Hello again everyone. The Watchful Wino is back, up before the sun rises in his part of the world to bring all of you some fresh musings to have along with your morning joe. Apparently I did not have enough of my favorite grape-based product last night, which is why I'm up early...Got to work on that...

Actually, I was woken up by the sound of a courier pigeon landing on the couch where I happened to be sprawled for the evening. It was carrying a note from the Refined Redneck, explaining his recent absence. The note simply alerted me to await a long distance, Crocodile Dundee-esque boomerang message, which just came in. Apparently, RR is out tracking varmints to serve up at our next shin-dig, but he sends his regards. He can't wait to write his first post. The dude does have a lot of nature and cuisine-related material to get off of his chest...

Anyway, I was thinking about what I should talk about. As I mentioned in my previous post, I had a seriously good dinner with friends over the weekend. I forgot to mention the wines that accompanied the meal. Upon realizing this, I was aghast at the oversight, and moved to rectify the situation as quickly as possible. So here they are:

• 2004 Fontaine-Gagnard Volnay Premier Cru
• 2009 Mauro Molino Nebbiolo

Both get a five furs rating, as far as RR and I are concerned, though a word of caution. Neither is a wine that goes without good food, so if you just try them au naturel, as it were, you will likely not like them. But with food, they clear the stratosphere, I assure you.

The recollection brought memories of another grape-related experience rushing back, and I thought that I'd tell you about it. So There I Was.

Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport that is. I was getting off the plane on the first day of my 2 weeks of environmental leave from my deployment to Iraq, and I had to negotiate a gauntlet of enthusiastic, cheering Americans and Veterans who were there to greet us. If you were one of those people, you can only guess at how good it made us feel to see you there, so thanks.

Fast forward a few days, and my Dad and I put on our helmets and headed to the local wine shop. We had some serious eating to do. I naturally gravitated to the section of the shop in which bottles were kept under lock and key. And there they were. A 1986 Chateau Margaux, and a 1986 Chateau Lafite, each just over 18 years old. The perfect age for such wine, according to at least some opinions.

We somehow convinced the proprietor to part with them and headed to the nearest Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I was there with my Dad and two of his closest friends, one of whom is a Vietnam War Air Force Special Operations veteran...it was very cool to have all 3 of them there. The Air Force vet is actually not doing so hot now, and he's a real mensch, so I wanted to give him a big shout out here. I'm sure that Charlie's life was made quite a bit more difficult due to his efforts. Mr. P, we're all pulling for you...

But I digress. I ordered a rib-eye, cooked to a crawling-off-your-plate temperature. At which point we paid the corking fee and cracked open the two premier cru Bordeaux. And having them was like an out-of-body experience. The boldness, combined with the suppleness and subtlety brought about by the land, expert wine-making that is the product of hundreds of years of experience, and 18 years of care after birth made those wines mind-blowing, to say the least. My own preference was for the Margaux, but others at the table preferred the Lafite. Either way, it's hard to go wrong with those. So if you are looking for a transcendental experience and have a few bucks laying around, I'd suggest either one of those Chateaux.

Alas, the night came to an end, and only the memories remained. Except the corks from those two bottles, which went into my fleece pocket and back to Iraq with me, where they stayed until the legendary 1st Cavalry Division's first deployment there drew to a close. Every now and then, I'd reach into that pocket and rub those two corks together. And for a moment, everything was good. And as Willem Dafoe says in Platoon, "Feeling Good is Good Enough...".

Until next time.

Loose!