Thursday, December 16, 2010

Red Red Wine

Right now, upstairs in my house, is a group of teenagers...

I can hear the subwoofer pumping across the house. I don't dare ask how many are up there. I came home after the "party" started and told hubby not to tell me so I don't freak out. I also don't want to know how many soft drinks are up there to ruin the carpet.

I think it is an indication of how loud it is that my cats won't venture into the hallway where the staircase is...

I guess I wont' be getting to bed early tonight...Camiel's bedroom is right above mine and attached to her bedroom is the sitting room (too small to call a gameroom)that is currently teenager heaven. The Cutest Boy in the World has asked if he can sleep in our room because his bedroom is at the foot of the stairs leading to the party.

what I do know is there is no alcohol or cigarettes up there...but there does appear to be some Red Bull.

I don't "get" the whole Red Bull thing. I tried it once...make that twice. I tasted the regular kind and promptly spit it out. I tried the diet kind and after 3 sips declared it disgusting and nasty and threw it away.

A friend who is a bit younger than me informed Bacchus and me that Red Bull and Vodka is a good combination. What does he know...he is under 30. I love him but do not trust his taste in what constitutes a "good" drink. I listen to Bacchus and stick to wine. We patted him on the head and told him we would teach him to drink like a real grown-up. Of course I would have to be a real grown-up to teach him and since I'm not a real grown-up...well, that poor boy will learn...

Now wine on the other hand, well, I totally "get" wine. I like wine, especially if it is red. I'm quite fond of champagne too, as you regular blog readers are aware. And I like white wine too...but mostly I'm a "red" girl for just drinking.

So I found this article by the Mayo clinic about red wine. I won't copy it here, but it does have some information about red wine and heart health.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/red-wine/HB00089

I don't think my blog makes hyperlinks so you will have to cut and paste.

I also found this great article on the benefits of Omega-3 in fish. Since I have been eating enough salmon to basically grow gills and find myself with a desire to swim upstream, I am interested in the health benefits of it (salmon) and not just as a good source of protein for me.

So here...read this:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/omega-3/HB00087

My father died from heart disease...or rather, he had heart disease and died having bypass surgery. One would think that knowing how and why my father died would have been enough for me to have kept my life and weight on track but it wasn't.

But now I know better...and I feel better...

And I love knowing that some red red wine can actually be GOOD for me...in moderation...all things in moderation.

I still remember the first time I had a taste of good red wine. My father loved loved loved Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon. I mean loved it to the point that he bought multiple cases of it. The other night while I was having dinner with my friend Diva D (because she is absolutely fabulousity she gets to be called "Diva"), the table next to us ordered a bottle of Jordan...I almost cried missing my Daddy...

So my Daddy bought all this red wine and one night at dinner he opened a bottle and poured me a (tiny) glass of the Jordan. Into a real (Baccarat) crystal glass. He first told me that good one should always be drunk out of a good glass...preferably crystal...never a paper or styrofoam cup. Then he had me sip it. I thought I was sipping heaven.

When he took me to Europe he allowed me a glass of wine each night at dinner. Now my dad didn't know a whole lot about wine...I mean, for years he drank Lancers Rose...but he was learning and wanted me to "appreciate" it. While in Europe I tasted all kinds of wonderful wines...I will never remember them, but I remember sitting at dinner and my father teaching me about the differences in the wines.

All I knew was that I was getting to drink alcohol...but now I remember those nights so fondly.

I also remember the night I tricked him into eating eggplant even though he said he hated it. Before heading to France I checked out a book in the library that taught me how to read a French menu...I learned it so I would be sure I would get "beef" and not "tongue" and no liver. I knew the waiter said "eggplant" but didn't tell Daddy when he ordered the same thing I did...that had eggplant. He ate all of his eggplant and then I found his fork venturing over to my plate to steal my----eggplant. I waited until he got a forkful of mine before informing him that he was eating---eggplant. I love eggplant to this day...and when I eat it, I think of Daddy.

Eggplant doesn't really go well with red wine by the way...

Daddy taught me a lot of things, but as a cowboy he wanted to raise a lady...a lady who appreciated the finer things in life...like wine, and art, and beautiful things. So he taught me about French crystal...and when I sold my beloved "Monster" steer I took some of my money and bought a complete set of Baccarat crystal glasses...I rarely use them, but I look at them often and remember the joy of going to the Baccarat factory shop in Paris and proudly paying for a complete set of 16 red and white wine glasses and knowing that I would treasure them forever. And I do...

He taught me art, but really just Western art. My father truly loved western art and loved collecting what he could of it. The day he bought his one and only Charles Russell painting he cried and I cried with him. We sat on the couch and stared at it for hours, seriously...Our house was under construction so we were living in a double wide trailer at that time.

I venture a pretty good guess that it was the one and only time a Charles Russell painting hung in the living room of a double-wide trailer...

I tell you this story not as a "brag" that my father once owned a Russell painting, but rather the unbelieveable irony in that he loved that painting so much that he had no qualms about hanging it on the faux-wood walls of the trailer.

He also owned an Albert Bierdstadt painting that was breathtaking. It was his favorite painting, even more than the Russell. He could often be found in the living room staring at it. It was so beautiful and I often found myself staring at it and finding peace. It never hung on the walls of the trailer...

Now when I see a Bierdstadt I usually cry...both for the beauty and for missing my father. There was one that hung over a fireplace in the White House while President Bush was in residence. I spoke to the securty guard about it when I went on a tour...he said he found great peace in just looking at it...I agreed. "W" and Laura had good taste to hang that painting there...

If you have never gazed at one of his paintings, I have a link to images here:

http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4GGLR_enUS398US398&q=bierstadt&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=6eIKTdDjCYqr8AaLqISHDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CEIQsAQwAg&biw=1259&bih=434

So beautiful...

My dad was bound and determined that I was going to grow up a lady who knew things about the finer things in life even if I was the daughter of a cowboy. And I did. I love wine...and I love art...but not just western art...I have found now that I love Bierdstadt paintings but I love Rothko's work just as much. And maybe I love red wine a little too much...

But what I really learned about being a lady was not about French crystal and great art, but in being generous with myself and my love...with my time and my energy...and with loving with an open and full heart. I don't want to be a lady because I drink nice wine from a crystal glass and like art...I want to be a lady because I give generously of myself and my heart.

If you want to protect your precious heart and have some good and yummy red wine, here are my suggestions that Bacchus helped me find and appreciate...here are some of my favorites:

Chateau Raspail Gigondas---HARD to find...last spotted at Costco but that was months ago. If you can find it at Costco, buy all you can and then call me...

Chateau St. Cosme Gigondas (2007)---can't vouch for other vintage years, but 2007 is pretty darn yummy and worth the $32 price tag.

(Gigonadas is like a Chateu neuf de pape but cheaper...)

La Vielle Ferme (Cotes de Venteaux)---has chickens on the label...found with the big box wines at Costco...in a big bottle...

Little James Basket Press---found at liquor stores...French...cheap (less than $10.50)...all the leftovers from making the St. Cosme wines...yummy...buy all you can because this stuff is good...I give it as a gift...

Erath Pinot Noir---several varieties...good stuff...I'm not a big pinot noir fan (I like syrah, grenach, zinfindel, and blends...), but this stuff is good.

La Bastide---a red blend...liquor stores...again, buy what you can and call me when you find it...

Molly Dooker "The Boxer" Shiraz...this wine inspired a blog...it is good...high alcohol content.

Newton Cabernet...heavy but good...I like me a good cab...

I haven't found a malbec that I really like so if you know of one, tell me...

I do love blends...especially grenache/syrah blends....heck, I just like red wine.

I'm enjoying a glass of the La Vielle Ferme right now...

I'll share my thoughts on white and champagne another day...for today, as you can tell by the title of this blog it is all about the red red wine...

Inspiration Song: Red Red Wine by UB40...

bye darlings...cheers!

1 comment:

  1. I think you will love the paintings of JMW Turner as well. Great writing Anice!

    ReplyDelete