We have had several different styles of wine glasses in our home over the 38 year of marriage and until recently, we have never paid much attention to what we were drinking out of. We do have the red wine (balloons) ever since my friend pointed out, “You need to drink reds out a glass like that and not the skinny ones!”

Who didn’t see the movie “Sideways” and didn’t just love it? I did! That movie has been credited with the biggest upsurge in the interest and sales of pinot noir in the history of wine in the United States. My wife and I saw it when we were going through a phase where we only drank cabernet and occasionally a merlot – that’s it! We were stuck in a rut, but we liked it.

My wife and I were invited to a recently acquainted friend’s home near us on the beach. She is a well-to-do realtor and the evening promised to be fun and interesting. She offered us a glass of wine and in tandem, we responded, “A glass of white wine, please.” I soon learned that this person was way beyond opinionated and replied, “All white wine tastes like crap! I only drink cabernet – you’ll love it!” (Yeah right!) I watched as she took it out of the rack, popped the cork out and poured three glasses (balloons, of course) of warm red wine. This was going to be horrible but, remember, you’re a guest so shut up, sip it slowly and don’t pucker or comment.

It seems like my wife and I were (are) always on a diet of some sort. Fighting weight is a fulltime job for us. I hark back to one of the first articles that we read; put out by the diet folks we were following, that alluded to the fact that “red wine” was possibly really good for you! What a revelation. But I don’t like red wine, like that communion stuff from my youth!

On a recent trip to Northwest Iowa I stopped in a truckstop/convenience store that had a selection of Iowa wines. Not being one to pass up a chance to try a new wine I selected a couple different bottles. The first one I tried was “Lucy Lane” from Jasper Wineries. Their website [...]