Wine in the Time of Pandemic

Strange times, these. Though I normally spend a good part of each week working from home, the idea of not being able to go anywhere has me a bit lost. Most of the time, I don’t know what day it is, and honestly, as I write this I’m not even sure whether it’s still March or if we’ve finally moved on from the longest month ever.

I’m pretty sure I’m rotating through the same three “stretchy” outfits, and I can’t recall the sound of my closet door opening. My family and I have played Upwords, Boggle, countless card games, Yahtzee, darts (I finally beat my husband after years of trying!), and Monopoly, and I find myself wishing we owned Risk so that we could have a multi-day game of it.

I’ve removed everything from our refrigerator, scrubbed the shelves and drawers, and replaced everything…but in different places just to watch my family try to find stuff. I’ve cleaned out and organized our “junk dresser” (we long ago surpassed just a drawer). I’ve hand-washed my car. I’ve taken one of our dogs on so many walks that he no longer gets excited at the sound of his leash.

All of this is to say that much has changed in the past few weeks. I no longer spend half a day running errands. I don’t do lunch with friends. Meetings are limited to 40 minutes on Zoom, if they happen at all. My calendar is empty with the exception of events planned long ago that are now scratched through. The highlight of this week will be when I take my dog to the vet.

Parts of this may sound less than ideal, but in fact, I’m enjoying the downtime with my family and the chance to face some projects that have needed facing. I’m hearing from and reaching out to friends who I’ve been missing. I’m making up recipes based on what we have on hand. I’m learning to live a pared-down life.

What hasn’t been pared down, though, is wine. In fact, each day I look forward to choosing the afternoon (don’t judge me) and evening wine(s). Yesterday, I finally surrendered and broke into my mom’s February wine shipment. I was supposed to deliver it to her in person, but alas, that hasn’t happened. So, she’ll enjoy her April shipment soon while I enjoy her February one now.

I tried the McPherson EVS Windblown white the other night, and it’s mighty tasty. If you’re a member of our white wine club, you have that to look forward to. Over the weekend, I enjoyed a bottle of Brennan Viognier that I’ve been holding on to. The wait was worth it. And I’m eagerly anticipating Lost Oak’s Sadie, a red blend that I’ve tried once and need to get more of.

I’ve even found something to do with all my empty bottles of wine. Because I can’t recycle the bottles right now (because I can’t go anywhere), I’m using them for drip irrigation for my vegetable gardens and potted plants. Refilling these every couple of days gives me a way to pass the time and reminds me that I need to produce more empty bottles of wine. Not a problem these days.

Whatever you’re up to these days (these long, slow days), I hope you’re finding ways to enjoy this time, with wine or without…though wine does make everything better. And please know that we miss you at 4.0, and we’re looking forward to seeing you again when the time is just right.