So summer was a thing that happened. It came and went like the breath of a butterfly… the whisper of a puma… the hush of a silence.

And here we are, halfway through September – I’m falling off my hiatus face-first into a bottle full of red.

Andean Moon – Malbec – California 2013

$4.49 ish

I was drawn to the ethereal bottle, asking all the questions. What secrets lie beneath the dark red depths? Is this wine really red? Or does the color transcend the spectrum beyond my eyes? I wanted to explore the iceberg that expanded under the ocean’s surface. Wander to the dark side of the moon. So much blue promise and not enough words.

The wine tasted better than the Robitussin I’ve been downing the last two weeks. Smokey, alluring – arguably the most wonderfully amazing shit wine I’ve ever had. At the very least, it was the only shitty wine I’ve ever truly enjoyed. Maybe it was the head cold. The fact that I couldn’t breathe through my nose. Or maybe this wine is the answer – the balance between cheap and delicious. The Chosen Wine I’ve been searching for.

I enjoyed it so fucking much that I finished the entire bottle- giant glassfuls, seamlessly flowing one after the other. I was sad to see the empty bottle, but I slept well.

Oh so very well.