Complicated

I haven't had a taste for wine lately. What? Did I really just say that? What's wrong with me? This can't be right. I mean I still peruse the local wine shop and the aisles in the grocery store and I even pick up a bottle or three. But I'm not really eager to drink them. It's strange to even write those words but I'm just not excited about wine right now. It's not like beer or other spirits have taken wine's place. I'm not drinking those either. I'm finding that I'm drinking a lot of water, kombucha (which hubs brews at home) and sometimes green tea.  In fact, I hadn't had a glass of wine in almost a month until the vegan wine dinner a few weeks ago. Since then, I've only had a glass or two once or twice. No, I'm not sick. I guess my taste buds and body are just wanting a break.  It's complicated.


I do enjoy having a glass of wine when I'm cooking. In fact, I almost crave a glass of wine when I'm cooking and then after I drink it, I don't know what all the hype was about. That almost happened last night. It's complicated.


Sunday is usually my grocery shopping and meal prep day for the week. I plan what our meals will be and cook what I can ahead of time while I'm home from work. It's much easier than coming home after a long day, enduring a half hour commute, walking the rambunctious puppy and then slaving away in the kitchen to make a meal from scratch and still have time to eat it, digest it and be in bed by 10.  Yeah, Sundays are a free day for me and I chose to waste it away by meal prepping most of the day. May not make sense. It's complicated.


Last night, as I was adding the broccoli to the slow cooker of beef that had been becoming delicious all afternoon, I pulled the Mexican lasagna, I made and baked on Sunday for dinner, out of the fridge.  It had to warm up for about 20 minutes and I decided I wanted a light red wine to pair with dinner. Why not? It's been a while. I knew it had to be red. I knew it had to be light. But I didn't know if I had that particular combination at home. I wanted a Pinot Noir from Oregon and just about cried when I realized I didn't have one. Well, maybe a Chard would be ok because I really hadn't had one in a while and it could be refreshing. But that wouldn't work with the lasagna and it would take too long to chill anyway. Maybe I'll just drink a beer. But beer makes me feel so bloated and God knows I don't need to feel any fatter than I already do right now. Maybe I'll pour a little whiskey. No, that is more of a sipping thing to enjoy after dinner. Sigh. Why does it have to be so complicated?


Then it hit me.
Complicated.
Yes! Complicated!
How fitting!
Complicated!

Taken Wine Co. was founded in 2009 when Carlos Trinchero had a simple philosophy - to craft great wines to share with friends. Nothing complicated about that idea. The three wines he created all tie into social media and are relevant to his generation. Now, social media...... That's complicated. Trinchero's wines are named, Taken, Available and you guessed it... Complicated.

I just happened to have a bottle of Complicated on the shelf. I had tried it many years ago at my happy place in Virginia but hadn't seen it at the stores in quite a while. I happened upon it last weekend. Once again, a sign from above. Couldn't get much easier than this - when everything else is complicated, choose Complicated - a Grenache, Syrah and Carignane blend from the Central Coast of California.


I pop the cork.
I pour a glass.
I swirl.
Jammy.  Plums, raspberries
Definitely plums
Plums rolled in a hint of spice - nutmeg, maybe cinnamon
I instantly saw my grandfather, Carlton, and his homemade ginger snap cookies.
I haven't had a gingersnap cookie like his since he died in 1984.
In fact, I tried to make them once and I couldn't replicate them to save my life.
I even had his recipe.
I loved those things. I could instantly see them, smell them and taste them after one whiff of this wine.
At first sip, there was definite fruit - mostly cherry - with a bit of a tanginess at the end.
I'm tad bit concerned.
I had this wine before and really enjoyed it. Now it tastes like cherry and I do not like cherry one bit.
But that was years ago.
I was also in an interesting relationship at the time.
Well, maybe it was a relationship.
Honestly, it was complicated.
This wine needs to open. It needs to breathe.
I leave it alone for about 45 minutes and try it again.
The aroma has mellowed. There's a hint of flowers now - violets come to mind.
The taste mellowed too.
The tart aftertaste is gone.
Very light
Reminiscent of a Pinot Noir......
with a fire lit under it.
I decided to slice a few pieces of one of my favorite seasonal cheeses.
Kerrygold Aged Cheddar Cheese with Irish Whiskey
I've only been able to find it at Wegmans and only around the month of March.
If you haven't tried it and you love sharp cheddars, do it! You won't regret it.
It's woodsy. It's smooth. It's nutty. It's sharp. It's just damn yummy.
The wine even mellowed out the whiskey cheese and nothing mellows the whiskey cheese.
Again, nothing is making sense.
It's complicated.
I didn't expect the Mexican Lasagna I made to pair well with the wine.
That's not why I opened it.
But of course, me being me, I had to try it just to see.
Holy salsa, Batman!!
Hot! Hot! Hot!
The wine brought the spice out in the lasagna.
I mean really brought it out.
I look at my plate.
I look at my wine.
How can this be? I never would imagine that would have occurred.
But of course, why should it surprise me?
After all.....
It's complicated.

“There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom,

others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you

beat your head against the wall.”
― Colette, Oeuvres complètes en seize volumes