Wine: really god, good for a mix or good for nothing

In the alcoholic beverage industry, ‘drinkability’ refers to the fact that a product has the aptitude to give your sobriety a bit more time before drunkenness takes over.


For me, ‘drinkability’ is the adjective that I give to a drink that has the standard to be ingested (or not).

According to my taste, not many beverages attain this level; mainly because I’m an awful drinker (I get drunk pretty easy), everything tastes sour or needs more sugar (I have a sweet tooth, what can I say) or more importantly, the level of alcohol is indigestible.

As a truthful Argentinean, Malbec wine is one of my favourite types of grapes, and I like it even more if the brand is Fabre Montmayou (my father’s vineyard of course); however, not every Malbec wine taste the same and when I can’t find my brand of choice, my husband chooses for me.

When we have a get together at home, our friends bring their choice of beverage and we offer the food. That’s the way it works for us, because we’re always so many!!

At the end of every party, we have our refrigerator full of alcohol, some of which we’ve never seen nor tried in our lives... and pity to say that even considering the fact that I'm from Argentina, most of our friends bring us wines from Australia and Chile, rather than from my home country!! COME ON PEOPLE!

This weekend, my husband was studying (yet again) and I was bored out of my mind, so I decided to pour me a drink. I found a bottle of wine from Chile (not my preferred choice of origin) and grabbed a glass from our countertop.

I took a sip of my drink.

It tasted like old horses blankets soaked in urine.

I coughed explosively.

- What happened? – asked my hubby

- Nothing – I responded with water in my eyes and dabbing my mouth with a napkin

- You tried the wine, didn’t you?

- Uhhh? How do you know?

- Brave girl – he said while patting me in the back – THAT one was to be mixed with the 'Wine-A-Rita'… Fermented… that’s how it tastes.

- Rotten… putrid… THAT’s how it tastes! – I said still coughing.

For you, ignorant readers, ‘Wine-A-Rita’ is the best invention ever… it permits you to recycle an awful wine into a sugary, fruity, tasty margarita… made from wine… hence: Wine-A-Rita.

Blend it, and ready to serve!

I bought 6 packs online for my sisters who’re coming from Argentina and the Dominican Republic for Thanksgiving… I’m planning on get them completely wasted!!
 
www.wineglace.com
http://www.domainevistalba.com/

Anniversary for us… for you… or for me?

Last week was my two year anniversary with my husband and I had this plan in my head that I could master an elegant dinner, candles, wine and the whole nine yards… playing make-believe that I could pull off a Hot-Housewife routine with my tight schedule.

Who was I kidding?

I arrived to our home after work and made a quick stop at the supermarket to buy ingredients to cook something meat-related (my husband was born a vegetarian and transformed into carnivorous, I assume, a well played move from the cosmos, considering that he’s married with an Argentinean, who her meal by default is cow-related)… I already had the wine bottle (a treat from my father who has achieve the hard task of exporting our Malbec wine to NY) and I was only missing the ambience.

I got home and quickly decided to take a shower and transform my persona from an ordinary working woman into a spectacular cooking super-hot-mama-wife (black dress and high heels included). After some light make-up, I headed for the kitchen, arrange my apron and started the preparations.

I first set the table, lit some candles, turned-on the music… so far so good; I started getting a bit hot (surely because of the anxiety), buy not a big deal.
Thanks to being in the XXI Century, A/C’s are a commodity in every house, so I started them full blast and continued my tasks.

I chopped veggies and made some fresh salad… some cheese to start… I was getting hotter by the minute and while chopping I took resting minutes and I fanned myself with a napkin.
Then I started the meat on the Cuisinart electric grill; and I could feel my brow getting wet, sweat running down my back, my hair getting all messed-up and entangled, humidity running my make-up… definitely not a good portrait.
At that particular moment, my husband decided to appear… I don’t know how Lucy or Angie or Kim or Jenny can manage a Super Model Housewife act, but I assure you, that they never tried the routine while cooking real food!
A headache, made an assault in my temples at that same instant, and I stopped dead still against the counter hoping that a spinal realignment might ease the squeeze in my skull… no luck, maybe a cranial amputation would work an I could have the excuse not to present myself to my husband as a sweaty (not at all appealing) wife.
However (and that’s why I love him like crazy), just one glance from him and I knew he was planning something different…I could smell the gourmet meal being cook by a chef at a fancy restaurant by just looking at him; he wanted to go out… and so do I!

I’m so hard-headed, you could have hit my frontal lobe with a crowbar and made no impression whatsoever; but just that one stare resigned me completely to the dumb idea that I could manage to cook while avoiding sweating like a pig in the middle of the summer. I mean, surprises are well deserved and enjoyed, but for an Anniversary, it’s better if the surprise it’s for both of us.

Closing my eyes, I sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening; asking please, for God’s sake, keep sending me signals that we were right for each other.
I’d read the books, seen the movie.... I knew every reason that aligned us, and I was so damn happy that; stubbornness and all; I am still perfectly loved by him.

Needless to say that after another shower, I was Hot-Mamma again and ready to head out…
Who knows…? I might have even gotten lucky… or him… or both.

Wine: Fabre Montamyou Malbec 2007 (www.67wines.com)