it's no two buck chuck, it's not earth shattering, but it's good enough to write home to you about.

i'm not sure at its true retail price i'd be a regular customer, but it's good.

it starts off a little thin. and it doesn't really recover from that. which is to say, it neither gets worse, nor does it markedly improve.

the most measurable taste is right at the first few sips. there's a bit of a cracked peppercorn taste right at the back of the throat. i know i know i don't know anything about wine and therefore reeeeeeeely try to stay away, BY CHOICE, from the fruity (pardon the pun) descriptions.

BUT, as jesus (who knew a thing or two about wine thankya very much) is my witness it's cracked black pepper, it's only a bit on the back of the throat, it's not offensive, and it goes away after a few sips.

so. that's it. it never got bolder or more flavorful, but, like i said above, it didn't get worse either. in fact, if i could describe it in the most flattering light i'd say it was pleasant and soft.

above all, it remained drinkable. in a pleasant and soft kinda way. if this wine were a person this wine is me at 37, definitely not me at 24. not that i've ever been soft and pleasant at 24 or now. but there's that edge that i've managed to sorta soften and beat into something more resembling pleasant over the years. at least in public around other actual adults.

that being said, if other actual adults invited me and my soft and pleasant self over i could definitely see bringing this wine to a barbecue or serving it at one. (if you could get over the label. but hey, for the price, i dare say i could)

all that grilled meat and snacky foods and condiments. oh, the condiments. the pickle relish would have nothing to fear because this wine would be perfect in that it wouldn't add to the gluttony, nor would it overpower any of the flavors you really want to enjoy.

now that's soft and pleasant. in a wine, or in a girl, at least you know you're gonna make it home in one piece. without pissing off the pickle relish.

and, let's not forget all those salads left too long in the sun. nothing like a little red wine to kill any forming bacteria colonies. good times.

plus, you know when people gather around the grill salivating over the meat and having a few too many sips of something they start breaking into an australian accent. shrimp on the barbie and all that.

well, then, here you go. you can thank me next summer. i hope it's still on sale.

you know, i have to say, further in this wine's defense, there are times when you find yourself dining at a certain kind of restaurant that offers "house wines" by the half or full carafe. generally at a pretty good value.

oh, to order wine simply by one color or the other, "do you want the red or white?" reminds me of my grandma billie. eternal cocktail waitress, hell on wheels, and loved her some half carafe with a side of ice. restaurants with her ALWAYS meant red or white. oh, not for me, i was too young, but let's just say it's a pleasant memory and i don't need to look too far to figure out some of those little, ah, idiosyncrasies i might posses.

anyway, don't get me wrong, i've had some good house wines, but boy howdy have i had my share of crap, too. more crap than good, but it's nearly like it's expected, so you sip away and don't think too much about it. and i'm not being snobby because i do enjoy a good wine value and there are times when beggars can't be choosers and should just sit back and sip happily.

this wine would be an excellent house wine by the full carafe.

and that is a complement.

so sometimes it's better to be a beggar than a chooser. less money, more variety, and a little something to write home about.

cheers! mate!

x.

malbec.

2008-10-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

x-fact ~ i stole this picture. i hope they don't come after me. oh, and malbec is a thin skinned grape. perfect for how i feel today. seriously, i hope they don't come after me about the picture. oy.

gouguenheim malbec 2006 argentina
paid 7.99
reg. 12.99

i know the picture doesn't do it much justice, but this is a HANDSOME bottle, no? this is like the pierce brosnan, no! the george clooney, of wine bottles.

the shape, the label, the graphics! (granted, again in the picture the graphics really don't come out, but trust me) i think this is the best looking bottle i've seen in a long time.

this bottle belongs on a beautifully set table. good china, tall candlesticks, a chafing dish or two if you will.

yeah yeah yeah, that's all well and good, you say, but handsome is as handsome does. how does it taste, you ask?

well, i'm glad you asked! i could use a drink right about now!

this is a great wine, but not for the faint of heart. it isn't dry and it isn't dainty. it's a deep and dark and jammy taste, and it's big and gooey and chewy.

i know, i know. but please allow me the completely accurate if not completely overblown descriptions as it's been a looooonnnnngggg day.

this wine is a bit bracing right at the first, right at the top of the mouth at the back of the throat. like a lot of wines of this caliber i assumed this would go away with a bit of warming in the glass and i was right. after awhile it was smooth smooth smooth.

it looks great in the glass, too. a rich ruby tinging to a liquid deep pink at the top, where incidentally the legs start after each sip, trail down the glass, and just don't go away.

darlings, this is a big wine.

this is a wine to pair with food for sure. drink it alone and "suffer" the consequences. i put suffer in quotes as i do believe the last time i reviewed a malbec i mentioned that it was "potential debauchery in a bottle."

though suffer is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

so if you're drinking this with food, what do you pair it with? i'd say a heavier dish or a bigger meal. perfect if you've been invited somewhere and know the dinner will include the full complement of starters, entrees, and sides, a fabulous dessert at the end. you know the hosts, foodies to the core, will go all out. and what will you do? bring this bottle. you'll arrive as a guest, but this wine will ensure that you leave as family.

conversely, this wine also complements a deeply flavored, but simple and quiet fireside meal for two. think individual french onion soups with rosemary rolls, or the one dish wonder that is cassoulet paired with a simply dressed butter lettuce salad. sitting on the rug in front of the fire with napkins on laps, food in hand, and a glass of wine set on the floor beside you.

either way, this is a welcome wine for an autumn evening, perfect after coming in from the cold, and sharing with whomever you are dining with.

tonight there wasn't a fancy dinner or an intimate meal for two, but it was a long day and none of that mattered. debauchery notwithstanding, tonight i'm just glad to have a glass of it and my feet finally up.

and with many an enjoyable sip i ignored the televised debate in favor of watching my youngest create art at the dining room table. i admired his use of color, the imagination that had a bowl of fruit flying through space towards the moon, and fielded questions that included but were not limited to, "mama, do you think the soul looks like a pickle?"

i don't know if the soul looks like a pickle.

but i do know what happy looks like. happy is some wine in your glass, a quiet and engaged and entertaining child at your dining room table, and the close of a long and arduous day. you're not saving the world or just trying to get through the day, you're just being. at last.

the label on the back of this bottle suggests that upon drinking there is a secret that will be revealed and shared regarding the wine's "unique terrior."

the only secret here isn't a secret at all.

do what you love, especially after a trying day. do what you love and the rest comes.

blessings!

x.

red wine.

2008-09-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

x-fact ~ the label says to serve this red slightly chilled to "enjoy its soft and expressive array of ripe red and black fruits." yeah, i'll let you know how that pans out.

colombelle red wine 2006
paid 7.99
reg. 9.99

vin de pays des cotes de gascogne is a region in france. not the name of the wine. this wine is made mostly of the tannat grape, 60%, blended with 20% merlot, and another 20% cabernet.

okay, so let's cut to the chase with the slightly chilling.

yes, it worked.

it was round and smooth and smacky and juicy and syrupy right at the first sip. darlings, it's delicious.

after the second and subsequent sips it mellows out a bit, it's still round and juicy, but even smoother and the smacky and the juicy gives way to simple, unadorned lush.

this is more than a sexy wine. this is a come hither wine. this wine not only turns your head but it beckons you forth as well.

if this wine was a person it would be a stranger who stops you in the supermarket, drugstore, hardware store and says "i know we've never met, but you have to know that my whole life has come to this and i need to take you for a drink and to sit across the table and flirt with you mercilessly for an hour straight. truly, that's all i need and my life is complete. say yes."

actually if this wine was a person it would be you, because you would say yes.

this wine has a beautiful color. swirly girly color with legs for miles down the glass.

i am enjoying this wine so much solo, i don't know what i would drink this wine with food wise. something simple and snacky? yet, polished. please god, not sliced cheddar and a triscuit.

better, the trite but true brie and grapes with a water cracker, perhaps a firm blue cheese with a sour cherry pomegranate spread, or a creamy blue with some fresh honeycomb alongside.

oddly enough, the exact cheese pairings i served when i catered a big birthday party for a friend this weekend. the only difference is i'm not working right now. i actually have time to sit and have a bite and a sip. not a needy guest in sight or the three inch heeled boots i insisted on wearing while working for 8 hours straight (makes all the difference in the world when you are sweaty and working your ass off) on my feet.

life. is. good.

and i can walk again! hallelujah!

and had this wine been at that party i may have had no choice but to abandon my duties in favor of the siren call of this wine. a bottle tucked under one arm and platter of cheese in the other hand, i'd find the quietest corner and go to work. and by work i mean sipping and nibbling and leaning against the wall in satisfaction.

thankfully for my friend and her party guests (though not for my feet) this wine was not at the party.

but i needed only to wait a few days and now i have a party of my own. and not a loud drunk overly made up and underly equipped with anything resembling the ability to act remotely like a lady with any amount of alcohol in her system and smells like an unventilated hair salon on a hot day girl. in. sight.

well, i do have a few glasses to go...

uh, and, buh dump bump.

throw a party for two with a few posh nibbles and your own "stranger." and a bottle of this wine, mais oui.

beware, it is a screw top, the color is all kinds of wrong, and the label is cheesy. so don't serve it from the bottle. better to chill it slightly first in the bottle and then decant it to a different serving vessel.

it needn't be fancy, a simple glass carafe will do. or if you want fancy, bust out and dust off that fancy pants decanter that's been hanging around at the back of the cupboard and you never thought you'd use in a million years.

however it gets served it will be well received.

and the praise and adoration, the worship, will be yours to do with what you wish.

(as will, perhaps, the stranger. non?)

tendres baisers!

x.

red.

2008-07-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

x-fact ~ this wine is from lodi. yes, that lodi. and no, i wouldn't mind being stuck in lodi again thank you very much.

abundantly rich red california 2005
paid 10.99
reg. @15-18

we made a special stop in lodi for this wine. you can order it on the interwebs or ask your store to order it for you. the store we like in lodi has it at 10.99 a bottle (steal! yeah, um, except it's like two tanks of gas and a day down to lodi from here so....) but regularly it's anywhere from 14.99 to 17.99 on the interwebs or in a store.

we actually first had this bottle last year on my birthday at this fabulous local restaurant. one sip and this girl was hooked! not since i first layed my eyes on michael hutchence have i been as easily smitten!

well, okay, to be fair, there was bono and then johnny depp, most recently colin firth and so many countless others... but! i digress. and more importantly, though sweet elixirs in their own right, they weren't wine.

okay, where was i? oh yeah, so we asked about it at the restaurant and where to acquire it locally, and the sommelier said oh they don't sell it locally and blah blah blah.

well, it just so happens that the forever designated driver had a business trip in lodi the. very. next. week! i know, right?!?! what are the odds?!?

i say there aren't any odds because this was fate. and for a year now this has been my absolute favorite wine. i know i know, i do love the flirty grenache. sigh.

but sometimes a girl just wants to let her hair down without having to wash and style it first. and sometimes a girl just wants to not feel the need to suck in her stomach, even at a flirty memory. sometimes a girl just wants to drink the wine. so as far as just a straight red wine goes that's as fabulous as all that but you don't have to be, this is it.

can i just say, drinking this wine is just like drowning in the sea of love where everyone would love to drown. (thank you, stevie nicks)

it's rich and smooth and juicy all at once on the first sip. it pops on your tongue and pulls at the roof of your mouth. it's got the innocence of the best grape juice you ever had as a kid and the experience to make you put the glass down and look at it and say, "wow. "

it just takes over. with the mouth feel at first and then hits the stomach gradually and firmly. it stays smooth and juicy, but the flavor gets a bit more layered and complex after a time.

and if you let it sit a bit after pouring and before sipping you will be rewarded with the most beautiful of aromas. like a juicy berry kiss all grown up and right on the nose.

when i had it before it was with a very wonderful meal full of complementing flavors and expertly executed dishes. it was just as enjoyable with the starters, through the main, to the dessert. except, i guess, technically, the rest of the bottle was dessert! happy birthday to me!

it's just bold enough to be drunk with food, but subtle enough to be enjoyed on its own or paired with small bites rather than a big meal.

i love that in a wine. and i guess that's why i love a red table wine or red blend so much. but you knew that. i love to fold things into my life. i don't have time to do it any other way right now.

that being said, i intended to review this bottle with a wonderful meal of my own construction. i had it planned down to the fresh thyme and last pool of melting compound butter.

alas, the best laid plans of sillymortals and all that.

an extra play date here, another day of a young visiting house guest there, an overheating car and subsequent 11th hour vehicle swap in a parking lot to get to the ferry on time here, and a summer cold ridden minor child there, and all ideas of a complicated dinner went out the door with the young guests back to their respective homes and the car to the mechanic.

instead, i sip this wine on a quiet afternoon, sans the fabulous and complimenting meal, but no less enjoyable. instead of lit candles and clinking glasses and cloth napkins i'm sipping to the sounds of spongebob in the background, fielding questions and random thoughts that plague the 7 to 11 year old set, and refilling juice and soup requests.

not too hot! can i have a different straw? he got more crackers! sip sip. happy happy.

the thing about enjoying wine, though, is the thing about living life. be flexible and you will see the world bend to your will.

and hell, everyone needs a day off from being fabulous. even the house chef can be happy to heat up a can of soup. and voila! it still tastes like love. even the drove 600 miles to get you wine can sit unceremoniously on a messy desk and be sipped in the middle of the afternoon by the girl who still hasn't gotten a shower from morning yoga. and voila! it still tastes like a million bucks!

don't wait for the perfect moment to fully enjoy your life. overheating cars, canned soup, and all.

and if you're in an imperfect moment, pour a glass of red and pretend that you aren't. and pretty soon, there's no more pretending.

trust me.

salute!

x.

grenache.

2008-07-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

x-fact ~ garnacha is grenache in spain. and from wikipedia; In Oaxaca, it is an actual cuisine: a small corn tortilla fried with shreded meat, cheese, lettuce or a prepared type of cabbage topping.

tapena garnacha spain 2006
paid; gift!
reg. @12

yes, another gift! and not only was this bottle a gift strictly for the blog, it was one of TWO bottles gifted. one to drink right then, one to review later. you know this girl does love a gift of wine, but TWO bottles? my heart is bursting. if there was a little grinning icon i'd insert it here.

well, you all know how much i love a grenache. so flirty! so fun! a date in a bottle!

i really do.

though i don't know that i've had a spanish grenache before that wasn't blended in a rose. but i have now and it's delicious!

it's smooth and jammy and lush right at first. and it just fills your whole mouth with flavor, bursting on the tongue at the finish.

it's light and juicy, yet commands complete attention at first sip and doesn't let go. in fact it very much reminds me of my new favorite wine of the year which i will review for you closer to my birthday. just that juicy, shamelessly bursting quality that one usually reserves for the ripest of stone fruits and sun warmed berries.

grenache also looks great in the glass. if a wine could be called sexy, this would be it. beautiful legs that start at the top and slowly make their way down the sides. the smell is luscious, nearly perfumed in its hit to your nose, yet in a good way. the best kind of way. like you remember it from somewhere and the memory is good, yet you can't place it. a sweet ache follows as you attempt at recall.

and the color is perfect. rich, deep, ruby red, with a just pink enough tone. all glossy and gorgeous.

in fact, there's this wonderful nail color called prudence and the prune. god i loved that nail polish. it was perfect. deep red and yet a kiss of pink, it was gorgeous. and perfect. no matter the season or the outfit or the mood, it suited.

this wine is that color.

and as sips give way to a second glass, the flavor only gets deeper and rounder. it practically begs you to drink more.

and that's the magic of grenache. subtle, yet intense, definitely not coy. like a prince song liquefied and bottled and poured right into your glass.

and that's what i love most about this wine. there is a quality to it that brings one's mind elsewhere, a transportation to the decadent memories of our past, or to desires yet unfulfilled. to sunnier climes on distant shores, to more romantic pursuits if you will.

a small table street side where perhaps your language is not the native tongue but it couldn't matter less. the fluttering market umbrella above you, a warm day, perhaps a new love. or better yet, an ancient one.

the hours of an afternoon pass and you hardly have noticed. the wine makes the light just right, the sun just right, all the colors seem brighter, time stills, gazes linger...you could be a painting.

a grenache pairs well with small plates and a long meal. a little nibble of this, a nibble of that. a sip. disparate flavors that enmesh on the tongue in gastronomic consummation, you hardly notice where one stops and the other begins. the grenache finishing it off nicely to the end.

it's a slow wine meant to be adored at each sip.

i did not have the luxury of a romantic lunch al fresco while drinking this wine.

but at 2:30 on a tuesday afternoon, in the back pasture under the aspens, just a girl and a glass, well, i couldn't be happier.

the aspens whispering above me in the slightest breeze while i rest atop their roots. imagining all the while them holding hands and playing footsies below, those most connected and entertwined of trees.

this is a bottle i'd keep around if a bottle could actually survive in this house.

though, i cannot say this would be a house wine, per se. for if you've ever read one of those stories or seen one of those movies where the soul and the spirit and the innermost desire of the food and its chef bleeds into the finished product, well then you'd know why.

this is a dangerous wine, a vixen if you will, eager in its attempt to seduce you away from what you should be doing and encourage you to while away the afternoon, either avec amour or solo, watching the sun and entertaining thoughts that rarely get entertained in the workaday world.

and all the better for it.

and that's why, whether shared or appreciated alone, grenache is a date in a bottle. and this is a particularly good one if i do say so myself.

so if you haven't, try a grenache. find a sunny spot and invite a friend, or clear off the couch and put in a movie for one.

do, and you won't regret it. i guarantee you will be most satisfied either way.

just remember, you have been forewarned of the magic of grenache and of its charms. the rest is up to you.

bessos!

x.

champagne.

2008-05-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

SCHARFFENBERGER
Brut
CALIFORNIA

x-fact ~ champagne comes from france. sparkling wine comes from everywhere else. it's all delicious.

paid ???
reg. @ 20

yes, this is the same guy that's behind the scharffen berger chocolates. he made champagne in anderson valley in northern california. then years ago he sold the winery to make chocolate in the bay area. damn fine chocolate, too. some of the world's best chocolate.

but what of my favorite champagne? (well, my first favorite. it's like choosing between children)

he sold it and it became pacific echo. i think i remember them saying "oh, it will stay the same." but it didn't. not in my opinion. maybe at first. but over time i remember not being impressed. at. all.

then! he bought it back! the scharffenberger guy (yeah, there's really a scharffenberger) and some big french company with a buncha money bought it back! and brought back the old name! and it tastes just delicious! just like always!

it might just be in my head. but i don't care. i'm happy.

so champagne. yes, there is a grape called a champagne grape. in fact we've got some growing on our weed farm. (no not that weed, cheech. weeds. as in they are tall and big and fast growing. as in i need to garden and dig and, you know, weeds)

but no, sparkling wine is not made of them. but that is the last time i'll use the term sparkling wine. because champagne is what i call it and champagne it will be.

this champagne is made roughly of a 60/30 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay.

i don't know what we paid for this bottle. the forever designated driver bought it nearly six months ago. on sale though, that much i remember. i know i know it lasted that long in my house? i must have forgotten about it, right?

really, i was saving it because not long after that bottle was purchased some people who shall remain nameless suddenly had no more work. self-employed and no more projects.

and then continued to have no more no more work.

and as the months went on and job prospects dead ended i realized that the only way that bottle of my favorite champagne was going to be drunk was by me on the porch with the bottle, weeping and swigging while the mortgage company tacked a foreclosure notice to the fence and the sheriff tossed our belongings in the yard, OR if someone who previously remained nameless got more work, a job, won the lottery, etc.

you will be happy to know this bottle was consumed right and proper like, in glasses, at our own dining room table. no sheriff or pink notices in sight.

(for now...this is still america, one nation, under w.)

this is a great champagne. it really is.

it's dry and crisp. a little appley at the edges, a little bite of sweet at the back of the tongue.

and it's a great looking pour, too.

tons and tons of perfect. tiny. bubbles. swirling gracefully all the way from the bottom up of the glass through the very middle of the glass and breaking continuously at the top of the glass. (that's why you use a proper glass. give those bubbles room to groove.)

the color is absolutely classic. pale and pretty and classic.

this is a real celebration champagne. not only delicious, but photogenic and ready for a close up.

but a celebration need not be all pomp and circumstance. celebration can just be a sigh of relief on a weekday evening.

in this case, the celebration consisted of a glass of champagne and a huge platter of macho nachos. crisp tortilla chips covered with melting cheese, spicy ground beef, saucy beans, topped with fresh red onions, sliced jalapenos, chopped cilantro, and juicy red tomatoes. and to finish it off, because it wouldn't quite be "macho" without them, home made guacamole, chipotle salsa, and cold and creamy sour cream.

champagne and nachos? are you mad? high? "weed" farm, indeed.

oh, but it's a classic.

as a young lass with daily dramas and disposable income, champagne was always an integral part of therapeutic practices.

when i was sad or morose, dumped or feeling blue for whatever manufactured reason the young feel is important, i would drink champagne and eat boxed chocolates. in bed. at home.

and when i was feeling happy, ecstatic, in love or lust or whatever manufactured emotion the young feel is important, i would go to this place on capitol hill, in the mall (not a "mall", they just called in that) and order a huge platter of macho nachos and a glass of champagne. by myself. happy.

both were perfect pairings both gastronomically and soul wise.

in this case, the champagne was perfect with the homemade version of the macho nachos. the crisp and cool cutting right through the crunchy and melty. the bubbly rounding out the salty and spicy.

to me, champagne is a live food. all moving around in the glass and then the blood stream. there's just a happiness that cannot be described with the mention of and even more so with the POP! and pour of champagne.

and saving a bottle for a special day, or a rainy day, or any day is a wonderful idea.

but even better is to just pick up a bottle and have it that very evening just because. or bust out one you've been "saving" for a "special occasion because otherwise it would be wasted on the ordinary and we can't have that" just because.

because you can. because it's fun. because it's frivolous. because it's just not done.

pishaw! i say! it is done and it's fun.

and if you don't have the ingredients for the "perfect" meal, or fixin's for nachos, macho or otherwise, just see what's in the fridge, the cupboard, the drive thru.

because a celebration isn't made of what you have on the table, it's made of what you have in your heart.

cheers! and congratulations to the forever designated driver!!

(and, um, whew.)

x.

“All things in moderation, with a few glorious exceptions.”

2008-05-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

RIP Robert Mondavi

from the robert mondavi winery website;

ROBERT G. MONDAVI DIES AT 94
FATHER AND FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN FINE WINE INDUSTRY
Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley, the founder of the modern US fine wine industry and a global symbol of American wine and food, passed away the morning of May 16, 2008. He was 94. The Mondavi family stated that the legendary vintner died peacefully at his home in Napa Valley.

robert mondavi was a pioneer and a maverick. he was larger than life. he believed in wine and its rightful place on the table, in the diet, in life. i have enjoyed many of his wines, and the winery's more value priced label, woodbridge, has long been a house wine here.

in honor of his passing, i would like to share a bottle of his with you.

x-fact ~ another quote from mondavi, "drink what you like, like what you drink." amen.

robert mondavi private selection 2005 vinetta
paid 9.99
reg. 11

vinetta? this is a bordeaux inspired wine. technically you cannot call a wine a bordeaux unless it comes from the bordeaux region of france. this is mondavi's answer to that.

what it is is 68% cabernet sauvignon 14% merlot 11% petit verdot 5% malbec 2% cabernet franc.

and 100% delicious.

it's smooth and dry, yet slightly juicy. it's not overly sweet, pretty balanced, with just a little ooch of sweet at the finish.

it's a beautiful color and has great legs. the flavor gets deeper, a bit of a plum taste, and stays just as complex a few sips in. it really seems to fill the mouth with flavor even after you've swallowed.

even so, it remains light and drinkable.

i had this wine outside in the waning afternoon of a long day. gonzo gardening, a long drive, a walk in the wetlands, a lot of sun.

sitting outside under the dense shade of the four apples trees that escaped the drastic pruning of 2008 with some wine, a few crackers found in the cupboard, some cheese off the end of the block, an olive or two leftover in the jar, and i finally felt at peace with the heat, the aching legs, the world.

a few sips in, and life seems so simple. a little nosh when you feel the need, the breeze just at the right moment, carrying the smell of the lilacs that are just now blooming, another sip. i couldn't be happier.

i am in the right place at the right time with the right wine.

enjoying life and all that it offers.

ah, the good life. it does exist. sip, munch, sniff, lean, relax. rinse and repeat.

thank you, mr. mondavi, for your contribution to the world of wine, the world of food and wine, and overall for your tireless dedication to promoting the good life.

this girl found it at 4:18 pm on a sunday in her backyard.

where do you find the good life?

x.

red table wine.

2008-05-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

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.

merlot.

2008-04-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

BEARS' LAIR
Merlot
California 2006

x-fact ~ this wine is one of several from the same winery that brought you "two buck chuck."

bears' lair california merlot 2006
paid; it was a gift!!
reg. 4.99

i know, i know. ANOTHER gift!! again, my big sister brought me with this bottle along with the two buck chuck. i asked for this special, though, on a recommendation from my friend mis!

this is her house wine and she was interested to know what i thought of it.

well, i wish i could show you a label, but, as you might have guessed, many of the cheaper bottles don't have a lot to offer on the web in terms of pr and shelf talkers and reproducible labels.

but, it is a handsome bottle to be sure. in fact, out of all the cheap wines thus far this month, this is the best looking bottle by far.

and, i just realized this is the very first merlot i've reviewed! what's up with that? i LOVE merlot, and yet no merlot on the blog?

at first pour it's beautiful in the glass. deep and rich in color and with beautiful legs.

at first sip it is not smooth. it's got a real sting around the edges, the kind that envelops the sides of the tongue and creates a bit of salivating. oh sure, there's probably a term for that! but you know what i mean! right?

at second and third sip, though, it lost the sting and got a bit more jammy. more complex. but not in a big way, just slightly. and just right.

and then near the end of the first glass it really got its smooth on. it became light on the tongue, gained considerable sophistication, and practically floated down the throat. it's just delicious.

i think it was just the matter of a bit of warming in the glass, and it was really worth the wait.

again, what a delicious flavor.

this is a great wine for the price. it's really more than worth it.

it just needs a bit of time and patience.

which makes me think this would be perfect with a good meal. nothing real intense, like big salt or big spice or big hot, just something good.

a merlot is a subtle flavor that needs a subtle dish to really complement it.

but good lord we all know subtle does not mean boring. right?

a good long cooked risotto, or a simple but flavorful soup with bread and a salad, or a wonderful pork tenderloin with couscous and sauteed green beans on the side. how good do those sound?

i like this wine. i like how it smooths out and stays there. it's a wine that's easy to dismiss at the beginning, but ends up being completely enjoyable and immensely drinkable. all that with just a little patience.

and really, isn't that what we'd like in all things?

the idea that with a little effort and openness you can actually get everything you want?

at the very least, a good cheap wine.

however you measure it, it's the bees knees.

or the bears' lair.

cheers!

x.

cabernet sauvignon.

2008-04-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

CHARLES SHAW
Cabernet Sauvignon
CALIFORNIA
2004

x-fact ~ yes this wine is only 2 bucks. and yes, it's good!

charles shaw california cabernet 2004
paid; it was a gift!
reg. 1.99

well, you knew it couldn't be cheap wine month here on the blog without "two buck chuck!"

and in full disclosure, it's one dollar higher outside of california. and. still. worth. every. penny.

because my big sister wanted to support my project, she brought this to me. yea! this girl loves a gift of wine!

what can i say? it's cheap and it's good. it's not the best wine in the world, and neither is it the worst.

and for 2 bucks? it's surprisingly good!

it's real smooth going down at first. it gets more tanningy later on, but generally stays pretty smooth throughout. it's got a nice rich taste without being too sweet. and even as it gets more tanningny, it does in a good way. with a real nice bite.

there comes a point wherein it gets that kinda rotten fruit note to it. eeewww! you say. but! it's not a bad taste when kept in context of the larger sip. and that kinda rotten fruit note has some kind of special technical term and really isn't a bad thing. but i wouldn't know about any of that and hope that you trust me that it's not disgusting.

and, if you think it is, just drink more of it quickly. trust me, it goes away.

now, because this wine is so cheap and sold mainly at trader joe's (i've never seen it anywhere else) people may discount it as just a cheap wine for the college kids.

and it is. but, it's also a fine choice for a house wine for the old folks, too. something to have on hand for casual drinking without spending a lot. and it this day and age, any day and age, that's a good thing.

there's a lot of history around this wine. headed up by some reclusive maverick from a famous wine family, the stuff of a few urban legends, real life wine wars, etc.

but really what it boils down to is someone figured out how to make good wine accessible to the masses. and that's only a good thing for everyone involved.

and, as i hope i've shown, cheap wine need not be bad wine. it can be, but it doesn't have to be.

i've been drinking this wine on and off for years. the lack of a trader joe's where i live is the only thing standing between me and this bottle on a more regular basis. it really is that good.

now, i know i promised y'all a special wine blog with sis in the city, but sadly it was not to be. she went to sleep early and i drank the wine by myself reading a trashy magazine. which was just as wonderful as it sounds. as much as i would have loved to do a blog with my sister, this was a fine way to pass a saturday night.

but really, in retrospect, she and i are pretty well versed and used to the cheap wines. it would be fun and interesting to get a really expensive bottle and let 'er rip!

now, i just need a patron for that! don't all great artists have patrons? is there some sort of patrons.com i can log on to to find one?

no matter, i can wait for the "good" stuff. because this wine is perfect just as is. for dinner, a picnic, hanging out. surfing the internets for an enabl-, i mean PATRON! a patron, yeah.

BUT i think a fine use for this wine is as the stunt double at a big gathering. stunt double? ah, yes. and it would be a fine one indeed.

so you're having a big party. housewarming, landmark birthday, engagement, wedding.

you start the evening off with a few good bottles at the bar and one on each table.

and then, once the party gets going the good bottles are gone and have slowly been replaced by the two buck chuck.

nobody is going to notice. and if they do, nobody is going to care. and if they do? eeewww!

and if you want to go one step further to the clever, and who doesn't, right? steam off the labels and put your own on. you know, your names and date for a wedding, a cute pic for an engagement, a picture of your new house for a housewarming, and hey for any landmark birthday only your very WORST grade school picture.

any way you slice it, it's a good deal and a good wine.

so go buy a case and plan a party. times are gettin' tough all over and apparently are only going to get worse.

why not treat yourself and your friends to a low cost, enjoyable time?

or just put a case in your Y2K2.0 shelter and save it up for that rainy day that's on its way.

cheers!

x.

grenache.

2008-04-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

x-fact ~ you can find "cheap" wine in a wine shop. honest.

vina borgia campo de borja 2006
reg. 4.99
paid 7

yeah. you read that right. BUT in my wallet's defense, my research that yielded this bottle at 4.99 suggested i had to purchase this on those pesky internets from any number of discount places and then pay shipping and then wait for said bottle.

this bottle i bought this very afternoon on a delightful walk through the "old town" of our neighboring town whilst killing time waiting for the minors to be done with their art class. i stopped by a wine shop i had seen for the past ten years whenever i had cause to be in the area, and yet had never been in.

so i popped in and met a snarky, charming, funny, down to earth woman, the owner of the shop no less, who just happens to be a neighbor! well, she lives a mile from me. that's neighbor enough out here in the wilds.

i asked "what do you have for 7 or under NOT on sale?" and good lord if she didn't show me at least 6 bottles, more probably if i had included whites in that price!

score one for the wine shop! just one more reason to not be afraid of the wine shop. they aren't all precious, and pretentious, and overpriced, and in fact can quite often be the opposite. wine shop owners are wine drinkers, too. and wine drinkers are nothing if not enablers at heart. plus, they're small business owners. so in this spirit, they're generally gonna offer a wide selection at many different price points.

i knew i liked this woman when she agreed with my assessment of when a rose' should be drunk and went so far to call it a "porch" wine. grin. porch wine. i love it!

and yes, people, rose' is back. has been for a few years. and yes, people drink them. and yes, people also like them.

AND when i asked for any bottles at that what some might deem ridiculously low price she didn't flinch but rather first said "red or white." then, "what do you like to drink?"

and when i said, "it'd be easier to say what i don't like to drink" and she laughed. a real laugh.

i do love it when people find me funny. sigh.

anyhow. so. oh, yeah! the wine!

it's good. but then i do love a grenache. the color the smell the legs. it's a sexy pour, that grenache.

it's fruity and jammy and syrupy. but not in a big overpowering way. the flavor is deep and true, to be sure. but it still dances a bit on the tongue and goes down with a little bump. that bump that says, here. i. am. but not in an obvious way.

i always think of grenache as a date wine. it's so flirty! but it is most definitely not coy. some dates just don't need the coy. coy is so 1985. coy is for when you have more money than sense. coy is trying just too hard. say no to the coy!

in this case it was me and my laptop and the all music channel on the television because i couldn't figure out how to get a cd to play on our stereo. all right, all right, in my defense, it's a new and rather complicated system. well. new "ish"

okay, hell, we've had it a long time now and i couldn't play the damn cd! ever since i stopped using that pink radio i got for my 16th birthday it's been nothing but downhill in trying to figure out any stereo system thus far.

it's a good thing i have kids. they always know how to work that electronics nonsense. plus you can make them pick stuff up if you drop it and don't want to bend over. and make them feed the cats the smelly wet food. and get your glasses from upstairs when you're downstairs and don't want to get up from the recliner.

so this music channel? one minute i've got the shins and the next it's the talking heads. go figure. i can't figure out who the demographic they're trying for is? if it's for those of us pushing 40 (in a few years, but still) but who still feel 12, well then i'd say they nailed it. pre-menopausal aging 12 year olds LOVE it!

bet they don't put that on the ads.

anyhow, so the rest of the family is fullfilling yet one more evening of baseball duties while i sit here with a bottle of wine and a big mac.

WHAAAT!?! don't be hatin' on the mac! a girl needs a grease fix every now and again, and i gotta tell ya, some wines are just. so. good. with greasy foods. the tannins just cut right through the grease and provide the perfect complement. mmm.

okay, i'm lying. oh, not about the beauty that is the wine and grease combo. that part's true. every smacky greasy salty hot sip sip sippy morsel of it. i'm lying about the big mac.

first of all, the big mac is NEVER my grease of choice as far as manufactured burgers go, it just fit better in that turn of phrase. so i'm a writer. writers lie. sue me.

and second of all, that's just what i wanted this evening. what we want and what we allow ourselves, well, hell, you know how that goes.

so, good health, and more importantly a healthy fear of gas prices, prevailed. i chose a home cooked whole bean with a little onion and cheddar quesadilla wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla.

plus, it would probably cost about 11 dollars and some change just to drive my vehicle, which i no longer "ironically" refer to as "the beast", to acquire the aforementioned burger.

so i stayed home. and now i'll live longer (it had better be worth it is all i'm sayin') and maybe get a love letter or some sort of plaque from al gore in the process.

no worries, though. the quesadilla was good and this wine is even better.

so a fast food burger can pair beautifully with wine and a wine shop can yield a delicious bargain.

the world is a constant miracle people. you've just gotta believe.

better yet, in the spirit of the aforementioned wine/grease combo, sometimes you've just gotta make your own miracle.

salud!

x.

cabernet sauvignon.

2008-04-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

BAREFOOT CELLARS
Cabernet Sauvignon
CALIFORNIA

x-fact ~ you know this wine. with the footprint on the label. check the very bottom shelf. it's been there for years.

barefoot california cabernet sauvignon
paid 4.49
reg. 4.49-5.99

you may be wondering why there is no vintage on this wine. generally a vintage is a year in which the grapes are grown and the wine produced. near as i can figure, if a wine is grown and produced in a fairly stable region that doesn't change a lot weather wise and is pretty much produced consistently in mass quantities the same way all the time, then a vintage isn't particularly necessary.

but, possessing no "real" knowledge about wine, your guess is as good as mine.

so you've seen this wine before. used to be called barefoot cab, or barefoot chard, or barefoot zin? is it coming back to you now?

so this wine is THE FIRST wine wherein i thought the label was "cute." PLUS it was always good and always cheap. (or, a good value if you must)

so to kick off cheap wine month here on the blog, i've decided to start with the first cheap wine i loved.

okay, i know some of you might be thinking "but wait! her first cheap wine love is boone's! she said so! what about the boone's?"

see now, you would be technically correct. BUT, only technically. first of all, only some boone's can actually be called "wine." and then, only barely. they call it citrus wine or apple wine. basically a step up from a wine cooler. then there are the other boone's labels i wouldn't mess with if you paid me. and are most definitely NOT wines. not even slightly. they are malt beverages. so the the neon colored boone's with the crazy names, no thanks. gag. strawberry hill fo' sho'. maybe the apple if i'm feeling particularly appley, though the apple wasn't really my thing. BUT i'm just not a malt beverage kinda girl.

plus i'm not 19. that helps.

because while i enjoyed the boone's at the time as much as any underaged and therefore perpetually financially challenged girl does, as with many things of great importance in one's life, i did not FULLY appreciate all that is boone's until much later in life. when it was gone.

oh, it's still there. only a few dollars more, but worlds away. there is a time and place for boone's. a trip down that memory lane is a "special" journey indeed.

okay, so back to the barefoot. in fact the barefoot of today is actually closer to the price it was back in the day than boone's is! remarkably, it has grown hugely in its amount of medals and accolades and only marginally in price.

i've got to tell you, i love this wine. nostalgia and a good value, sure. but there's more. a reason to love it. it's got a nice layered flavor, it's smooth, and it's got great legs.

now, it takes a sip or two to get to the layers, the smooth, and the legs.

but hell, all good things come to those who wait, right? and what's a sip or two in the grand scheme of a great wine for under 5 bucks?

it's not a big sturdy cabernet, more jammy and punchy. syrupy, but not too sweet. it's got a nice color in the glass. in all fairness there are two slight detractions. the nose, the bouquet, the SMELL, can be a bit alcoholy at the beginning. that goes away after a bit. and i have to say, there's just a teeny teeny teeny dry streak that goes through it here and there.

what!?! dry streak? i know. i told you i don't know a thing about wine! okay, so just slightly, so much as you wouldn't know it unless you had to think about it then blog about it, there is a bit at the top back of the mouth that gets a bit dry. i don't know what that is, but it's there.

i doubt you would notice it, though. i have been drinking this wine for years off and on here and there and only today did i notice it.

the hazards of a wine critic. ha ha ha ha ha okay, the hazards of an accomplished drinker who's trying to legitimize her "hobby."

this is a great "good" wine. this is a wine for a picnic. to bring to someone's house for a bbq. this wine is just fine to bring for dinner and put right out on the table.

this is a cabernet so yadda yadda yadda with the big sauces and red meats and whatnot. BUT, it's refreshingly light as well, and wine drinking is all about what you like.

drink it with a lightly sauteed filet of tilapia topped with a bit of lemon butter parsley sauce and served over a bed of whole wheat couscous with steamed broccoli on the side as we did tonight.

or, with a two fisted mess of ribs and a platter stacked with buttery corn and a pile of fried potatoes which is what i REALLY wanted tonight.

i have carried this bottle in a backpack for a day hike to a mountain lake and back. mmm, just the reward for what turned out to be a few miles longer than planned. and i have also served it at my first and ONLY vegan/vegetarian thanksgiving. bleh. the wine was the saving grace. well, and the mushroom gravy, which was exceptionally good. the rest? well, there was wine.

(oh calm down all you veggies. this was way before i knew much about cooking and long before my then hippie palate got exposed to that which lies beyond the bland that passed for vegetarian and aack! vegan recipes readily available and being cooked in the early nineties)

the thing about serving a bottle of wine that costs less than most 6 packs of beer is that you can more than afford to be adventurous. and generous. that the "rules" about wine don't really apply.

nor should they.

look, wine is beautiful. it is proof that there is a god/dess, likely more than one, and that they ALL love me and want me to be very, very happy. and you! they want you to be happy, too!

and there is a lot of really good wine out there. value wine. fancy wine. expensive wine. and there's a lot of ideas out there about how to and why to and where and with what to drink this wine.

but you know what? pretty much in the grand scheme of life none of that matters.

life is short. too short for stuffy rules that are less about true enjoyment and more about how we look in front of others.

drink this or any other wine you want with what you want. sure, you may find this one or that one isn't the one you like with this dish or that dish.

but that's life. the tasting and the figuring it out and the carrying on with the evening. with life.

AND, this wine has siblings. there's whites, other reds, bubbly. i've tried many, but not all. but i want you to know the ones i have had have been just as good, and just as much a "value."

so i say grab the 4.50 bottle and break out the good glasses. set the table with the good tablecloth and the candlesticks you never use.

life just is what it is and it generally isn't perfect and doesn't follow any rules. so why wait for the "special occasion?"

i say enjoy your life as much as you can as soon as you can.

and for god's sake, use the good china.

especially if it's just fish and couscous and a wednesday evening at home.

cheers!

x.

red burgundy table wine.

2008-03-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

LOUIS JADOT
Beaujolais-Villages
FRANCE
2006

x-fact ~ a bottle of wine wrapped simply with a ribbon tied in a bow is a gift that can never go wrong. and will always be appreciated.

red burgundy table wine france 2006
paid gift...priceless
reg. @9-10

sis in the city brought this to me on easter. the bottle is so very familiar and i know i've had it before. though i cannot remember it for the life of me. regardless, it wouldn't have mattered. i was happy for the gift.

again, about bringing wine as a hostess gift, the host/ess is not required to set it out for consumption that evening. and if he or she chooses to set it aside and serve another bottle, this is not considered rude!

chances could be that there is a set wine the host/ess has chosen for the food being served, or that others before you have arrived with bottle in hand and there is more than enough, OR the bottle you are giving is of a way better quality/label than the one he or she is serving and so it is being put aside for another time.

in this case, my dear sister who is also quite hip to the art of the hostess gift and my love of wine, not only brought this bottle bedecked in a fetching and jaunty red grosgrain ribbon as a gift for me, but she also brought another bottle for sharing at the easter feast.

folks, this is a good woman. if you have friends or relatives like this, treat them well. there should be more people like this in the world. or at least a statue or wall somewhere dedicated to people like this.

i chose to save this particular bottle because we had more than enough for the feast and because i knew there would be an evening this week that it would come in "handy."

in. deed.

and it did tonight. oh, i could go on about the joys of teaching one's young son the art and madness that is borrowing and carrying in subtraction and addition, the havoc that is wreaked on one's calves after two full days of standing at stove and counter chopping and cooking and assembling for a family holiday meal, or the fact that turning on the news these days is about as much fun re-reading one hundred years of solitude or re-watching american beauty.

oh keep your tomatoes! i hated them both and nobody and nothing can make me feel different.

anyhow, where was i?

oh yes. the gift of wine. ah, there is reprieve from the longest presidential race in history and the fact that this country has perfected the art of and as a result is now offering customized one way trips to hell in a hand basket.

this is a beautiful wine. garnet colored and gorgeous in the waning light of a green and wet early spring day.

it had a very nice first sip. needs some warming, but smooth enough for the wine it is. at second and third sip whilst trying to tie up some loose ends on e-mail i didn't notice anything but how much i enjoyed sipping it.

it's got a nice light feel. easy. it doesn't try too hard to be anything other than the red table wine it is and i appreciate that immensely. this is a non-thinking wine.

as i've mentioned before, oftentimes i don't want to have to think about what i'm drinking. am i appreciating this enough? have i paid too much for this bottle? what would i say about this wine if someone asked? how come a 90210 spin-off and not dawson's creek?

oh. wait. where was i?

this is a wine for people who know and love wine, or for people who don't know wine but they like to drink it.

this wine would pair well with eating. hey, i know that sounds weird, but it's a fact that while people think of wine with food as a norm, actually there are a lot of wines i wouldn't think of drinking with food. too soft, too overpowering, too ??? to pair with food.

but not this wine. this wine is a red table wine! all purpose! made for the table! perhaps an afternoon filled with family and friends, a gang of kids, a table groaning with food.

even in this day and age the women all gathered in the kitchen kvetching, laughing, sharing, moving from table to counter to stove to fridge plating and arranging and loading the table with delicious hors d'oeuvre.

generous mushroom caps stuffed to bursting, soft cheeses and crusty baguette slices, small teacups filled with spring pea soup, cheesy olive bread hot and salty and straight from the oven.

sipping and visiting and nibbling and working this wine would pair well with the hors d'oeuvre. a perfect match to such disparate flavors. but the meal is the main event is it not? and yet, this wine, again the admirable hallmark of the red table wine, is just as good with the meal as with the starters.

and what a meal.

fresh ham slow cooked and enrobed in a brown sugar, dijon mustard, and ground clove glaze sliced hot and fresh at table, zucchini gratin artfully arranged, baby carrots steamed and served with a ginger hollandaise, creamy, cheesy, browned just right scalloped potatoes, and a home baked portuguese sweet bread complete with decorative hard cooked eggs nestled in the braid of the loaf.

in and out as the rain allows, it still being very early spring in the pacific northwest, the eggs are hidden and hunted between bouts of showers.

ah, this was easter here at the big red house. and while i kept this bottle to myself and we didn't drink it that day, the fact is it would have been perfect.

a wine like this works so very well for a meal like that. everyone bringing something to contribute, you can't fully coordinate the flavors, you want a real easy going wine to drink alongside.

and you just can't go wrong with a red table wine. going to a picnic or a barbecue or a winter drinks party and you don't know what to bring? bring a red table wine. and trust me, you. really. can't. go. wrong.

it's meant to be neutral in that it just is, and the price is generally pretty easy on any budget. what more could you ask for in a wine?

wrap that puppy in a ribbon tied in a bow and i tell you, watch a girl swoon. or a boy. however it works out in your world, you just can't go wrong.

here's a tip. you want to be a real bad ass when it's a housewarming party? pick one wine and buy two bottles. give one bottle for "drinking together to celebrate your new home tonight!" and one "for drinking on your first year in your new home anniversary!" be really great and label that bottle prettily and definitely with the 1st year anniversary date. (and your name of course)

aannnddd you're a peach! a peach who will likely get an invitation to share said bottle on said anniversary, perhaps with a meal alongside.

people do love a peach. people do love to feed a peach.

wine. the gift that just keeps on giving.

spread the joy. share the wine. be generous.

these are tough times for everyone and i tell ya, it's gonna be the little things that matter most.

so don't skimp when it comes to manners and generosity when you've been invited over to share in someone's home, someone's meal at their table, made with their hands and love. ever.

it doesn't take much, much less than you think, and goes farther than you'll ever know.

because we're all in this together.

and better yet, what you put out, you get back in spades.

better than a one way customized trip to hell in a hand basket, no?

friendship's the wine of life! lets drink of it and to it!

a votre sante!

x.

sangiovese.

2008-03-06T19:49:00.001-08:00

x-fact ~ pronounced san-joh-vay-say or san-joh-vez. i've heard both. but, since i'm not an expert, pick the one you like! or the one that sounds the best after a glass or two.

ali sangiovese di toscana 2006
paid ??
reg. 9.99

i've had this before, but the forever designated driver was responsible for procuring this particular bottle. if memory serves, i do believe this has been at my store for 8.99 or something like that for the last bit of time.

it's a pretty bottle, the shape and the label. but, if you look carefully, the character/angel/peter frampton on halloween on the front is a bit creepy. there's a lot going on in that sketch. from afar, however, it is attractive and fetching. fabulous evenings have been built on this premise and even less, so i just say go for it.

this wine is good. a really rich color and smell in the glass. it's light on the tongue and real smooth going down.

despite it's lightness and smoothness, it's got a nice hit to it. it benefits from a bit of time in the glass being held. you know me, i like a wine that's had some body contact.

the thing is though, it's a bit of a lonely wine. meaning, i think it doesn't really like drinking alone.

perhaps it's because it's tuscan, perhaps it's just social by nature, but it seems like it would be a better sip if sipped with food.

in fact, and i could be making this up because i'm a writer and accomplished drinker and therefore given to my own reality, BUT if my addled memory serves me correctly i do believe the other time i had this wine it was with a wonderful italian dish i made awhile ago.

though i do gas on about the benefits of boxed wine in the post that contained the recipe, i do believe the wine i had with the meal was this one.

why do i remember that? how do i remember that? (i remember nothing. the original blank slate)

no matter! a crispy polenta round topped with a delectable and deeply and richly layered in flavor sausage and mushroom sauce. mmmm, boy was that good. oh, and so. very. easy.

just like this wine. it's so unobtrusive, but not in the way the forgettable wines are. but in the way a good companion wine is. a delicious wine, but one that can not only pair well with intense foods, but practically begs to be.

a true tuscan! that most romantic and yet overexposed patch of land. ah! tuscany! like the lindsey lohan or paris hilton or britney spears of vacation destinations, there is such a thing as overexposure even for the classics.

but what tuscany has that none of those other come and gone flavors of the moment have is actual beauty, endless grace, and an unrivaled sense of place.

i imagine tuscany to be the sophia loren of the business. timeless, gorgeous, the start and the end. and everything in between.

bathed in sun and olive oil and wine, tuscany is the gold standard. and when all the hoopla dies down, it will still be as gorgeous and relevant and magical as it was before. century after century.

and so goes the pairing of a wonderful red wine with a fabulous meal.

and yet, not always a given. just because you have a good wine and a good meal it doesn't mean they will pair well.

like most pairs in life, chemistry is key.

without that chemistry, you get harrison ford and anne heche in 6 days, 7 nights. /shudder.

with that chemistry, you get harrison ford and melanie griffith in working girl. /grin.

and if you are very very lucky, you will get meryl streep and clint eastwood in bridges of madison county.

never ever underestimate the lasting power and the lifelong impetus of a great wine and food pairing.

i'm not one of those who say this wine is the only wine for this food. BUT, like each. and. every. one. of. us. good food and good wine both deserve to shine. to be appreciated for their fabulousness.

drowning your meal with overpowering wine or overpowering your wine with an intense meal doesn't do anyone any favors.

appreciating flavor is one of the greatest gifts we are given. let us celebrate that in as many ways as we can.

i wish you great meals and even better wine to drink with them!

chin chin!

x.

syrah.

2008-03-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

FIREFLY RIDGE
2005
Central Coast
SYRAH

x-fact ~ wine is emotional.

firefly ridge central coast syrah 2005
paid 7.99
reg. 14.99

(i KNOW, huh? 7 bucks off?)

i do wish i had a label to share. alas.

i saw this wine at safeway several months ago. i noticed the label and couldn't decide if i thought it was sweet or swill. perfect.

but, at 14.99 i passed it by. natch.

today as i went about my errands that concerned the acquiring of provisions for a feverish and throw-upping child and a forever designated driver wracked by body aches and timidness of stomach, i was also thinking of a dear friend who had passed on this weekend 4 years ago.

my mood was somewhat somber, not helped by my trip to safeway. a store i don't frequent a lot and frequently doesn't stock a lot of what i would buy. and let's just let the snob out of the bag and say these are not my people.

oh hell, who am i kidding!?! if there were such a place populated by my people you know i'd probably never visit anyway. /shudder.

BUT, safeway has a respectable wine selection that more than frequently has more than a few good deals.

so, oddly on this day i was drawn to the back wall. a section of fancier and more pricey labels that i don't really check out. ever. and there it was, a bottle i recognized and never really considered. and right then i thought how my dear friend who had passed would have very much liked the label. so i picked it up just to look.

and wouldn't you know it, it was 7.99 down from 14.99? (i never see deals like this at safeway!) so i grabbed it up. the only bottle left.

you know, i like it. at first i was a bit concerned. it went down really easy, but without any kind of real flavor. or body. but very pleasant nonetheless. a great color, though. it looks really inviting in the glass.

at second and third sip it remains just as pleasant, but doesn't gain a lot in flavor. it practically floats on the tongue and feels like nothing at the back of the throat. oftentimes a good tasting wine on the tongue can give the throat a bit of a bracing pass through. this wine didn't. nor did it become any more flavorful.

it had a good smell and wonderful legs too, but pretty much stayed the same taste wise throughout.

i couldn't help but think of my friend while drinking it, though. how much she loved the central coast of california where this wine comes from, something we shared but something she partook of more than i was able to. and too, how she loved the sweet that i usually found swill. isn't the love of friendship grand in that the really good ones can sustain complete chasms of similar taste?

oddly, though, the fact that if she were here with me, we'd BOTH be enjoying this bottle with nary a thought. and so, you know, i wasn't really concerned with all of that other *wine business*. i didn't need the big body and the juice of flavor, i was content in my reverie.

wine is relationship for me. i'm at the age now wherein i have trouble remembering some friends and lovers, but there is cellular memory in wine. like a song or a smell, wine will take me back.

to this day i can't drink a montepulciano d'abruzzo without remembering that it was my first ever sip of a "good" wine. and a better memory. courtesy of a cloudless day, a bend in a nameless river, and a beautiful boy who brought it to my lips. sigh double sigh.

i can't drink a chardonnay without thinking of my first AND ONLY purchase of alcohol with a fake i.d.! HA! so fitting that it would be wine!

oh, and the lazy hazy afternoon that followed with the illicit purchases in my favorite small town with good friends and that endlessly endless way early incarnation of mazzy star as background music. sadly, and you never see it coming because you will always be friends forever, none of them exist in my own universe anymore, except when i have that first cold and perfect sip of chardonnay. sigh.

and lord, did my dear friend who passed love a port. i can't sip port without thinking of her. when she died her childhood best friend who grew into my forever best friend and i shared a bottle of her favorite port. but only 2/3 of the bottle. when she was cremated, the last 1/3 of the bottle, her share, bottle and all was tossed in with her.

yes. you can do that. and mixed in with her ashes you will see these beautiful, "unexplainable" unless you knew better, green *crystals*.

a fine and everlasting tribute to a wonderful wonderful and sorely sorely missed friend.

i can see drinking this wine while having lunch al fresco. a simple table set in someone's garden. a bit too hot. the flies never leave you alone. but the fresh grown tomatoes still warm from the sun they were growing in not an hour earlier mixed with the gorgeous green of the olive oil and the crisp and creamy white of a fresh mozzarella means nothing else matters. not the flies. not the heat.

this wine is a fabulous complement to the lovely yet simple elements of a classically beautiful meal. it's not too bold to disturb the wonderful flavors, nor does it need anything else to hold it up to being deliciously drinkable.

and seriously, who needs remarkable when you have homegrown tomatoes and the company of a good friend?

light and floating, this wine could take you all the way from the lingering lunch to a sliced up watermelon plunked on the table in a great heavy platter. slices are grabbed without benefit of plates while more wine is poured.

and i can say on good authority that i know my dear friend would have really enjoyed this wine, and better yet would have kept the empty bottle long after our lunch and my departure and indeed would have put some odd garden bouquet in it later in the summer. more than once.

while i wouldn't pay full price for this bottle, i'm glad i got to experience it. it's a good if not great wine, but what it lacks in anything it more than makes up for in the fact that it can kinda just go with the flow and be okay.

hey, that's not a bad thing. it's not gonna make you stupid or mask your meal. it's a handsome bottle for the table and the label invokes a playful spirit. plus, it brings to mind wonderful memories of a wonderful friend.

friendship is a moment. to be cherished and celebrated as. much. as. possible.

because it can be fleeting and short lived and all of that.

love your friends. drink wine.

drink wine with your friends and make your own touchstones. life is such that you just may need them more than you know.

all these places had their moments
with lovers and friends
i still can recall
some are dead and some are living
in my life i've loved them all

x.

cabernet sauvignon.

2008-02-25T22:05:00.001-08:00

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.

syrah.

2008-02-20T21:13:00.000-08:00

x-fact ~ you say syrah! i say shiraz! let's call the whole thing off! it's syrah in the united states, parts of europe, and parts south america. it's shiraz in south africa, new zealand, and more well known, from australia.

rosenblum california syrah 2005
gift ~ priceless
reg. 12

ah, can wine ever be as sweet as that that is poured from a bottle given in friendship?

yes, yes it can people. be gracious, but don't be fooled.

there are no guarantees in life, less so in wine.

BUT, i am happy to say this was not one of those bottles!

good lord, but this is a good wine. this is a wine i'd buy by the case and keep on hand i love it that much.

though it was given to me by a dear friend and reader, who knows my taste and has taste herself, there is always that long moment before the first sip in any new bottle. more so in a given bottle.

i needn't have worried.

this wine was so smooth at first sip, the kind of smooth i just wish EVERY wine could be.

i know i go on and on and on about smooth. but i'm tellin' you man, there is nothing that can replace that smooth in wine. like the thickness of crust on fried chicken or the level of spice in lamb curry, this gal knows what she likes and what can't be futzed with. my kingdom for smooth.

and if i am remembering correctly, my friend had not had this wine herself, but chose it for me because it sounded rather like the delicious red truck i reviewed not so long ago.

and man if she wasn't right on! yea PJM! you get the sillymortalmama gold star of excellence!!!

seriously, bring me wine (and in this case wine and bavarian beer cheese. good lord in some countries that's as good as a marriage proposal!)

where was i? oh, yeah, bring me wine and really, that gold star is yours. i'm easy. but, i suppose that doesn't come as much of a shock now does it.

it really had that fabulous jammy quality that red truck does, the kind that only really works when the wine is as smooth as it possibly can be. (okay, done with smooth for this post. no more smooth. moving on from the smooth)

and what of the connection between these wines? is it simply the edjucated whimsy of a careful label reader? or the kind of interesting and literally grabbed onto similarity that one generally finds with a stranger who turns out to be from your neck of the woods? how many of us, traveling, living, or working far from home has encountered someone from their own hometown? instant and giddy connection!

these two wines come from little more than an hour's distance apart in my home state. not much more distance from my hometown. perhaps that's the draw? i can feel the crisp heat and hear the crunch of the dried and golden "grass" beneath my feet on my way to that big oak yonder. a shade that will not shelter me from the heat for long, but will be comforting to rest against nonetheless.

okay, okay, i'll quit flashing my poetic license and interject towards a new direction now because i know you're dying to know what the little label under the big label is.

vintner's cuvee. okay, let's see. vintner is the maker. cuvee basically means this is the ultra special offering from the vintner.

in wine you'll see a lot of "reserve" and "special edition" and "limited release" on a lot of labels. i've always wondered about that. because as far as i'm concerned these are just marketing ploys. i mean, considering each wine has a vintage, one specific year in which it was produced and is printed on the label, all of them already are, for all intents and purposes, "special limited releases." am i right? like 1989 is NOT going to come around again, right? please tell me i'm right. please tell me it won't.

cuvee is just a more "actual" and "technical" and "genuine" way of saying this is a "special" wine.

and it is. all of the other fabulous attributes i mentioned above PLUS just enough of the syrupy undertones to keep it interesting sip after sip. but not so syrupy as to be cloying.

too often in wines i feel like the sugar comes in after the first few sips as sort of a stand in or court jester if you will. you know, over here! look at me! don't pay attention to the man behind the curtain!

kind of a distraction from the fact that the wine is about to lose a bit of its drinkability, if it had it to begin with. or that it just can't sustain the favorable taste it initially had through the glass let alone the bottle, so they drag in the sugar.

it's like wine porn. the wine knows it can't keep you hooked, so it tries to hook you with a little sugah.

fortunately, i didn't have to cheapen myself for this wine. because everything was just perfect.

and when i drink a wine like this, i automatically think of two things. one, i'd love to have a very small, very fancy dinner party and serve this reasonably priced wine BY THE CASE and no one is the wiser to the price and appropriately impressed with my largess. and two, i'd love to drink this bottle sitting in the yard, on the top of a hiked to mountain, at the bend of a river.

perfection in wine is like perfection in your favorite people. you can dress them up and take them out or you can lie in the dirt propped against a granite boulder and swig from the bottle or your hiking cup just wiped clean with your sweaty shirt.

you're more than happy either way. and so is the person next to you.

and that's the thing i want to shout from the rooftops about wine. wine is for the people!! it should be as comfortable at table as it is being toted in a backpack and hacked into with the swiss army knife. you know, because the one you always seem to throw in your pack is the one that has the BENT ASS CORKSCREW. seriously, i have like two of these. what's up with that?

and wine, even and especially so, good wine, need not be out of reach. i have had some amazing wines. and i'll tell ya, so SO many of them, close to most, were UNDER 15 dollars, more so UNDER 12, and a hell of a lot of them UNDER 10.

truthfully, if it's over 7.99 a bottle i start to get a bit funny. i look in the cart, see what i'm getting, what i might put back in favor of including the wine in the budget. the babies don't really "need" milk, do they? i mean, we've got sheep in the pasture don't we? if i could just catch them. hmmm?

my comfortable price point definitely lies below 10. and i have to say, if i wasn't such a cheap bastard, i'd drink a LOT more than i do. and that's just another kinda hobby in itself now isn't it?

but even better than a reasonably priced wine is a wine given as a gift.

and DO NOT be afraid of choosing wine for a gift!! it's really not as daunting a task as it seems. and seriously, a true wine lover will totally appreciate any effort. and if they don't, they're an ass and you should question your association with them.

it's like a chef who never gets invited over for dinner because the regular home cook is afraid to cook for the professional cook. poor chef.

the thing about giving wine is the same about giving anything. give what you like, give what you think they will like, give in love, give in adventure, but ultimately, give of yourself. give the gift that says, i took some time and i found this for you.

doesn't matter the price, it really is the thought that counts. and if anyone tries to tell you or convince you different, ditch 'em and come to dinner or on a hike with me.

just pull up a rock and hold out your cup.

x.

red wine.

2008-02-14T18:22:00.001-08:00

x-fact ~ don't judge a wine by its label.

house wine columbia valley red wine 2005
paid 8.99
reg. 12.99

i bought this wine after not buying it for some time. honestly, the label turned me off. i know, i've proven myself a sucker for a label, BUT this was just too *ironic*. when i saw it i felt tired. weary. been there, done that.

(i grew up during the time when you could actually go down the aisle of a grocery store and see beer, and nothing else on a beer can. cereal, and nothing else on a box of cereal. i lived in seattle at the heyday and height of grunge. aaannnnd, you get the generic picture. ahh, the good old days. so much of my youth has become a marketing ploy, i get a bit weary, understandably so. probably one of the reasons i do like my wine. but, where was i?)

and after passing it by for a few years just because of the label, i bought it this time simply because i read a very cool review of the wine maker and his new project in the paper. the same paper that has refused to print another brazilliant letter to the editor of mine TWO letters in a row now, but that's another story for another bottle of wine.

oh, but it's good. you know i love a red table wine or a red blend.

what's not to love? no fussiness, no pretension, it's like a big deep skillet of red sauce as opposed to a saucier of hollandaise.

each has their merit, clearly, but what's better than a big hunk of bread ripped from a fresh loaf and dunked into red sauce bubbling on the stove? and they say almonds or ambrosia or somesuch is the food of the gods!

there is never not a good time for a simple red wine. (i know, i said that about boone's too, but don't worry, they won't both be tattooed on my ass. mainly because it's not yet big enough. i'll get back to you on that)

this wine is predominantly a cabernet sauvignon, with a healthy dose of merlot, a bit of syrah and a whisper and a kiss of malbec and cabernet franc.

cabernet franc? say what?

cabernet franc is a parent grape of cabernet sauvignon that can stand alone, but is basically meant for blending. thin skinned and bright red, i call it the lolita grape because it buds and ripens early and needs a bit of fussing.

wine isn't always pretty, folks.

and, being a bit thin skinned myself, i do love the cab franc.

it's so drinkable, this wine. i'm not saying i'd stick a straw in the bottle and call it good, but that's only because i have to put these high dollar glasses to use and i don't have a straw that long.

my life. so hard.

seriously, about wine. if you enjoy it, then do your homework. read the wine page in your paper's (generally) weekly food section. familiarize yourself with all the fluffy language, but mainly with what's out there. sure perhaps you may not be familiar with what's being written about, or what's offered in the This Week's Wine Deals column, but once you start getting familiar you've got an edge.

and then when you're wandering the wine aisle like a lost soul trying to look like you're not, you'll see a familiar name, or a label, even a word and that's a start.

it's not unlike going to a singles mixer. find what looks familiar and all of a sudden you're jumping in!

or. not. depending on the other singles. and who goes to a mixer anymore?

you get the idea.

back to this wine. i do have to disclose that at the first bit of sip before it even registered as a full sip there was a bit of the um, hit at the back of the throat. a bit bracing. but good lord, if i wasn't looking for it, it wouldn't be there. and i didn't get that again. in fact, it only got smoother.

and i have to say, there is something about getting the wine from the bottle into your glass and then holding that glass. then, that wine in your glass in your hand warms in a very organic way, with you. unlike marble that registers 11 degrees below the air around it and thus is good as a foil to rolling the fussy and demanding pastry it's subject to, wine becomes part of who you are with holding it.

you know all those books and movies about the cooking and the chocolate making and the feelings and the ideas that come with consuming what is concocted purely of the acute sum of the creator's *being* at that exact moment, well, dear reader, so goes the drinking of wine.

be mindful of your wine and it will reward you beyond your wildest dreams. (drinkers note: straws in bottles and other amusee' of that nature fall under the *spirit of the moment* clause. in layman's terms, generally, behavior of this sort is not held to other, more stringent, wine drinking standards, and thus, it's best to just go with it. do quote me if need be)

it's interesting that i had this tonight, as i had the opportunity today to watch my state's house of representatives present a terribly important bill for my neck of the woods. and afterwards, given the chance to meet with four of my area's elected officials working on this bill, i was impressed at how polished and knowledgeable and yet at ease and accessible they were.

being a cynic and having no experience with politicians i figured they'd be a lot like the politicians one sees on t.v.

you know, all hat and no cattle.

perhaps it's because my state has a citizen legislature (they all have outside jobs) or because we're just a more laid back folk here, but i have to say, the accessibility and shared concern was more than refreshing.

as a cynic, i was mightily impressed. and felt heard.

so don't be shy about your government representatives! you've just got to know when to go, make yourself known, be aware and present. there was banter, questioning, and yes, some really good answers. go with questions or ideas! be a part!

especially now, we must never forget how much politics matter. and how much our elected officials are there because we put them there. they work for us. and we need to exercise and take advantage of that fact a bit more as john q. public than we do. a LOT more.

i feel the same about wine. especially this wine. wine need not be fancy and high dollar to be good. no hard to pronounce names or fancy glasses needed for a fabulous and enjoyable glass of wine. like politics SHOULD be, wine SHOULD also be for the masses.

me? i like things i *get*. and can just keep on getting. that ask of me, but not so much as to ask that i am under some sort of delusion about how things are. i don't like a willing suspension of disbelief unless i'm watching a tom cruise movie.

wine and politics? give it to me straight.

and straight up, this is the kinda wine i like. accessible, but something to rave about. affordable, but worth the price and then some. and handsome at any gathering.

and, it's local. made right here in my state, by a local boy made good. well, *local* in that we share a birth region as well as a (temporary) transplant location. so he's as local as anything else i guess.

bring this wine to a housewarming, or, better yet, serve this wine at your own housewarming, saving the bottles your guests bring for another time. (perfectly acceptable etiquette wise)

we have to remember that this is our one wonderful life! make your voice known! take chances! make choices!

make your voice heard!

drink wine!

drink this wine!

because no matter how it all pours out in the end, you always have a voice, and there is always wine. hell, even if it doesn't pan out how you like, take advantage of your options and keep your fingers crossed.

and, really, this beloved country has MORE THAN PROVED that while 8 years can seem like 80, this too, shall pass.

sigh. double. sigh.

and hey, in the meantime, in matters of drink and politics, USE IT OR LOSE IT!

cheers!

x.

syrah.

2008-02-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

MASSET WINERY
Yakima Valley
BASKET PRESSED SYRAH
2004

x-fact ~ basket presses were used before modern wine making techniques were invented. the design is said to not have changed in 1000 years.

masset winery basket pressed syrah
paid 14.99
reg. 19.99

yes, you saw those numbers right! i know, just typing them makes me sweaty.

this past summer we took a road trip to yakima. it was hotter than an empty cast iron skillet forgotten on the stove, and just what we wanted. we hadn't even planned the trip, just knew we needed to get out of town. the older boybarian was at summer camp and we missed him terribly. the house didn't seem quite right. the weather just a bit off. so, we decided to head out of dodge and change our scenery.

so we dialed up one of those last minute cheapy hotel reservation sites they always talk about on that world wide internets, packed our suits, and headed out of town.

and it was not bad, but everything you expect a cheapy hotel reservation from the world wide internets to be.

we stayed poolside when sun permitted without burning us to a crisp, napped in an icy air conditioned room in the afternoon, and ate incredibly delicious authentic mexican food in the evening.

good lord did yakima remind me of my hometown 20 and 25 years ago. and who knew how comforting that would be? a place i didn't even know i was chafing against and happy to leave behind until i did. a place that i now mourn isn't the same place i was so hot to leave?

and while we enjoyed the heat and the air conditioning and the pool and the food and the farmer's market to die for, we also were more than happy to go on a wine tasting tour.

we ended up going to three different wineries.

the first one was for lack of a better word, meh. it seemed promising enough from the description in all the literature. old time mercantile/winery. special house made "famous" deserts. wine lovingly hand crafted.

(though, i always get wary of the word "famous." i always see it in "quotation marks." i am usually "disappointed." and, um, cue the meh, on the "famous" desserts in this case. but, i'm getting ahead of myself.)

i don't know if it was that it was practically in the parking lot of a gas station, or it was the port-a-potties we saw when we parked, or the ugly "handmade" crafts from china, or the people who worked there, but it wasn't so good.

as we waited for the free walking advertisement for nascar family of admitted "primarily soda drinkers!" and silently admitted fanny pack lovers to finish their tasting i looked about the place and just had hope against hope that despite the surroundings the wine would be excellent.

le petit boybarian was beginning to get a bit antsy but right before he fully blew it was our turn to taste.

"well, hello folks! what can i pour for you?"

"well, i think we'd both like to try your reds"

"oh, okay. i cannot stand red wine myself! i do love the whites though!"

way to sell the wine, lady.

so she pours the first one and i understand why she feels the way she does about reds if this is the only red she might have had. bleh.

she must have noticed my lack of enthusiasm because as i tried a second sip she chose that moment to say

"yeah. in fact that last group in here? the gal said this wine tasted like an old foot!"

cackle cackle. hack smoker's cough hack.

mmm. pour me another.

the next wine was okay.

the third held more promise. it was a red table wine and had had some mention at some fair at some point.

we tasted it and it was...okay.

by now the woman was tired of us. apparently we weren't as "charming" as the nascar family ahead of us and it was obvious that it had been too long between cigarette breaks.

and because i am a sucker and can't handle confrontation and was way more than eager to end the whole ordeal i bought a bottle.

i know. i know.

but you go wine tasting when it's just the two of you in the place! (not.enough.buffer!) and an unfunny, un-charming flo from alice pouring!! when the wine is crappy and the place is hot and smells like cheap candles and stale hard candy and it's long past time to go!!

the dark side of wine tasting. no one ever tells you.

alright. moving right along.

honestly i won't even bore you with the other winery and get to the good stuff.

right up the road apiece was a beautiful, oh it was beautiful, winery.

small and tasteful.

when you walked in the tasting room it was cool, and quiet, and beautifully simple in that beautifully simple french country kinda way.

and it smelled good. good lord if i could replicate the smell in my own home i would die a happy woman.

we had a delightful tasting with a chef turned wine maker (hooray! nice work if you can get it, huh?) who was neither overly friendly or overly not.

which was nice.

he likes wine and makes it.

we like wine and drink it.

a fine relationship indeed that needs. nothing. else.

we tasted a white and a few reds. and this was the one that stood out.

delicious right at first. smooth. a real nice heft to it too.

i know. i know. heft. but this is another of those wines that really lets you know it's there. and it's delicious.

it's a big taste. not the big you get (though happily) in a generous carafe at your favorite italian restaurant but big as in broad. there was so much in this flavor. so much so that after tasting this i did not immediately look at the price. good sign.

it had a warmth and grace that i appreciated as a wine lover, but recognized too as something that i don't have the opportunity to experience very often.

at my price point i enjoy a LOT of great wines, but the higher you go in price and the smaller you go in cases produced (145 cases in all of this particular vintage) you can get some very spectacular wines.

this was truly a spectacular wine.

so we bought half a case.

here's a tip while tasting at wineries or buying at the supermarket. buying in bulk will get you the best deals.

half a case (6 bottles) or more and you realize a discount. generally 10%. usually at the supermarket and other retail stores, you can mix and match. though, i've found that at wineries they like you to buy 6 or more of the same wine, but that's not always the case. just remember wherever you go to check it out and you can usually come out ahead.

hey, wine sellers are wine drinkers too. whether at the store or the winery, don't be afraid to ask for the deals.

in this case, we bought a "passport." for this particular wine region, for 5 bucks you buy a bundle of papers (presented in a "fashionable" wear around the neck holder. oh, i could tell you some stories about the few wine tours i've been on. and all of them requiring some sort of wearing of something. and all. of. them. really. hideous.) that includes a map, among other information, about the wineries with some kind of deal offered at each. and, not only do you get all of that, when you go to each winery on the map you get a stamp. get all the boxes stamped for having visited and you get some other, bigger offering.

we bought a passport at the first winery which shall not be named because we knew we were going to go to to others, AND because we did it saved us right then and there on the bottle we were buying!

and so, right then, a so so wine becomes a bit less "so" as the price drops.

but what this really meant was that when we found the wine we really loved, at Masset Winery, it went from 19.99 a bottle to 14.99 a bottle.

so remember, good wine can be pricey. check out winery deals before you go. whether you go individually or as a tour, there's generally a savings offered somewhere.

and if you're buying at the supermarket, there's almost always a savings. if you can, you'll get a good deal stocking up and keeping a bit of a wine cache.

unless you live at my house.

stocking up?

wine cache?

i do not know from these words!

because if you're an actual grownup, you'll not have a cache so much as you'll have a cellar. bigger than a cache, a cellar is a collection of wines. which basically means you can actually buy wine, and then, wait for it...keep it around faster than you'll drink it.

whaa? i know.

anyhow, i opened one of our bottles bought this summer tonight. just because it's a tuesday, and just because sometimes what you taste at a winery can be "different" when you get it home. i don't mean better or worse, just different.

so i busted out the good glasses. in this case, the specifically syrah glasses the forever designated driver has the unexplained deep seated driving need to purchase and put in the buffet. along with the stemless whites also purchased by him, and the wedding gift reds we were lucky to receive.

me? i love a jelly jar. well, i should say did. i still do drink out of my beloved jelly jars, but not as much. because as i have progressed in my love of wine, and um, the amount of money i spend on my love of wine, i only think it fair to treat the wine right.

so i got out the stemmed syrah/shiraz glasses, not to be confused with the stemless ones, and realized they still had the little sticky tags on them that announce that they had never been used and have an impressive german pedigree.

hmm. do they know the dishwasher? because they're from the same place? do they have people in common? because from what i gather both the glasses and the dishwasher think terribly highly of themselves.

so i got the glasses out and carefully washed them up and carefully hand dried them with a very soft cloth and thought where in the sam hell are my jelly jars!

good lord did i mention how i do love a jelly jar? none of this fancy ass fiddly glass washing nonsense. one big puff of air to blow out the dust and BAM! you're drinking! and if you need more than a blow, pull out your shirt tail and BAM!

but i shall concede that perhaps it's because i'm old enough to wish i was already used to the finer things in life that i do enjoy my wine in a proper glass.

plus, he keeps bringing them home. i suppose it could be worse.

he could bring home fish for me to clean. a game animal to store. a wife and child he failed to mention. arby's for dinner.

i poured and we sipped and that was that.

just as good as when we had it from the source.

smooth and wonderful and delicious with the BIG flavor and delightful aroma that finishes splendidly on the tongue, without overpowering anything. your palate, your food, your mood.

i'd like to have enough knowledge to say this has something to with the basket pressed processing or . . .

but i just like it. it's delicious and i'm glad for the five remaining bottles i still have.

shh. don't let me know i have that cache. good lord that's nearly like the beginning of a gasp! cellar.

noooooo!

what will the jelly jars think?

sigh.

cheers!

x.

pinot noir.

2008-01-31T18:40:00.000-08:00

PINOT EVIL
France
PINOT NOIR
no vintage

x-fact ~ pinot grapes are said to be difficult to make into wine

pinot evil pinot noir
paid 5.99
reg. 7

couldn't find a label to share with you without stealing an image from someone else. which is unfortunate indeed, because the label is perhaps the most fetching thing about this wine.

a detailed sketch of three monkeys. one covering his eyes, one his ears, one his mouth.

see no evil...pinot evil.

clever, no?

not that it's a bad wine. because it's not bad. i've had bad wine. one day i'll tell you about the wine i had that tasted like rotten smoked meat.

boy, and i'll tell you what, it was a challenge to choke that whole bottle down. whew.

so, no, this was not bad.

i've not had this wine before, though i've seen it around. the forever designated driver bought this at the state run liquor store the other day.

now, i must make a case for all of you who live in states wherein hard alcohol is only sold at state run liquor stores. open 10-7, closed sundays, never a sale. and if there is, it's a dollar off if you're lucky.

sucks if you suddenly feel like a cocktail at home on a sunday and the cupboard is bare.

BUT, they often have good wine deals. and not just on mediocre wines either. for instance, a few weeks ago the forever designated driver got an $18 bottle of favorite champagne for 7 bucks.

they don't keep wines around that don't move rapidly. which in a town that has a lot of cheap rum and even cheaper vodka and chilled fruit flavored wines drinkers, i doubt the pinots and champagnes are flying off the shelf. which means more for me!

so back to the wine. you know, wine doesn't need to be a big celebration. sometimes it just needs to be wine.

and that's what this wine was. wine.

i had a clean pile of laundry in the living room that was roughly 6x2x3. and that's in feet.

soooooo, i had my evening cut out for me.

i opened a bottle of the pinot evil and set to work.

at first sip the wine was a bit bracing. perhaps it me? i thought, so i took another sip.

better, a bit. smooth this time, not as bracing. but there was no real, um, ooomph.

i know, oomph? but for lack of a better term, it was pleasant enough but nothing really to attach to in terms of flavor.

as i folded and sipped i listened to the democratic presidential debate. and, it seemed, for at least this evening, the skirt and the upstart were finally making tracks towards their own version of "can't we all just get along?"

sip, fold, sip. even while sparring and lobbing (fairly toothless) barbs, these two were a bit more complimentary than usual. suddenly the lack of oomph didn't matter so much. sip sip.

though i have to say i will miss the hunk. now that he finally got that constant upper lip licking nonsense under control, he was looking pretty darned good. and yes, i appreciated his political positions and ideology, too. but that honeyed southern voice as smooth as a bottle of maker's mark in front of the fire. sigh.

where was i? oh, yeah.

i love wine. i especially love red wine. and when you love something as much as you possibly can, you open up your heart up as big as it will go and inadvertently you also open yourself up to EVERYTHING else that comes your way.

it's not unlike unzipping your skin and allowing your heart front row to the elements. the good bad and the ugly. but, no matter what, you love so you move forward.

you are optimistic, and even if you are detoured or detained, you move forward. because you know love is fickle and unpredictable. and your heart is exposed so you do what you can to keep going because love will help to cover what is raw and gaping.

and you know, because all the songs and movies and books tell you, that even into the greatest love affair rain must fall, but then the sun comes out again. even the most intense connection the power will fail, and you know it will return again.

love is not a guarantee. especially for the wine drinker.

one bad bottle, one bad glass. one well meaning host who pulls the bottle of red from the coldest part of the fridge, or the long opened bottle of white from the cabinet. "i know it's here somewhere. this is where i put it after we had some at easter." it's now autumn. you accept the glass because what else do you do?

it doesn't take much for the tides to change.

i have had wine that i declared right then and there my new favorite! yessir! gulp gulp! totally forgetting and leaving behind whatever came before. without even so much as a passing goodbye.

i've had wines that were nothing to write home about and wines i knew i would never drink again. i've had wines that tasted like swill, even as the person who poured it for me went on and on and on about the price and the greatness of it and blah. blah. blah.

and i've drunk them all with a polite smile and thoughts of better days with better wines. and better hosts.

but, such is life. especially so in the life of a wine drinker.

this bottle of pinot did not get worse with drinking nor did it get particularly better. it did not warm in the glass or on the tongue, it did not give me that spreading flow, it did not make me draw ridiculous cultural parallels as some other wines have.

but, what this wine did do was provide me with a bit of sweet reprieve, sip by sip, during a tedious task. well, two, if you count folding the mount vesuvius of laundry AND listening to yet one more presidential candidate debate.

and that was just enough.

and i daresay, by the end of the glass or two i had i no longer saw the pile of laundry that had been daunting me all week, the debate, however cordial, was over, and the wine in my glass tasted pretty darn okay.

no need for covering my eyes, my ears, or my mouth.

not bad.

a votre sante!

x.

grenache.

2008-01-29T19:37:00.001-08:00

x-fact ~ pronounced gren-ash

bitch south australian grenache 2006
paid 9.99
reg. @12.99

(the label is 2005, i had a 2006)

i love this wine. not because the label is so bitchin', but because this wine is!

i first saw this wine months and months ago at my store. i've bought it at least once for my little sister (sis in the city) perhaps twice, but have never had it myself.

okay, i know she gave me a glass at some point at her house after i gave it to her, but seriously, i'm sure it wasn't my *first* glass for the evening or even second, definitely not the . . . and as a result i don't really recall drinking it.

anyhow, the forever designated driver bought this for me and brought it home. i was so excited by the girly pink label that i didn't even think to ask why my forever designated driver of more than 13 years brought me a wine called "bitch."

huh.

no matter because i am in love. i am in love with this wine. this wine is gorgeous in the bottle, and even better looking in the glass. a crystal clear, deep garnet color, with a drink me mantra firmly gripping your palate and legs like you wouldn't believe.

at first sip it's delicious. mmm. i do love a grenache. a grenache generally lacks tannins, which is a boon for those who don't really like a "red winey" kind of wine.

and which for some, can be boring and no better than a wine to blend with something a bit more assertive.

but for me, it's fun and flirty and so unabashedly drinkable. which suits the label and the name and the whole shebang.

as i've mentioned, i do love a wine that i can just *be* with. great at first sip and remains so throughout.

and like one of those epic first or second or . . . totally great dates it's delicious and beautiful and doesn't make me think.

well, okay, yes i do appreciate a brain. but c'mon! don't you think there is a place for the empty calorie in the world of romance? just a teensy glass every now and again?

the thing about this wine that surprises me, though, is there is an underlying complexity. one must be open to it, but in the first few sips and beyond, underneath it all, i really got a layer of flavor not unlike a port.

not the port your uncle frank pushes on you from a dusty and long been opened bottle that sports a label you are sure you've seen on perpetual sale at the drugstore in the canned soup, canned fruit, "wine" aisle. but a delicious port perfect for sipping from a properly fiddly little port glass.

yet even though there is that hinty layer of port, this wine is light and juicy and totally fabulous in that floating on your tongue before it hits your stomach kinda way.

i can't say when to drink this wine. it's so good just as is on a tuesday night after a long day. a day of hearing things come out of your mouth that you swore never would. just sadly confirming that yes, ma'am, you can be the mom you never thought you would become. sigh.

and in the blink of an eye you are stronger and funnier and more patient than you ever knew you could be. and in an instant you are the mom you always dreamed you could be. sigh, double sigh.

i want to gossip on the phone after a few sips of this. juicy AND true the gossip must be to do this wine justice. well, and isn't that the best kind?

i want to watch a movie that has romance, but isn't a romantic comedy. dogfight. as good as it gets. knocked up.

ANY movie with john cusack.

this wine is kelly and dylan and that summer on the beach when brenda went to paris. an undeniable attraction to someone who could "belong" to your best friend, who's flawed, perhaps dangerous, maybe a loser, and has no business in your life to begin with. (though dylan was perfect. sigh, triple sigh) there is more than one obstacle and really it's probably gonna end badly, or, and this is a BIG *or*, maybe not. and yet, there you have it.

and do you remember the song they played during that episode?

ayup.

bitch by meredith brooks.

ah, 90210. that season in particular. at that time, not since m*a*s*h in syndication and magnum p.i. on prime time did t.v. so fulfill me body and soul.

like what those shows gave me at the time, this wine is charming, engaging, and goes down easily without a lot of thought or none at all. and damn it if you don't feel worlds better for having had a glass or two of it.

best to drink this wine with a long distance chatty catch up phone call or an intimate gathering of good friends or sisters. because as we all are prone to, given the right circumstances, or the perfect bottle of wine, right and wrong and all that in between seems to fall away with each glass and what you're left with is just the idea of what the moment could be.

which works perfectly well in tv land zip codes and songs of assertiveness and romantic but not romantic comedy movies.

in the real world, the world of the been there done that and as a result the, ahem!, presumed wiser, it's nice to just have a tuesday as is.

with a wine as good as this, and memories as, ummm, yeah, as "bad" as that.

cheers, bitches!

x.

dry red table wine.

2008-01-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

x-fact ~ this wine is described as a "young super tuscan". a "super tuscan" is simply any table wine from tuscany that is a blend of grapes.

dogajolo dry red table wine of tuscany 2006
paid 8.99
reg. 11-12

i've had this wine before and it is delicious. this is a table wine which a lot of people assume somehow is "less than" or not as "good" as a regular wine. i disagree. but, i would.

i love a table wine. there's a certain satisfaction in a table wine i don't get with some other wines. i don't know if it's the blending of grapes, the sort of unfussy "bastardness" of it all, or just for the simple fact that when i drink a table wine i can imagine it plunked down in front of me with two glasses and no label in some cafe somewhere where i don't know and can't speak the language and i do not worry...because i know it will be good.

this bottle was purchased at my grocery store by the forever designated driver last week sometime and i can't believe it was still lying about untouched! a nearly unprecedented event i can assure you.

it's a gorgeous bottle. and even though it's still winter and my thoughts are daydreaming towards spring, the label brings to mind the bounty and beauty that is autumn. and if you can believe it, when i first bought it i grabbed the bottle just to look at it before looking at the price.

at first sip this is immediately wonderfully spicy and delightfully smooth. which is delicious, but i'll be the first to admit one must be in the mood for that combination. knowing the wine, i knew i was in the mood.

the second sip is juicy, not bursting or obvious, just a nice hint of juicy. and as your glass empties the spicy, smooth, and juicy give way, only slightly, to a luxuriously thick sip.

huh? to a whaaat?

okay, a know "thick sip" isn't a terribly palate pleasing term. but, it's the truth. some nights i like my wine to be my friend. hang out, laugh a bit, enjoy the evening. and some nights i like my wine to be in charge. i like a wine that lets me know it's there and it's got my best interests in mind, or at the very least lets me know i don't have to make one more decision for the rest of the evening.

for lack of a better term, thick sip. it's heady and intoxicating. it coats. you can feel it in your mouth and in your stomach right away. not a slowly spreading fire, but a bolt from the blue that can radiate without having to spread.

this wine is catching the eye of a stranger and realizing your plans for the evening have just been changed.

it takes charge and it requires you to appreciate the intensity. and as the bottle goes on, you especially appreciate that the spiciness becomes less spicy, but no less intense.

despite, or perhaps because of this intensity, i especially like to drink this wine while i'm cooking like i did tonight. cooking relaxes me. better still is cooking while enjoying a glass or two of wine. by the time the food is plated and served, i am relaxed and smiling.

better even still, this is a bottle to share while cooking. to share at table.

while a table wine, it is not in any way a pedestrian wine. this is a bottle to bring out when you mean to say something about the day, or the occasion, or the moment, but in your giddiness or shyness or lack of a better word you pour the wine and let the rest come.

this is the bottle for your first home together in some distant city. it's coming on fall, there's a crisp to the air, but not enough to close the doors or windows quite yet.

the soundtrack to big night is playing, not because it's easy, but because you LOVE it, and you're pulling your dinner from the bags you carried all the way home. a first big night in your first shared home.

fresh sausages from the butcher, a crunchy, chewy loaf from the baker, and a splurge of long, creamy tapers from the candle-stick maker.

there's cheese from that fancy shop you noticed when you first looked at the house, the tiny, cheap, plastic, chopping block you were forced to buy as a temporary replacement for the two you can't find, and this wine you grabbed for its fabulous label at the little neighborhood grocery (you have a little neighborhood grocery!) while rounding out your dinner shopping.

one of you locates the glasses and candlesticks while the other gets out the big pan.

garlic and onions and thyme. sip sip. fire roasted tomatoes and olive oil and just a pinch of sugar. sip sip.

with the sausages sizzling and the sauce bubbling and the water nearly at a boil, it's just you and your beloved and louis prima serenading you with what you both hope is the first of many collaborations in the kitchen and otherwise.

and as the meal and the evening wind down you re-cork the now long empty bottle and stick it up on the shelf above the stove.

maybe it will become a vase in a pinch during your housewarming party, maybe a candle holder during some romantic rolling blackout, or maybe just a reminder of some of the best days, and a really good wine.

salute!

x.

viognier.

2008-01-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

YALUMBA
South Australia
VIOGNIER
2006

x-fact~viognier is an ancient grape whose vines don't start hitting their peak until about 15-20 years.

yalumba viognier 2006
paid 7.98
reg. 10-11

okay, so i know i already said i wasn't so into the whites. but after two days of celebrating my kid's birthday replete with appropriately kid-satisfying, carbtastic birthday food and a trip into the big city for two-fisted burgers with all the trimmings, my stomach was begging for something "light."

you may have already guessed i would not be reaching for the peppermint tea. in the world i live in, "light" means white instead of red.

the main criteria for choosing this wine was simply that i had not had it before and at its sale price it was the cheapest wine in the cold case. it doesn't take much. in fact, i don't think it takes any. thing. at all, but that's not much of a story now is it?

right off the bat, out of the bottle, i realized i may have misjudged this wine as just another girly white entirely. the legs on the wine are incredible for a white. hmm. and at first drink, there is the cool crispness of a white, but a hearty depth. double hmmm. perhaps my stomach wasn't going to get its break after all? perhaps i had made a mistake in my choice for the evening?

though mistakes and choices didn't matter so much after the second and third sip. ah, the hallmark of a good wine. ah, lucky me.

it's sweet, to be sure. frankly more sweet than i generally like and was looking for this evening. or ever. but this wine works in its sweetness. the crispness of an italian white table wine blended with the creaminess of a california chardonnay.

and it smells like a just sweet enough, drinkable heaven. i can't describe the smell, but you'll know it when you're lucky enough to smell it. and i daresay, for this wine the more than proper term is aroma, and not smell. well, then.

it brings to mind a less cloying ethiopian honey wine or japanese plum wine. just the sweet and just the cold and just *the* complement to a hot and spicy dish. and though i haven't asked them, i'm sure a dash of awaze or smear of wasabi would be more than happy to share the palate with this wine.

as with all whites (that don't bring a headache right away, of course), one could casually sip away a sunny afternoon with a bottle of this.

but, like very few whites (that don't bring a headache right away, of course), one could close down the evening with this wine.

a long evening at a long table filled with friendly faces where the remnants of a delicious dinner served family style still remain. everyone stuffed just a bit too much but the food is so delicious who can stop? so maybe just a small spoonful more. every one stuffed just a bit too much but the food is so delicious who can stop? so maybe just a bit more on the fingertip for taste.

but not too stuffed, and the consent to opening yet one more bottle of chilled viognier is unanimous. and glasses at the ready and quickly at the tipping, the meal and the evening are brought to a delicious, aromatic, and satisfying end.

i am impressed and charmed and surprised by this wine.

this is a white that drinks like a red. a liquid yin and yang if you will.

and frankly if ever there was a more ringing endorsement, for a white or otherwise, i haven't yet thought of one.

cheers, mate!

x.

red wine.

2008-01-17T20:15:00.002-08:00

x-fact~when a label says "red wine" it means it's a blend of two or more grapes.

red truck california red wine 2005
paid 9.99
reg. 10-12

while that label says 2004, the wine i had was 2005.

i've been drinking this wine for years. initially drawn by the striking label, even on sale i felt it too rich for my blood and heaved a flagon of casarsa into the cart. i am not ashamed of my days with casarsa. not in the least. a girl's gotta have her wine, even if she must suffer through.

tonight my forever designated driver (husband) purchased this bottle at the little store down the road. and at a fair price i might add. true, while i could get it for 7.99 on sale now and again at my grocery store, 9.99 at the store less than a mile away is more than worth it.

let me interject something here about the "little store." if you live in a rural or even slightly rural area the little store is a part of life. though it generally has the essentials, gas (if you're lucky), beverages, snacks, it all too often doesn't have anything you would buy if you could shop anywhere else. and very rarely at anything that could be remotely deemed a "fair" price.

there are exceptions to this. and if you are lucky enough to have a little store near you, do check it out. even for wine. while my little store basically satisfies the miller light, novelty lighter, fake rose in the plastic tube crowd, it actually has a very decent wine selection. which is saying a lot considering when we first moved here the red wine used to be stored in the cold case beneath the white wine, above the half and half. /shudder.

they've got several bottles that i have and would drink, plus a few interesting choices i may not have considered in the past at my own grocery store due to the huge selection i am usually faced with there. like i said, it's worth checking out.

hey, even if it's only a bottle of boonesfarm strawberry hill sitting lonesome in the "wine section"it's good to know your options. and while i don't have this tattooed on my ass i should, there is never not a good time for a bottle of boones. (coupled with a bottle of advil, of course. but, you knew that)

i will stand by that sentiment till the day i die such is my love for the boones.

when we went to vermont for a month last year the rental place we had was a few miles on the other side of the "little store" from my very best friend's house. for one month, for the first time ever, we both had the same little store!

she had lived there for years and it took me visiting to point out the small wine section in the back. she had never gone back there. and lo and behold they had more than a few bottles of very good wine, the same wine she and i drank, some even organic, at very reasonable prices. all those years and she had been driving over 10 miles to buy wine, and here this great selection was 1/4 mile down the road! to a place she went every day for mail!

that's stumbling distance right there. we should all be so lucky.

okay, red truck 2005 california red wine. boy is it tasty. i don't know if it's because it's a blend or what, but the first sip or two does have a bit of a "bite." not quite as smooth as some, but goodness it more than makes up for it by the third sip.

smooth, and rich, and really fills the mouth. it's got a real jammy quality. not like a pb and j, jammy, but lets say you've reduced some preserves with a bit of liquid into a thick rich syrup. you take that syrup and brush the top of a thin layer of fresh baked, cooled, sponge cake. then after you brush the top with the syrup, you frost it with a delicious butter cream. repeat with the remaining two layers.

when you are done and you slice a piece and take a bite you've got the rich butter cream meeting the syrup soaked cake and you know why marie antoinette though it perfectly reasonable that the people should be happy with cake.

that kind of jammy.

this wine stands up more than well to a big meal. despite the intensity or fussiness or spiciness of the dish it never loses its place. tonight i made a pasta of pepper fettuccine with a red sauce of fire roasted tomatoes and whole spicy sausages and a mixed green and fresh herb salad dressed in a garlic vinaigrette.

it was absolutely perfect.

but, it would be equally perfect, if not more so, drunk from a jelly jar under a backyard shade tree, the uncorked bottle resting on an old battered ice chest as you lean back in your lawn chair and savor every sip.

you can take the wine out of california, but you can't take the california out of the wine.

cheers!

x.

malbec.

2008-01-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

x-fact ~ malbec is a thin skinned black grape that needs a lot of sun and heat.

tierra del sol malbec 2006
paid $6.99
reg. $9.99

i haven't ever had this particular wine, though i have enjoyed many wines from argentina. i bought a bottle this afternoon after an end cap display caught my attention. mainly the $6.99 in big bold black letters is what caught my eye, but i consider this a character plus on my part.

there were three wines from the tierra del sol label. immediately i dismissed the white in the middle. don't get me wrong, i like white wines just fine. give me a sunny day with nowhere to go and no one to go there with and i enjoy a chilled white wine as much as the next gal.

but, white is no red. the difference between white wine and red is the difference between the boy with the 1985 honda spree scooter and the good department store sweater and the boy with the 1991 harley davidson heritage softail classic and the beat up leather jacket.

when the bottle will likely just last the night, there's no time for crisp and polite sipping.

for red, they had a malbec and a tempranillo.

i love both varietals, but the malbec won out because of the end of the description alone.

"...along with velvety tannins."

i tell ya, right then the black velvet leggings i used to have and wear as a much younger lass popped into my head and that was all i needed to pick one over the other. they were some leggings in their day. plus, i've picked bottles over less.

sadly, the velvet leggings are long gone, but if i was lucky i could sip this delicious wine and think of more debaucherous times.

well, it's absolutely delicious. from the first sip there was the velvety smoothness promised on the label. at my general sip a day price point, the smoothness generally comes later. either after a glass or two and it mellows on my tongue, or the whole bottle and i'm drunk and who cares from smooth, huh?

this was "it" from the get go. it had a creeping warmth, too, that grabbed hold and kept the wine smooth sip after sip. sometimes, even an initially smooth wine can fall flat and become slightly drooly on the sides of the tongue after a bit.

oh, and the color. it had that great deep color you want to see in a glass. the kind of color one might imagine being sipped from a pewter goblet at a great feast, all roasting meats on the spit and flouncy shirt cuffs on the men and heaving bodices on the women. one can only imagine how the feast and the night will progress.

this is a wine meant to be savored with whatever you want to pair it with, and definitely shared with those you want to be with.

rich, romantic, potential debauchery in a bottle.

salud y amor y tiempo para disfrutarlo!

x.