Hungarian Lunatic

The reason I have a wine to blog tonight...

A few months ago, we lost one of our dogs, Star. I rescued her from certain death (at least that's what I told the Bob part of me to persuade him to let me get her) from a "no kill" shelter. (I forgot to mention that part to Bob.) Have I written about her before? She was an escape artist. We spent months tearing down and rebuilding a fence to try and keep her in the yard, to no avail. It was driving Bob nuts not to mention she cost us a bundle. After we had her a while, we thought maybe a playmate would help so we went to the Dumb Friends League and rescued Arty, who you all know about if you have read this blog before, the viscious dog. When Star escaped one too many times and got sqaushed by a car on Hampden Ave, in front of our shoe repair store, we were very sad and so was Arty. He quit eating for a week. So, we decided to get Arty a new friend. I was hoping Bob would talk me out of it, but he didn't and we are now the proud owners of a beautiful Viszla, which is a Hungarian Pointer. We named her Sasa Rez, the first part meaning "princess" and the second "copper colored" in Hungarian. We have had her for 6 weeks now and She is NOT housebroken yet, or kennel broke for that matter. Can you see where this is going? Ok, you see the picture? Is she the cutest, or what? I have never had a puppy this hard to potty train and am at my wits end! I have cleaned her kennel out 3 times today! It's not the house broken part that concerns me, it's the kennel. Most puppies won't mess their kennel, oh, but not her.
So, tired of cleaning, frustrated with trying to teach her, I quit. I am drinking. Tasting. Mmmm.
Vina Alarba, Old Vine Grenache, 2004 Product of Spain. Made from High Altitude grown grapes. Alcohol, 13.5. $4.99
Peppery, deep fruit flavors, smooth, long legs, long finish. It's good. I like it a lot. I am very relaxed now and probably won't kill the "princess"...today.

This is what the Wine Advocate had to say: The outstanding 2004 Vina Alarba Old Vines (5,000 cases for the American market) boasts a deep ruby/purple color, full body, and wonderful kirsch liqueur and raspberry aromas and flavors interwoven with hints of licorice as well as minerals. This stunning effort is almost too good to be true. Drink it over the next 1-3 years. This is a ridiculously priced bargain! A backwater Spanish appellation, Calatayud is becoming more and more important, especially for terrific wine values. Jorge Ordonez was the first broker in America to exploit this region. Score: 90. —Robert Parker, June 2005.
I think he may have more experience in tasing and writing, but I knew it was good before I found his review.


I really lke the lable too, it reminds me of Van Gogh's "The Cafe Terrace at Night" , only during the day. I have that print in our basement office. I love it.