This Wine is For Jenga

Murphy’s Law Riesling
Columbia Valley

Producer: Local Wine Company
Importer: n/a
Year: 2009
Price: $10.99

Dinner is done, the sorbet has been savored, but nobody is leaving the table any time soon. Conversation, like this wine, is flowing, and the evening sparkles as sweetly. Upon the suggestion of a game, the tower appears, standing solidly in its central place, strong and impenetrable like the friendships surrounding it.

Game on.

This wine inspires some to take risks they would never otherwise consider; a brazen assault on the foundation, perhaps, or a selection from the player’s far side. For others, it calms their overworked nerves; a confident acknowledgement that in Jenga, as in life, things fall apart. For all, it moves the healthy competition along to its foregone conclusion. As the tower topples, the room becomes bright and warm, the smiles grow wider, the laughter louder, and the contented world enjoys its wobble.

This Wine is For Dog Sitting

O’Reilly’s Pinot Noir
Oregon

Producer: O’Reilly’s
Importer: n/a
Year: 2009
Price: $20.99

Chasing, sniffing, slobbering, snoozing: the typical dog day activities. A routine similar to the discovery and enjoyment of this wine tonight. Exhausted, returning from Fido’s 27th jaunt of the day, you hunt down the appropriate bottle from your ever dwindling stash. A quick whiff of the ruby glass, and your mouth starts to water. The first sip, and your weary bones thank you.

Limbs and paws assume their respective lounge positions on couch and floor. Atop your pedestal, you peer at the wiry bundle of fur and wonder how he has already fallen into a peaceful slumber. For once, the hard wood appears much more inviting than your cushy perch. Glass in hand, you slide down and sidle up, careful not to disturb sleeping (snoring) beauty. Woman and dog have found their place for the evening… at least until the next glass.

A Toast: To Poetry

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Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That’s all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and sigh.

— W. B. Yeats

Enjoy With This Wine: Owen Roe Kilmore Pinot Noir