Wine Run

It's that time of the week; time to make the wine run to Greene's. I wish I could just place a weekly order and have it delivered. That would be a terrific service that they could provide, now that I think about it. Maybe I should suggest it?

I have been around long enough to have attended many wine tastings, received nice bottles as gifts and sipped my way around a few European countries. I know a good wine when I taste it. I love a good wine when I taste it. But, on a regular everyday basis, the problem with really good wines is that they cost a lot and they only come in little bottles. Years ago, my sister invented nomenclature that sticks with my family to this day. A 750 mL bottle is a "one hander" and a 1.5 L is a "two hander." Yes, it's very complicated I know. One hand to pick it up and pour, or does it take both hands to hoist that baby up?

So, then, you're left with deciding which two handers are the right wine and the right price to be your "everyday" libation? We've been around the block on this. $12 Lindemans, $8 Barefoot, $7 Woodbridge? Well, I'm going to confess something to you all. There is a wine out there that is a great everyday sipper, but because it's so tacky and the price is borderline insanity, that it's very hard to admit. I can't do it out loud, have to write it down for you. Ok, here goes: It's Foxhorn. It's from Australia. Years ago, it had a cork with a plastic cap on top, so you just pulled the cork straight out without having to use a corkscrew. These days, it's even tackier than that. The neck of the bottle has grown in circumference to about the size of one of those aluminum Budweisers they sell at festivals. And (audible gasp) it has a screw-top! Ok, I said it. Oh yeah, and you can get a two hander at Greene's for (wait for it) $4.97. Deep breath, serenity now, serenity now.

So, how in the world can we drink this and like it? Because it's good. The Chardonnay is a good white wine with some body to it, unlike a grapefruity Sauvignon Blanc or glorified water Pinot Grigio. And for those of you with Chardonnay prejudices, it DOES NOT taste like the inside of an oak barrel. One the red side, the Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon are equally good and tasty, although I prefer the Cab. And that screw top thing? Pure genius is what it is. Traveling? Take a bottle to your hotel room, don't have to worry about a corkscrew. Didn't finish the bottle and realized that someone threw the cork in the garbage can and it's now buried under egg shells and coffee grounds? No problems here, just screw that top right back on. Have to vino-vac your wine so it doesn't turn to oxidized swill? I don't have that problem. Now, the price. I know, right? On a bad day you have to pay maybe $7 for it. Don't let Greene's know that we think $4.97 is crazy low, because they'll raise the price. It's our best kept little secret.

Try it...it may be your 'Green Eggs and Ham.'