Treasure Hunter series

I just killed my second bottle of the Treasure Hunter wine series a few nights ago. I tried both the Pieces of Eight and the Tomcat. The impressive thing about these wines, apparently, is that it's really high quality wine, but at an outstanding low price. The wineries that produce it aren't the ones who sell it: this company essentially buys overstock and sells it for a lot cheaper. I'm not sure I quite understand the logic behind how that works, so if you want a better explanation, head to their website: Treasure Hunter Wines.

My story behind these bottles of wine is literally a story.

In August, I began writing a novel. I wrote through August, September, and into October. Each night as I prepared to write, I would pour myself half a glass of this adventurous wine and sip it as I wrote. Alcohol is absolutely a social lubricant, but this wine loosened my inhibitions just enough so that the words flowed more freely. A good friend of mine, a member of my writing group, tends to sip whiskey as he writes. We often exchanged Twitter messages, essentially toasting each other as we wrote.

You don't have to drink to be a writer, but I've found my drink of choice is definitely wine. There's rarely an evening of writing goes by without my wineglass filled with a beautiful dark red or purple liquid lately.

These two bottles of wine carried me through the months of writing this novel. The book finished around 107,000 words (a basic trade paperback of 300 pages is about 90,000 words, to give you an idea).

The Pieces of Eight was delightful. It had a bite, for sure, but it withstood the hour or so of my sipping while writing. The Tomcat was much more dry. I had to drink it a little faster because after sitting out for an hour it was difficult to drink. Those evenings were a little more silly.

I am working on my next book project this month, and Monday was my last night with the Tomcat. It helped me plot the trajectory of the rest of the novel that night.

My local liquor store has these beautiful wines for sale at amazing prices while supplies last. I hope to be able to afford to try another bottle or two before the wine drinkers in town whisk it all away.

Oh, one last little tidbit: I will admit to purchasing the first bottle of wine in this series based on the bottle's label. I know that just as you should never judge a book by its cover, you should never judge a bottle of wine by its label. But can you blame me?

Corbett Canyon White Zinfandel

My very first glass of wine was a pretty pink Corbett Canyon White Zinfandel from California.

Circa 1999

I was in high school. Senior year. My boyfriend at the time pilfered the bottle somehow so that we could have it for the night of our senior prom.

To be honest, I don't remember the glass consumed with him. My memory of this bottle of wine focuses on the next night, when my best friend and I finished the bottle.

I invited her over for a slumber party, and once the folks had gone to bed, we retrieved the bottle from its hiding place in my closet. We marveled at the curvature of the bottle and the blushing color of the liquid.

I couldn't tell you now what it tasted like (probably not great since this bottle, pretty as it was, didn't even come with a cork: it was a twist off). All I know was that it was sweet, sharp, bubbly, and intoxicating.  Our sleepovers always consisted of lots of giggling, but that night, the giggling took on a drunken timbre.

Luckily my parents couldn't tell the difference. Although Mom did ask what was so funny the next morning. I think I turned as pink as the wine.

It was a long time after that before I drank wine again, and even longer for me to develop an appreciation for it. And now I am attempting to develop an understanding of it.

Over the past year I have been researching and tasting different kinds of red wine. I started tracking them on Pinterest, but it seems that each bottle ends up with a story associated with it, so after some reminiscence, I decided to start this blog.

I still have that very first bottle of wine. I don't even think they make them like this anymore. I also still have my best friend, Luigi, and she will figure prominently in many of my wine stories.

My journey to become a wine connoisseur is about more than just my opinion of the wines I taste. It's a learning process, and with any journey, it comes fraught with stories. I am naturally a storyteller, and it turns out that wine is, too.

And so my wine reminiscence begins here. Who knows where it will eventually lead me. I have enjoyed a lot of wine since this bottle. I anticipate enjoying many more, and I hope to share my stories about each bottle here.