In a quandry about alcohol

This morning I stopped at Safeway for my weekly allotment of spinach. Usually, since I live downwind of the General Mills plant, the morning air carries toasty notes of Cheerios or the hint of sugary faux vanilla from the Lucky Charms. But this morning, my nose detected the initial heady stages of wine production. It's wine-making season again!

Two weeks ago I went winery-hopping with my girlfriend Neelima. We had a better-than-good time. We had to force ourselves to get some bready sandwiches half into our excursion, because we started to get far too friendly with each other, gushing with complements. I seem to recall a "Damn! You go girl!" spilled out of my mouth a couple of times. We found some really delightful wines. So far, I think the Michael-David Petite Petit 2006 is my favorite, a fruity and smooth vintage blend of Syrah and Verdot. I bought six bottles. If you stop at the Phillips Farms Fruitstand Cafe at Hwy 12 and I-5, wine tasting is free on weekdays. And the more you buy, the more you save. (They make some amazing fruit pies as well, and you can take them home!)

But last week, I had to start taking my blood pressure meds. Damn! I really was going to start drinking a glass of wine every night with my dinner! The more I read about drinking alcohol in moderation, the more I like the idea. All I want is a glass of good wine or a single mixed drink. I'd have a Tanqueray and soda with lime while I'm cooking dinner, or the Petite Petit with dinner, or even a fine glass of Taylor 40-year-old tawny port. I even have all three in place, but my bp meds say to not drink alcohol when I'm taking them. But I have to question that. I take my meds in the morning, first thing. I don't want to drink until after 6 p.m. I don't want to drink more than 8 oz. of wine or port or a shot or two of distilled alcohol. I know, I should call my pharmacist and see what he says.

I just read online (so, you know...it's true!) that drinking more than two 8 0z. alcoholic beverages a day can cause a rise in bp, but alternately, a single drink per day for women, and two for men, is safe and actually helpful. But the article also states to talk to your doctor before doing that. Okay, so I'll talk to my doctor.

I hope she says it's okay, because I've also got a couple of bottles of the Michael-David 2006 Incognito Viognier that would be awesome with sushi!