Three Buck Chuck Love
I first learned the difference between a pinot noir and a pinot grigio at the age of 21. I took a job working at Foxfires, an upscale restaurant owned by Garfield creator Jim Davis located in Muncie, Indiana where I attended college at Ball State University. Mr. Davis had a passion for wine, and his restaurant boasted over 250 selections from a wine cellar with over 5,000 bottles of every imaginable variety. And so my love affair with wine began.
I started as a hostess and eventually worked my way up to server and bartender. All employees were required to attend monthly wine classes. We were expected to understand varietals, the regions from where they hailed, and which wine of the month would pair best with the peppered ostrich with blueberry bordeaux sauce or the smoked turkey and wild rice salad with mango salsa. When I first began, my taste leaned toward keg beer and Jim Beam. But I caught the wine bug quickly, and I spent extra time with the sommaleir learning to distinguish a fine cabernet from a mediocre one.
At some point along the way, I began dating the rep from the best wine distributor (crazy Robert), and we attended all the dinners and tastings and wine events together. He was a complete wine snob, and we argued often over good versus bad wine. He took me to Napa Valley for a whirlwind tour of the wine country in an effort to educate me a bit. Unfortunately, I don't think the experience refined my taste much since I didn't always spit during the tastings (resulting in my being drunk and unable to distinguish nuances), but it was an incredibly fun adventure even if Robert was a bit disappointed in his attempt to instill some wine sophistication in me.
I love wine. I appreciate the good stuff, which doesn't necessarily have to cost a fortune, and I absolutely enjoy an expensive red with a good meal. But I also like the not-so-good stuff, the wine you can barely call wine. Yes, folks, I'm talking about my beloved Arbor Mist.
I was just informed by the owner of my favorite liquor store - the store I've been loyal to since moving here, the store that sells fresh limes and lemons and knows me by name, the store that always carried that crappy Arbor Mist - that they will no longer be carrying Arbor Mist. Apparently, I was one of 3 people who ever bought the stuff. When I expressed my disappointment, the owner said, "Why would you drink that crap when you can drink a decent bottle for the same price?"
Because sometimes I like Arbor Mist over ice. Is that so wrong?
I started as a hostess and eventually worked my way up to server and bartender. All employees were required to attend monthly wine classes. We were expected to understand varietals, the regions from where they hailed, and which wine of the month would pair best with the peppered ostrich with blueberry bordeaux sauce or the smoked turkey and wild rice salad with mango salsa. When I first began, my taste leaned toward keg beer and Jim Beam. But I caught the wine bug quickly, and I spent extra time with the sommaleir learning to distinguish a fine cabernet from a mediocre one.
At some point along the way, I began dating the rep from the best wine distributor (crazy Robert), and we attended all the dinners and tastings and wine events together. He was a complete wine snob, and we argued often over good versus bad wine. He took me to Napa Valley for a whirlwind tour of the wine country in an effort to educate me a bit. Unfortunately, I don't think the experience refined my taste much since I didn't always spit during the tastings (resulting in my being drunk and unable to distinguish nuances), but it was an incredibly fun adventure even if Robert was a bit disappointed in his attempt to instill some wine sophistication in me.
I love wine. I appreciate the good stuff, which doesn't necessarily have to cost a fortune, and I absolutely enjoy an expensive red with a good meal. But I also like the not-so-good stuff, the wine you can barely call wine. Yes, folks, I'm talking about my beloved Arbor Mist.
I was just informed by the owner of my favorite liquor store - the store I've been loyal to since moving here, the store that sells fresh limes and lemons and knows me by name, the store that always carried that crappy Arbor Mist - that they will no longer be carrying Arbor Mist. Apparently, I was one of 3 people who ever bought the stuff. When I expressed my disappointment, the owner said, "Why would you drink that crap when you can drink a decent bottle for the same price?"
Because sometimes I like Arbor Mist over ice. Is that so wrong?
posted by Amanda at 2:54 PM
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