"Two Cigarettes in the Ashtray - Wine for the Afterglow" - Wine # 1: Hardy's Cab Sauv

[Evinissent Cum Guinness]

Wine One: Hardy's South Eastern Australia - "Stamp of Australia" series Cabernet Sauvingnon 2005



The art of making love has long and deep roots in the enjoyment of other pleasures, not the least of which is the sense-engulfing experience of good wines. From setting the mood, toasting the completion of several good hours, or basking in the afterglow, the place of the scents, tastes, and varieties of wine cannot be denied a place of honor and romantic allure.

I, as a blatant hedonist, am guilty of enjoying almost all of my pleasures to far too great of an extent at times - for me, there is nothing better after a few hours of great sex than a pair of finely blended cigarettes, appropriate music, and two glasses of fine wine... all the better if all enjoyed by myself the accompaniment of a partners sleeping breaths.

What follows is a review of my vino della sera (wine of the evening, lads...) for this particular night, hopefully it will aid you in your own persuit of total hedoistic excess.

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Out here in the pacific northwest we have a wealth of wines and wine stores to choose from, to be sure - however, if you're feeling bold and/or budgeted, the universal wisdom is always to find a big wholesaler. Winco, Costco, etc... all usually have large wine selections, from local to imported, at great prices. Often, when I'm tired of boutique wine stores, this is where my best hunting occurs.

A couple of nights ago, a particular lady friend of mine and I journeyed to such a place in search of some interesting wines and we selected about 25 bottles - some my picks, some hers, some neither of us had tried before. Among these, I was only very skeptical of a certain Australian vino from "Hardy's" - it had a twist cap. However, she swore up and down that everything they had was amazing, so we picked up a merlot and a cab sauv.

Tonight, before a few hours of intimacy, we enjoyed a different selection - a cool chardonnay - and afterwards, feeling bold, I pulled the Hardy's out to give it a try without feeling ashamed by the company of judging eyes in a more social situation. I set up the ambiance - two Nat Sherman New York cuts in my masonic ashtray, a gift from a snide anti-smoking friend when I received my 3°, two Reidel red wine glasses, filled halfway with the stuff I assumed would be vile, and some candlelight. I finished it off by quickly dodging off to the kitchen in the other room for some cheese - I came up with a mundane peppered jack, I haven't been out on any serious food foraging expeditions in a few days, but I would now recommend Havarti or Brie... the peppered jack admittedly did taste great with it, however.

The ambiance set, il mio amante ardente and myself ready to indulge (myself the skeptic, she both smug and certain of my incorrect assumptions,) we airated out glasses with a swish, and for lack of a better word, quaffed away.

This wine truly shocked me. A distinct plum bouquet from the rim of the glass, and a silky, complex scent I couldn't quite name further in. The taste was certainly of plums and assorted cherry - black cherry most notable. The grape shone through more than many cab sauvs I have tried, possibly a neutral byproduct of it's screwcap and comparatively young age. Normally, I don't like an outrageously obvious grape taste, but this bold signature somehow managed to mix fairly well into the complexity.

It had a bit of a stiff finish, but it doesn't taste fortified - more of a slightly acidic tingle that isn't all together unpleasant and reminds one that the beverage they are drinking is no wine cooler, but serious alcohol. The color is a deep maroon red with edges of scarlet in the right candlelight - almost the color of a pinot noir.

Had this been a corked wine with normal expectations for me, I would have rated this wine a 5 or 6 out of 10, but because of it's screwtop handicap, I would venture to give it a 7.5 - a very decent cab sauv, and good enough to put mi amore right asleep after a glass.

A fine vino della sera, recommended.

-- Cal V. (alias Evinissent Cum Guinness)

Calagero's bonus recipe for a perfect night of hedonism -

• CD changer w/ sound system (min. 3 CDs, shuffle feature optional)
• Bjork - Vespertine
• Massive Attack - Mezzanine
• Cat Power - You are Free
• (Optional) The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin.
• One bottle recommended wine. (If reviewed wine is discouraged, there will be a recommended surrogate wine should future eventualities necessitate that)
• Two glasses, either all purpose wine or specialty glasses for particular kind of wine.
• Corkscrew
• Candlelight
• Recommended cigarettes - Nat Sherman New York Cuts for long, passionate sex. Nat Sherman Touch of Clove or Touch of Mint for short, intense sex.
• Incense