Posted on 05/22/2016 12:09:43 AM PDT by lee martell
One year ago, I helped a friend of mine find a place to rentshare and move into. I knew she would fit right in. We have been coworkers in the past, just platonic friends. She thanked me by giving me a bottle of Chianti; red Italian wine. I thanked her of course, and put the bottle in my storage closet for when I got ready for it. I was ready today, having just finished writing a group of Quarterly Reports for my Manager of a Group Home. I was planning to reward myself for completing the job to everyone's satisfaction.
I rarely use real glasses, if it's just me, but for this moment, I washed out an old glass goblet with fluted sides, perfect for sipping wine. I take the bottle out of the storage closet, bring it to the sink, and I make a discovery. This is one of those bottles with a cork in it. Damn. I no longer have one of those spiral cork removers, it was loaned out, and never returned some time ago. So I was stuck. I had a feeling this might get messy, so I took off one of my nicer Polo Shirts, and changed into an old one that always fits no matter how long it stays in the dryer.
I got my favorite steak knife out, and pushed down cork. No movement. I needed to tap the knife handle with something. I used a heavy rubber spatula, raised the spatula high over my head, and swung down hard on the knife handle, now jammed into the cork. It worked! I got the cork to move. Only it went down the neck of the bottle, getting stuck halfway. I used a siphon to pour the dark red wine into an empty juice bottle that I had been planning to turn into a terrarium. Finally, all the wine was out. Now I had to pull my steak knife free from the cork.
I put the now mostly empty bottle into the sink, filled it with warm soapy water. Soon, the bottle has expanded just enough so that I could wrench it out. I give it one last strong tug, like Thor pulling his hammer out of that stone. The knife comes out, with cork still attached. I get sprayed with a little wine, the kitchen wall gets sprayed too.
Finally, I pour some Chianti into my fine glass goblet. I was...disappointed. I had forgotten just how bitter Chianti could be, even when red. I doubt if I finish the rest of that wine any time soon. I guess you could say, I have 'pedestrian tastes, or low class preferences. When I'm in the mood for wine, something that doesn't happen very often, I much prefer a sweet taste. I don't always come out and tell people that I one of my favorite after dinner sipping wines is Carlos Rossi Sangria, or Riunite Lambrusco. I admit, it's not very worldly or sophisticated. What can I say? I was brought up with Mogen-David Concord Passover Wine being the only alcohol in the house, except for during Christmas, when we needed to add a kick to the Egg Nog. I have also enjoyed German wines here and there, such as Zinfandel and Liebfraumilch. Sometimes you buy something different just to experiment and learn.
Thunderbird, way back when. it was a good comforter for the wharf rats sleeping around the diesel pump at the end of the dock.
Franzia tends to be sweeter, but much harder and more comical to drink without a glass.
I tried that once.
The hangover lasted for three days.
You haven’t lived unless you have tried Annie Green Springs Plum Hollow!
During a lovely tour of a very “Hoity-Toity” winery in New England, the Sommelier showed us a gleaming room full of idle machinery. “That is the facility we developed for utilizing Screw Caps for our fine wines. It is better than cork because it is a complete seal against the elements, and does not react to the wine so as to ruin it. It is also easier to open.”
One of the guests on the tour asked why the machines weren’t working.
“We are afraid to try it,” replied the Sommelier. “We are afraid that people, who have built up a whole ritual and mystique about the cork will shun the wine as inferior because it has a bottle cap.”
Somehow, sniffing the bottle cap and nodding your assent does not have the same cachet’. LOL! :-)
I started out on burgundy, but soon hit the harder stuff.
I had a mare who loved wine coolers.Had to cut her off at three though,she was a mean drunk.
I still like “fortified wine”, cheap port over ice is nice :)
I used to get that when I was in high school. After sales tax it was $1.04
See, THAT is the appeal of wines made not-so-long-ago. :-)
So-called supertasters experience bitterness, astringency and acidity more than those with a normal sense of taste. My sense of taste seems to run that way, so my preferred alcohol is not wine but Irish whiskey, which is mild in taste due to triple distillation and other techniques.
Like with everything else there are good chiantis and bad chiantis. Sounds like the cork of yours might have dried out, rendering it less airtight. That can happen if bottles are stored standing up, as they usually are in non wine stores.
You can’t discredit the type of wine in general. Get a $20. bottle of Chianti that’s been stored properly. And buy a
darn corkscrew, they’re cheap. And don’t ever even try to pull the cork out until its tip has poked through the bottom of the cork and released the pressure in the bottle. You will never be victorious.
For some people it’s the sulfites used as preservatives in red wines that causes the headache effects.
Fruity wine? Thounds fabulous!
Sangria is traditionally a social wine. You can enjoy its bright flavor as is or add slices of your favorite fruit, let it marinate and then serve it at your next fiesta.
Did you Know?
A gift from the Spanish or the Portuguese depending on who you believe, traditional Sangria is a tasty combination of ripe citrus fruits, brandy, and honey best served cold.
Corks get torn up by the metal doohickey stuck in the cork.
Then, bits of cork fall down into the wine. So, one just
gives up and drinks wine, cork bits & all.
we couldn’t even find tequila around when I was a kid. we knew it was from Mexico, and the rumors said it had a worm in it that if you ate, you could die or get a wet brain, or have the most fun you ever had (it was a roll of the dice).
the other rumor was that you could get it in Tiajuana (now remember I’m an early teen if that and this is in the late 50’s early 60’s and I live in Chicago) and ask them for the “special” Tequila, and they would put in the notorious SPANISH FLY, and whichever woman you allowed to drink from your tequila would not only fall madly in love with you, but would remove here clothing almost instantly and get frisky!
bah... the stuff of legends... I was so let down years later when I found out it wasn’t true :(
A rough thread deck screw and pliers
Dry red wine drinker here too. I sometimes buy a wine because of the label. I’m a sucker for anything having to do with firefighters, skulls, or the ocean. Have found some really decent wines but never kept up with the labels. Lol
Wow - that brought back some memories! I didn’t think anyone remembered that stuff but me.
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