I make absolutely no secret to choosing bottles of wine based on type (Shiraz being a favorite) then by how much I like the label. Often this works out well, and I’ve turned up more than a couple of nice, inexpensive brands that I’d buy again and share. A decent vineyard often employees a decent artist to produce a decent label. At times it doesn’t work out at all. With the current bottle I’m not displeased, but I’m also considering going out and Googling the directions to turn wine into vinegar. It’s not quite Christ-like, but I’m still intrigued. I have this odd idea brewing that I’ll have this splendid vinegar for use in all of my salad dressings.
And it might just work. However, I’m disheartened by the realization that I’ve never been able to make the champagne and caviar salad dressing as I consume all of the champagne first–sad but true. I wind up with either a very simple vinaigrette or something store bought. And I recall that I once bought a bottom shelf Chardonnay for a soup recipe, but gave it someone as a last moment (literally) Christmas gift.
Still, I’m reminded of another adventure with wine. I was going to a house warming party. I had with me an excellent bottle of win. I’d had someone drop me off. I went to the house. I had the wrong address. Imagine my chagrin. Then there was the other conundrum. As I recall it was “the only yellow house on the block.” Unfortunately, there were five yellow houses, and one that might have been described as yellow by a straight man who is color confused. Oy vey. I decided that I couldn’t walk around the Highlands with a bottle of wine knocking on doors. Yes, I might have made some new friends. In retrospect… I walked up to the mall, bought a pack of gum to get enough change for a pay phone (do they still have those?), and called my mother to come get me. I did attract some strange stares in the process, and if there’s a moral of the story, it’s two fold. First get the address correct before going AND carry the wine inside something just incase you messed up on the first one.
