All those loyal readers out there (I think the count is now at six), probably think that a fancy pants ‘Wine Guy’ like me drinks really good and expensive wine all the time. How I wish you were right. While it is true that I try to drink good wine all the time, it is by no means expensive.  At the base of things, I would probably consider myself a cheap bastard, as a matter of fact. I do tend to tip well, however, when we go out, but the reason for that is rather straightforward: I worked in a few restaurants during college and I know how easy it would be for one of them to spit in my food. Keep the people that handle your food happy. Very simple but valuable lesson.

So, last night was one of those nights that the bottle I pulled from the cellar was, well, cheap. There are nights that you do not want to have to think a ton about either what you are eating or drinking. Being a ‘wine guy’ I realize this and will occasionally buy some wine for such evenings. You can always hope that it will be outstanding (rarely does that happen), but you have to pray that it is at least palatable. I can think of a sadder situation then buying a cheap wine to save a few bucks and then having to pour it out because it is horrid (those that know me know what I just wrote is a bunch of horse crap–I rarely pour anything out, mostly because I’m such a cheap bastard).

Well, we had hamburgers and Rice a Roni. No kidding. Luckily, I had a wine that would ‘pair’ perfectly.

2005 Gnarly Head Gnarlier Head Old Vine Zin Sommer’s Vineyard: Retail ~$9. I paid $8.73. Apparently this is the ‘better’ line of wines from Gnarly Head, which caused me to pause (how much does the ‘cheap’ stuff cost?), but only for about 3 seconds. This wine was not bad at all, but I think it should have been consumed a while ago. That’s just a guess since I really have no idea. There were some subtle red fruit notes, but no real tannin structure or finish to speak of. Tautology time: “It is what it is.” By no means horrible, but I will never run over to another table in a restaurant where this is on the table and beg for a taste (yes, I have done such things in the past). OK (not quite ‘Good‘). 81 points.