The Red Wine Happy Hour Cure

One of Rand's former colleagues used to say at the first sign of sickness, go to bed with a bottle of red wine.  He was a pharmacist and oenophile and there was something in the story about the healing properties in red wine.  Maybe that was it, and maybe if you were sick anyway, it just made you feel better about being sick.  I don't know, but I decided to try out the theory last night, given that the marvels of modern medicine have seemed to accomplish little in the past two weeks.

Yes, that ambitious post last Saturday, just one week ago, when I said "on the road to healthy by Tuesday at the latest" just stands up and laughs at me every day since then.  It is bad enough to be sick when you can stay in bed and take care of yourself.  It is worse to be sick when you have deadlines and have to go to work.  It is way worse when it is cold and raining and you have to go to work, with no place to park and you have to walk in that cold and rain, only to arrive in a building that feels like no one paid the electric bill.  I worked for 4 days wearing my coat and scarf and longed for one of those forbidden heaters that some folks bootleg under their desks.

So, on the off chance that it really might work, I stopped at my favorite Star Wines, and spent way too much time studying the selections.  What exactly was the best kind of red wine for a relentless explosion of mucous in one's head and chest and throat?  Which one would pair best with a Hall's mentholyptus cough drop?  Could a very dry tannic red help dry the copious secretions ravaging my upper body, or should I go with something sort of "velvety"--soft and rounded, to sooth the rawness of what once functioned as my throat?

Nothing in the wines I know and formerly loved were at all appealing sounding.  I made the rounds 3 times--down the import aisle, over to the zins, skip the pinot noirs, skip the merlots and cabs, back to the Spanish garnachas, what about a Cotes du Rhone?  I began to think the store employees were following me, although how they thought I might be about to stuff a bottle of wine into the tiny bag I was carrying kept making me smile.  They know me, so I guess they are used to my meanderings, as not one asked, "Can I help you find something?"  Yes, thank you.  I am looking for a red that will be an amazing instant and miraculous cure for this never-ending "head and chest cold" or whatever it is--what can you recommend?

On the third pass, I checked out the red blends and found a new wine not previously noted, the Robert Hall Rhone du Robles.  Perfect from the description:

Aromas of cherry, raspberry, and cranberry with hints of black pepper and spice.  Deep ruby-red color with lush mouth-filling flavors...fruit forward with rich, silky tannins.

At $18, it leapt into my arms and snuggled next to my scarf, begging me to take it home, assuring me of lasting affection.  My eye caught a bottle of Picket Fence Pinot Noir.  While I am not a pinot noir fan, there are some I enjoy, and Picket Fence is one of the few.  Just in case my exploration with Robert Hall was disappointing, I gave the Picket Fence a subtle nod to follow us to checkout.

I needn't have worried, though the Picket Fence is in reserve if needed.  Robert Hall is now my new best friend for a while.  He helped me load the dishwasher--something Rand and J will not do even though we were all sick and we had 0 clean plates, bowls, glasses, cups, or spoons in the cabinet.

I lit a couple of candles, put on some of my favorite blues music, and texted with my sister and dad for a bit (Dad dictates, Sis texts and reads them to him--he loves it).  He had a good day, and they were about to watch a movie.  He really likes his Dallas Cowboy blanket that was part of his Christmas present--it is larger and warmer than a throw, and very soft so it feels good against his thinning skin.  He looked so good it made me smile.

I think I will see if Robert Hall will help me take down the Christmas tree tonight.