The “Stand Up Bottles” are in the Back

Wow.  I didn’t know liquor stores were redlining these days!   I entered our local liquor store searching for a bottle of Pinot Grigio.  This is an awesome liquor store, so huge that you need running shoes to get through it.  It’s right next to Chucky Cheese.  I guess you drop the kiddos off to bang on the heads of moles while the adults stroll wide eyed and drooling through the aisles of incredibly unusual micro brews, unending rows of wines distinguished by type, country or vineyard, limited distillations worth hundreds of dollars locked behind display cases and every alcoholic condiment known to man.   Then there is the wine tasting area next to the humidors brimming with fine cigars.

I had a specific brand in mind so I went to the white wines section, searching back and forth without success.  I finally broke down and asked for directions.  The store employee walked me over to the white section but I could not find that particular brand.  I did notice that all the wines were a bit above the price point I was expecting.  Maybe even more than a bit.  When he asked me what brand it was I realized that my bottle was not exactly the grade that was laying in these wonderful wooden racks for $20-$30 per bottle.  He must have noticed that I blushed when I described the bottle as having a footprint on the label.  “Oh,” he drawled as his interest waned.  “the stand up bottes are in the back.”

I made my way to the back of the store, back to where the picnic wines are hidden. I found my brand right away and asked that it be packaged in a brown paper wrapper so I didn’t offend the other styles of Pinot- the ones that did not have labels with footprints on them.  But this one is perfect for me.  I’ll kick off my shoes so I am barefoot too.  I’ll throw an ice cube in a wine glass (yes, I do that).  Then I’ll drink my little bottle of cheap wine sometime over the holidays and it will be every bit as good to me as a $30 Jerman.  As an added bonus I won’t have to worry if it has herbaceous notes and nutty undertones.  At least not until we begin to bottle our own after our grapes have matured a bit. 

Simply enjoy.