by Claire
I didn’t start drinking wine until my early 30’s and even then it was always white wine and not very often. These days I am a red wine fan and we even went to Napa Valley a few months before we acknowledged we were actually broke!
Oh Napa Valley…what an incredible trip! I know, I know…I’ve likely paid for 50 trips to Napa with the interest I’ve paid on debt–but it was such a great trip! Allow me to reminisce for just a moment…
Wine fascinates me. I wasn’t always interested in drinking it but I’ve always been intrigued by wine making. Add to that my very favorite biblical verse (John 15:4 Remain in me as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on it own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him, will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”) and you see how I had a unique appreciation for the art and science of wine making. My fascination began with very basic reading about making wine and that probably started a few years before I ever drank wine on a regular basis! When I was single I would go to nearby wineries just to explore and then in 2008 I went to Italy and had a phenomenal time touring wineries! I was fortunate to meet an American (from Kentucky) who had married an Italian woman and stayed at her family vineyard on a small tour and learned so much…in English!
And so of course I wanted to go to Napa with Steve and tour wine country! We spent a few days in San Francisco and then headed up to Napa. The weather alone can make anyone fall in love with that region. I will go back one day….when I know every dollar I spend is in my account and not from a credit card.
Why am I sharing this now? We went to Sprouts yesterday and there was a lady providing free samples of a Chilean wine…that was on sale for $5! Through the years I have found my favorite wines and while several are in the $12 range…many are much more expensive. Since operation debt payoff has kicked in, I am discovering good wines in the lower price range. The $5 wine is surprisingly good and I hope the sale continues a few more days so I can grab some more bottles! As I enjoyed a glass of the $5 wine I remembered an absurd moment from that Napa trip.
Late in the day after multiple tours of multiple wineries, I was feeling it! So much so that I ended up signing up for a “wine club.” My favorite winery by far–Etude–had the best Pinot Noir I had ever tasted. And so emotion and booze (and not in that order) had me signing on the dotted line! And for the next three months I was the proud recipient of 2 phenomenal bottles of wine each month…ranging in price from $70 per bottle to $90 per bottle. INSANITY! I know! We cancelled it in January after receiving the third shipment and now it is a funny reminder of the “lifestyles of the rich and famous” life we had created.
I don’t want to go back there but also look forward to something in between that madness and the $5 wine! Another motivator!
