A case of the Mondays

Hi Everyone,



I truly hate the expression "Someone's got a case of the Mondays", but sadly, I'm there. So what's the wine for a melancholy day? For me it's gotta be something heartwarming, endearing even, that reminisces one of home-cooking, that favorite old boyfriend's sweatshirt from college, or the cozy shawl grandma knit for me. How does this at all relate to wine- BELIEVE me, it DOES! I need that wine that enraptures your senses, bringing on a sense of "Om" or serious calm that I only get in certain asanas in my Bikram yoga class. A wine that screams, "I'm giving you a TOTAL do-over for your day, and tomorrow will be the best day ever." Tall order, yes, but here's some wines up for the challenge.

Wines that give me the warm and fuzzies tend to be similarly textured, coating my palate in soft, chewy tannins. My go-to for this style is Amarone look- alikes, such as Valpolicella Ripasso (I'm digging Zenato these days), or Southern Rhones, ie Cotes du Rhone Villages or Cotes du Ventoux (try Pesquie Terrasses) and the occasional northern Rhone- Crozes Hermitage(Remizieres rocks). Sometimes- (don't laugh my wine geeky friends), I even like a plush, fruity, soft California Zinfandel that doesn't require a masters degree to figure out- just pure enjoyment without any headgames. I LOVE Green Meadow for $16; the big body and lush texture with a jammy fruitiness makes me wanna run for the couch.

So, tonight it's me, a bottle of Crozes, and some cookie dough- yes Haute Cuisine at it's finest.....But DAMN good and awfully comfy......