Whining for Wine.

There are these days – I have them sometimes - they’re not BAD days really… just tedious, trying, tiring days. These are the kind of days when I sit in my office and around 4:08 p.m., I start thinking about how nice sipping a little glass of wine would be.

I know I shouldn’t be thinking this; but I do, after all, have an office with a window. And as I watch the sun dip and the sky start to darken… those pesky wine thoughts creep into my head. They plague my productivity in the last hour of my work day, when I should be scurrying around to wrap up all my tasks and responsibilities… instead, I’m sitting here, staring at the almost-sunset, thinking about which wine I will sip tonight.

Which wine best complements Life cereal? Which bouquet will really ready my palate for my Healthy Choice lobster ravioli frozen dinner? No no no… stick to the resolutions. So chicken and zucchini stir-fry… what wine do I want with THAT? Actually, I’m not that picky. Nearly any wine will do. But I do have some favorites…

1.       Messina Hof – Beau: Tribute to Beauty. This a red Beaujolais-style (you can’t call any wine not made in the Beaujolais province of France a “Beaujolais” wine. Pretentious much?) blend of sweet red wines. Messina Hof’s blend combines Gamay Noir and Muscat Canelli, which makes it a semi-sweet among sweet reds, so if you don’t really like red wine that is too sweet or too dry, this might be the perfect compromise. My FAVORITE characteristic? It’s a red wine served cold. Yum. Retails for about $11, so… I drink this one a lot. It’s definitely my #1 choice.

2.       Santa Margherita – Pinot Grigio. So, I’ve been a fan of pinot grigio since I first tried it. Little did I know, it is reviled by wine snobs as a boring, uninteresting, plain wine. Oopsie. But I like what I like. And I like pinot grigio. It’s made from the pinot gris grape, which is a MUTATED pinot noir grape… so again, it would seem like this little wine doesn’t have a lot to be proud of until you taste it. It’s dry, but it has a light, crispy, some say “apple” taste. It goes with anything, doesn’t stain my teeth and is pretty delicious. Hate me, snobs, I’m sticking up for my pinot grigio. (Also, did you know that white wines and red wines are all made from the same grape? Red wines have the skins left in their juice while they ferment, and white wines have the skins removed.) Santa Margherita invented the process for pinot grigios and is my affordable favorite at around $20 a bottle.

3.       Tunnel of Elms – Merlot. This wine holds more nostalgic value for me than anything. When I moved to Houston, my stepdad drove me and all my things to my new apartment. He and I threw it all into my loft in an afternoon, and decided to cab it downtown for a nice dinner and a glass of wine to celebrate my new job and big move. One glass turned into a bottle of Tunnel of Elms Merlot. We reminisced, he gave me advice for making it on my own and 3 hours later… I was ready to conquer Houston. I was wrong, but I do still love that wine. This particular merlot is blended with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, and it has a full fruity flavor of berries and cherries. I was shocked to find this wine retails for $10… the restaurant turned a pretty large profit on our bottle.

To be honest, though, I really know nothing about wine. And neither do a lot of people who pretend they do. I will say, though, that I once had the pleasure of drinking wine with a sommelier who has tasted some of the best wines in the world… and his advice to me was to never spend more than $30 on a bottle of wine. Beyond that and you’re paying for a label. It was very encouraging, since… I like wine, but I like having gasoline in my vehicle and lights on in my house too.

But I don’t start having those thoughts until about 5:05 p.m.

Cheers! Sante! Salud!

xoxo

JAM