Life has slowed down a bit.  AE’s basketball season is over and it is still a few weeks until tee-ball starts.  Work is slow for me (NOT COMPLAINING NOT COMPLAINING) and not much else is going on.  I’m really excited about our mystery trip in a few weeks, so right now I’m just finding ways to make the time pass more quickly.

Tomorrow night my lovely friend BB will be coming over and we plan on having a wine tasting of sorts.  We prepped for our little adventure with yet another lunchtime trip to Spec’s.  (And due to the weather, the purchases again had to live at my desk until quitting time.  Now I KNOW my coworkers think I’m the office alcoholic.  Damn this Texas heat!!)  Here’s the loot:

Notice the wee bottles – since red wines go bad within a few days BB and I thought it would make more sense.  This way we can try several different kinds without risking them going to waste.  Always thinking, we are!  Wine consumption is an art, you know.  Anyhow, I plan to write a post as we go along tomorrow night.  And BB’s opinions will be included too, of course!  It won’t be live blogging, per se, because I won’t hit publish until we’re done (and in this case “done” probably means toasted), but it should be fun nevertheless!

So that’s the plan for tomorrow but in the meantime here’s another review to tide you over.

Banrock Station 2005 Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon.  My initial reaction was GACK.  But then I decided to let it breathe a little and then give it another chance.  Certainly more bitter than I am used to, as reds are wont to be, but not bad at all, actually!  It couldn’t be described as “light and fruity” but the oaky flavor was not overpowering, which I think is my major problem with a lot of red wines.  Also, it seems that I am far better able to tolerate reds if they are cold.  I don’t know why it makes such a difference but apparently for me it does.  In the end I really enjoyed this one and may actually buy it again.

NonSoccerMom’s rating:  3.5 stars out of 5.  Jolting at first if you aren’t a fan of reds, but certainly good once you acquire a taste for it.