19 Crimes

I opened a bottle of red wine tonight to have a glass with dinner. I had been attempting to try this bottle of wine for years now, ever since I gifted it to myself for Christmas. It’s called “19 Crimes,” and frankly I just liked the label. The label talks about how it’s based on convict wine made in Australia in the 1800s, but there’s no information about how the wine actually tastes like you see on many labels. So, I had no idea if it was sweet or dry, fruity or nutty, or anything else. It was like wine roulette!

My spousal unit and mother-in-law decided to give it a try as well. My mother-in-law took one sip, and her face twisted up in an almost pained expression. One of her eyes closed in a squint, her lips were pursed, and her head involuntarily cocked to one side. I laughed because it was the exact same reaction I had had when I took my first sip. The wine was very dry and smoky-flavored. I’d almost describe it as rough and strong, a very bold wine and not initially to my liking.

So, I took another sip to see if maybe it got better with each taste. It did not. My face contorted into the exact same expression, and I sarcastically said in a low, husky voice, “Very smooth…I can really feel my throat burning all the way down…good stuff.” To which my mother-in-law and spousal unit busted out laughing.

I downed two glasses, partly because I didn’t want to waste the money I had spent on it and partly because I was enjoying the dizzy, spinning feeling that I had gotten after the first glass. Of course that same feeling made it a little difficult to walk back across the kitchen to the bottle, and I had to make a wide left turn around the counter.

Driving in the Middle

My mother-in-law lives in Greece, but she’s originally from the island of Cyprus. She still has ties to the island, and she goes back to visit quite often. She was telling me that in Greece they drive on the left side of the car, like they do in the United States, but in Cyprus they drive on the right side of the car, like they do in the United Kingdom. My mother-in-law said that she has no issues switching back and forth when she goes from one country to another. She said the important thing to remember is to keep the driver in the middle of the road. I replied that if she drives in the middle of the road, then of course it doesn’t really matter. She doesn’t have to worry about the oncoming cars passing on the left or right, because they’re swerving to avoid her. The only thing that really changes is the steering wheel!