WEED, WHITES AND WINE

My apologies but that was the first “wine” song that came to mind..

Today is not only the beginning of the summer Olympics but the anniversary of my birth. As the afternoon at work slowed, my boss suggested I take off to enjoy the rest of my birthday. Since the bus schedule allowed for an early departure, I took a bit of “annual leave” to enjoy the rest of my day…thanking my Mom for her labor 51 years ago.

I got home and opted to enjoy the sudden sunshine with a glass of wine and my current read (Shattered by Dick Francis). As I sat in my weedy little back yard with my book and glass of Pinot Grigio, I realized I was getting a buzz on in the middle of the afternoon. I hadn't even finished one glass. Mind you, I’ve always been a micro-brew and cheap wine girl. In the past, friends with whom we coordinated a motorcycle show criticized me…. how could I drink “that cheap crap in a box?”….”Easy. It tastes good”. However, while they would drink only the best wine with real corks....their beer of choice was Olympia .... Light ... in a can. Gawd! They couldn’t see the parallel. I drink GOOD beer and cheap wine. Not fine wine, mind you, but decent, inexpensive grape squeezins. I don’t know “nose” and “bouquet”. The only “fingering” I know is when I have to dip fruit flies out of my glass. I do not sniff the cork. Hell, boxes have funny plastic valves instead of corks!

Of late, I’ve been trying to get out of the boxed wine habit. Not because of my snooty friends but for my safety. I only developed a taste for “the box” because I didn’t drink much wine and was the only wino in the house so the little bladder inside that box allowed the wine to retain a modicum of freshness. I developed a taste for White Zinfandel, however, which is rather sweet and, no matter the vintner, goes down fast. When I’m thirsty, I drink, which is why I don’t generally drink alcohol with a meal; I can pretty much get hammered just trying to quench my thirst. I will have a glass while preparing dinner – a slosh for me and one for the pot, thank you Galloping Gourmet, for the inspiration. Maybe I’ll even have a second glass if dinner takes some time to prepare. Somehow, boxed wine didn't seem to be very ….. intoxicating. I decided to break myself of the “box o`white zin” habit and move to a less guzzleable wine to encourage a slower ingestion. I have found, however, that one glass of good wine, will replicate the aforementioned hammering that cheap wine gives after several glasses. Limiting my intake is easy since I can't stand up straight enough to pour a second glass.

So, to summarize: Several glasses boxed wine = tippy mom = 1 glass decent wine. I haven’t saved a penny but at least when I stagger in the kitchen, I can say “I only had one glass” and mean it.