Doug & Claire's Big Ass Missouri Wine Dump

Yeah, yeah...It's been a long time.  So much time has passed that my pal Kyle over at Sippin' St. Louis called me out on it this past Saturday.  Tonight, inspiration has struck the Uncorked household.

Doug & I have a lot of wine.  Well, we have a lot of wine for what little storage we have, & we had about 10 homeless bottles on top of the bar.  With our penchant for continually buying wine (especially now with my place of employment), this was going to become a problem quickly.  So, I took a good look at one of our wine racks tonight, & saw 9 very dusty bottles of Missouri wine at the bottom.

We decided that it was time to toss it, but not before tasting each one.  We had vintages ranging from 2004 to 2007 in Chambourcin - from a Missouri winery that, in our opinion, makes the best wine in the state - & a Norton/Cynthiana or two from other wineries.  We were told that each of these bottles could handle at least 5 years in the cellar/rack.

They lied.

We opened bottle after bottle, giving each their fair shot.  One wine had turned orange.  One wine had such a sour finish to it that I feared we might have to use Comet to get the taste out of our mouths.  Luckily, we didn't have to resort to such drastic measures - the next wine's lack of anything killed it.  Not one single wine was acceptable, not even the 2007.  Not good, Missouri - not good.

We were now on a mission. Once we'd opened, tasted, & quickly dumped every bottle from Missouri, we grabbed the only one from Illinois.  Again, we were told that this Cynthiana could easily handle 10 or more years. 

I believe you know the outcome.  Poor Truvy was so confused.

We opened up our lone bottle from North Carolina. 

Fuck.

At this point, we just wanted some wine.  We were disheartened yet amused.  I couldn't bring myself to open up our wine from Texas, although after tonight, I don't have high hopes.  We're going to have to open those soon.

So, what are we drinking right now?  A 2005 Hahn Syrah.  We had faith, & we were not disappointed. 

Either that, or our palates were just too roached to know any differently.  Ugh.  I can't bear to think of that possibility.

And she's back...

Whoa, it's been forever!!! Sorry, folks.

So, here's a brief rundown of what's been going on.

At the end of July, I found out that I was losing my job at the end of August...you know, the one I had just been promoted to last December, & after 9 years with the same employer.   Talk about a blow.  And it had nothing to do with anything I did or didn't do - instead, it was some hotshot that thought he was bulletproof.  Other than to say that the U.S. Congress didn't agree, that's all I'm going to say about that.

Some of you may be asking why you didn't know my situation.  Well, that's because I didn't want you to know.  Don't take it personally, I just didn't want more of the questions from people that already knew - like "Oh my god!  What are you going to do?", & "Have you thought about starting your own dogwalking/sitting business?".  I could go on, but I won't.  People, while they may mean well, can be really, really stupid.  (In other words, think before you say anything to friends that have lost their job.)

So, 5 months of unemployment... I can't tell you how many times I've thought that would be close to Heaven.  Boy, was I wrong.  Day after day, hanging out in the house.  I mean, all of my friends worked, & although we were ok financially, I couldn't exactly justify going to lunch with them several times a week.  Oh, I had grand plans for my time off - I was going to get in shape, volunteer, organize this mess of a house I live in, etc.  Well, it turns out that it would take at least 2 people to get even a start on the organizing, the weather turned really crappy, & Truvy was a terrible brat that needed to be worn out so that Doug could get to sleep at night.  Staying home was just easier, but the nasty funk that settled in was pretty tough to deal with.  I did the best I could to keep my chin up, but I know it seeped out from time to time.  Yuck.  So not my style.

Then, Mattie's cancer returned, in her back leg again.  Ugh.  Obviously, at 15 & 1/2, she's just too old to aggressively battle it, so we turned to medicine.  It worked, for the most part, but the Prednisone made her very, very sick, & I really thought we were going to lose her if we didn't get her off of it pronto.  So, we did, & after a while, she got better.  It took a lot of TLC & McDonald's cheeseburgers to get her strength back, but I'm happy to report that the tumor has not grown & Mattie is doing well. 

Ok, let's get to the good stuff.

We all know that the economy is in the toilet, & unemployment is the new epidemic in this country.  I applied all over the place, & didn't get a single call from anyone.  I might as well have taken my resume', folded it into a paper airplane, & flown it into the Grand Canyon... my chances of getting called would've been the same.  So, I saw this part-time job on Craigslist with next to no information other than the hours & general location & figured why not?  A few weeks went by, & I had a voicemail.  I got an interview, walked in, & got the job the very next day.

Yeah, yeah, that's great.  But here's the kicker....

Ladies & gentlemen, I am now working as the office manager for ....

Wait for it.....

A WINE DISTRIBUTOR!!!!!!!!!

The ONLY call I got in 5 months, & it was this!  I know, crazy, right?  Me, working in the wine business.  And my job rocks.  So much.  I couldn't have ordered nicer people to work for & with, & of course, the part-time hours &, oh yeah, the 20% off of wholesale discount of all the wine & liquor we carry doesn't hurt, either!   Oh, & did I mention that Mattie can come to work with me?  She can!  I can bring my dog to work!  I can bring any of them, but I know my time is running short with my girl.  I want to spend as much time as I can with her, & she loves being at the office.  The warehouse seems to be her favorite place (she takes after me, she wants to be around a lot of wine). 

So, there you have it.  My life is a great thing again, & here's hoping that yours is, too!