Rain Rain Go Away!

I swear it has rained more than it has been sunny so far this year.  It's fairly annoying.  I truly do not mind running in the rain during the summer months, but in the winter it leaves a lot to be desired.  Our weather has been completely ridiculous.  Where else in the world can you have a 40+ degree temperature swing in less than one week?  Not many other places that I know of.  I ran Monday morning in 57 degree weather.  By Tuesday morning, as you fellow SC residents are well aware, we hit 14 degrees!!!  WTF??

This called for deep heavy red wine drinking.  The rainier and colder the weather, the deeper the red.  There is no hard fast rule with this, its just my personal preference.  I have already made a huge fuss about the Trivento Grand Reserve Malbec in a prior post.  But, I have to admit, I needed a do-over.  This wine is the perfect wine for the dismal weather.  This wine from Argentina is extremely bold and deep.  I will say it again, well worth it for the $20 spent.

I had a variation from the norm this week with my monthly running group dinner.  We went to Burger 77 and in looking at the wine list, let's just say it was probably a good choice to not select the options available.  So we had beer!  Shocktop on draft to be precise.  This is a very nice beer.  I am not a bottle or can fan when it comes to beer.  I love draft beer.  Ice cold in a nice cold mug.  We got the happy hour big mug special.  These were huge beers.  Cold and with an orange wedge to accentuate the flavor.  Before I started my wine love, I was on a beer kick with trying new flavors.  I still love a good beer, and Shocktop is a good one!

During my last stock up trip to Trader Joe's I ventured away from the TJ brands and got a few other little treats.  One of the bottles was a 2010 bottle of Estancia Reserve - Paso Robles Meritage.  This is a California Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec.  I did enjoy this blend which is primarily Cabernet, but you can taste the spicy Malbec which really rounds out the flavor in this wine.  This retails for around $25 per bottle.  It was the perfect companion for the end of a rough day.

Tonight I have a little celebrating to do.  I am very excited about being named in the 2013 Masters Top race times in SC for 2013.  If you missed the article, please check it out:  http://www.examiner.com/article/top-masters-road-racing-performances-south-carolina-for-2013
Can't wait to let you know about my next selections!!