Married Madness In Three Acts

Act I

Friday evening. The Wife, Ph.D., is drained after another long work week with a red pen in hand, sore vocal chords and dwindling patience. She tells me she wants to stay home. She says she wants homemade pizza and red wine. I oblige since any meal involving those two items rattles me alive. A leftover chicken breast, a red onion, some mozzarella and barbecue sauce are put to good use. My apologies to California Pizza Kitchen. Please don't sue me; this blog has not yet turned a profit.

That night in her sleep, The Wife, Ph.D., barks out instructions to her science students and frequently twitches her hand as if she were doodling cherry checks, crosses, stars and happy faces on the white sheets. Habits die hard and restless nights die harder.

2007 Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon (Hawkes Bay, New Zealand) - Wonderful deep red color. Very tight bouquet with hints of raspberries, cherries and cinnamon. Bitter tannins and quite disjointed. The Wife, Ph.D., was totally disappointed. 85/100.

Act II

Saturday night. The Wife, Ph.D., is a homebody. She tells me she wants to stay home. She says she wants homemade pizza and red wine. I am happy to cater to her desires. It is round three of the NCAA Basketball Tournament (Greatest. Sporting. Event. Ever.) and I would rather glue my eyes to the screen than abandon my comfortable cocoon and metamorphose into a faux social butterfly somewhere out and about. The games start at six p.m. and end at around five a.m. so I give The Wife, Ph.D., a few hours of quality family time in the shape of a Neapolitan pizza and an average-to-detestable chick-flick. Unsurprisingly, she falls asleep on the couch twenty minutes into the movie, I think the lead actress had just been transformed into a zombie elfish vampire by an evil sorcerer played by James Franco and she was Googling antidotes to her predicament. I sigh and switch the channel just in time to see another buzzer beater. Bless March Madness.

2007 Domaine Argyrides Mourverdre (Cyprus) - Earth-driven aromas of mulch and tobacco with nuances of spice and red fruit. Lovely red fruit on the palate with some good spice and a short finish. Alcohol spikes towards the end but overall a good effort. 88/100.

Act III

Another Friday night. This time it is delivery Chinese food and red wine. The Wife, Ph.D., wants to uncork a bottle of 2008 or 2009 Palo Alto Red, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere and Shiraz blend from Chile that has become our preferred everyday wine. I veto her call and go with an island wine instead. She complains about my "job" but calms down once she starts juggling a broccoli floret and a mushroom with her chopsticks. She takes a sip of the wine, smirks and reminds me that she's always right. Her glass goes untouched for the remainder of the evening and a nearby voice that yelps "Bad Student! Principal's Office! Palo Alto! A-Plus!" startles me awake at four thirty-five am.

2008 Aes Ambelis Cabernet Sauvignon (Cyprus) - This wine did not show as well as the last time we tried it. Tight bouquet with a touch of mint, smokiness and some earth. Cherry, raspberry, eucalyptus, tea leaves and pepper on the mouth. A green and bitter finish. 85/100.