As much as I’d like to pretend otherwise, I’m essentially a budget wine shopper. Mostly I peruse the Vintage section for interesting bottles in the $20-$30 range, and I’ve even been known to stoop so low as to mingle with non-vintage wines in the $10-$15 range. It’s an unfortunately rare occasion for me to walk to the glass case, behind which the most prestigious wines are kept, and politely request it to be unlocked so I might access my choice. This Sublime Imbibing is about one of the few times I did just that.
A couple of summers ago my job was participating in the capacity of “youth member” on a local chamber of commerce. This involved tedious meetings, and dressing unseasonably warm for the summer weather. One day, after a particularly intolerable meeting I snapped. I thought “Aw hell. I’m going to the liquor store, I’m gonna have someone open that goddamned case, and I’m going to buy a wine that costs me way too much.”
I drove the nearby store, wearing a tweed jacket, and only looking slightly foolish. Upon arriving, I did my best to look independently wealthy, and made a beeline for the wine case. Frankly, for the most part, I had no idea what I was looking at. But one label, circular and made of wood caught my eye, and that was the 2008 Rubicon Estate’s (now Inglenook) Cask Cabernet. Being a Cali. Cab. I expected a powerful, intense, heavy wine, as ill matched to the hot weather as my tweed. Perfect for a stupid purchase. I ended up spending about $80 on it, and have (almost) no regrets.