I drink cheap wine.

One of the things I set out to do when I started this blog was to keep up skills useful for the wine world. While I've certainly been drinking, I haven't blogged about wine in a long time. Somehow taking the time to think deeply about it was too much work.

Part of the problem is my wine budget. When I left the world of frequent freebies I was faced with two choices: drink much less frequently or buy cheap bottles. That was an easy decision to make. Wine with dinner makes the "stop talking with your mouth full" comments seem much more genteel and sophisticated. The cheap easy drinking stuff we have most nights is quite enjoyable as a grown-up moment after the kids are in bed. It's rare that I find one to get super excited about, though. I know what fabulous wine tastes like and this isn't it.

As a former wine professional, it's hard to admit that I'm drinking sub par wine. It's like a literature professor reading a trashy romance novel; or a physicist attributing static electricity to magic; or an Oscar winner wearing K-Mart flip-flops on the red carpet. These things just aren't done. The reality is, I was never at that level in the wine world. I hung around knowledgeable people and gathered the tidbits I could from them but since I was usually distracted by things like handsome physicists or raising the darlings I didn't put in the kind of effort needed to be a genuine wine snob. Maybe one day I'll go back to it and get the training & experience I need. Until then, I'll just keep the bar as high as I can without dipping into the college funds.

For the record, I'm currently enjoying Edna Valley Cabernet. (2008, I think.) It's a pretty familiar brand, which wouldn't usually be my first choice, but it's reliable and I found it at a fabulous price. [Bargain hunting and wine together. While wearing cute shoes.] When I poured the first glass I took a moment to sniff and it was heavenly. For one brief moment I believed I was back in the tasting room and was ready to be stunned. In reality, the taste isn't quite as heady as the aroma. There's plenty of  cherry and chocolate, with leathery tannin but there isn't much after taste so I don't feel like I'm getting the full bang for my buck. I want more. I want a little more depth to the flavor, and maybe some changeability as the wine works it's way through my mouth. Still, this glass is an enjoyable way to end my day. I hope you, too, have found a tasty way to wash the stresses away.