Life in Wine

Just what the Title says! Life in Wine. MY Life in Wine.

Name:
Location: Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Opinionated. Lover of Wine.

Monday, April 11, 2005

Tippling in Tucson

Ah, Tucson. Perfect balm for an endless Kansas City winter. Clear skies over the mountains, desert in full, gorgeous bloom, my oldest friend and a bottle of wine waiting for me. Now THAT, Grasshopper, is a spring break.

The bottle of wine was a 2000 Dynamite Cabernet Sauvignon. Friend Linda had no notion of its quality, as despite her many attributes she is a white wine woman. The Cab was a gift from a patient of hers, she said. Funny, that: It would never occur to me to gift my physician with a bottle of wine. Unless I were invited to her home for dinner.

Linda is a doctor (a pulmonary specialist), and we did present her with a bottle of wine, but that was for the friend, not the physician. She seemed to enjoy her 2004 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc, a prime example of the luscious SBs from New Zealand's Marlborough region. Andie and I enjoyed the Dynamite Cab, too, but not as much as we enjoyed the 2003 Windmill Zinfandel that accompanied our Sunday night pasta, which was smothered in garlic and fire-roasted tomatoes and green chile. At $12, the Windmill Zin is half the price of the Dynamite Cab -- proving that price does not necessarily match up with taste. Or preference.

At the Rum Runner Wine Store, we had a delectable dinner at The Dish, a small restaurant tucked at the back. The food was quite good (although the prices caused my beloved's already pale face to blanch further), and the wine list naturally had quite a few choices -- although not by the glass. I sampled most of the interesting-looking reds on the by-the-glass list after first trusting the server and trying the Duckhorn Meritage. Eh. A funky, earthy nose, and a less smooth finish than Danny's choice: the velvety 2001 Flora Springs Cab, 89 points if I correctly recall my Wine Spectator rating. I also tried a Spanish wine and another meritage, without achieving satisfaction. In the end, for my second full glass, I ordered up the wine I'd recommended to Danny: the Flora Springs Cab. A $23 retail price tag, although Costco offers it for $18.99.

Strangely, The Dish was one of those upscale restaurants that serves its wine-by-the-glass selections in little carafes, presumably so they'll be precisely measured. I didn't like the presentation, though; surely they know how large their red wine glasses are? I'd have found it more aesthetically pleasing to have it poured from the bottle. Given that there's a 250 percent markup (over RETAIL), I wouldn't think they'd be losing money should they pour the occasional extra ounce of wine.

Passing the Baptist church at 29th & Holmes today, I read the sign. I note it here without comment: "Stop, Drop and Roll Won't Work in Hell. Jesus Loves All."

Okay, I'll comment: Hee-hee-hee!