Don’t Hate Me Because I Drink Well

I enjoy (and sometimes merely tolerate) a different bottle of wine every night with dinner. It is an occupational hazard I expect no sympathy for.

On a recent Sunday night that included two pasta dishes (a mac-n-cheese casserole with Maytag Blue Cheese and spaghetti tossed with a homemade tomato sauce and sausage), I popped the cork on a Mettler Cabernet Sauvignon. (Why two pasta dishes? Why not?)

Anyway, I thought a California cabernet would play nicely with the creamy blue cheese sauce and wouldn’t be so bad with the intense flavors of the sausage, which I first poached, then sliced and sautéed so they had a crunchy crust. Oh, Henry! Was I right! It was smashing hit all around. Even my wife, Eleanore, raised an eyebrow and agreed the wine and food were indeed yummy (a significant remark, as my wife is not known for doling out faint praise).

The following night I arrived home at about 9:30 from another successful cooking and wine class at the Decatur Cooks Warehouse and I was more than just peckish. A survey of the refrigerator landscape turned up the easily re-heatable herb-crusted mac-n-cheese. But what to drink with it? Standing in front of my somewhat renowned Wall o’ Wine, I spied another bottle of the Mettler Cab.

“The same wine two nights in a row with about 200 other selections to choose from?” I asked myself. “Yes!” was my enthusiastic reply. And it was a good idea. As I watched the San Francisco 49ers slaughter the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football, I found the Mettler and cheesy macs were just as good as the night before…maybe better as I more solemnly evaluated the wine and food combo.

So while you might be a tad jealous of my overwhelming wine variety, you can take some consolation when you are able take out a known winner like Mettler night after night.

2007 Mettler Family Vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi, Calif.

• $25

• Two Thumbs Way Up

• Rich, full aromas of ripe blackberry and cassis with a hint of smoke. Fruit-forward dark and red berry flavors with a nicely tart counterbalance. It has lots of spicy, clove-like notes and a smooth, cream soda quality.