high society, here we come (rittiti-ta-ta rittiti-ta-ta)

wow do i ever love being in a wine club. especially a wine club that rewards its members with little nibbles of tasty food pairings and have a generous pour for their events.

we went last week and had a lot of fun. everyone was really friendly, and we got to pick up another bottle of our favorite, Wow Oui white wine that tastes like it has pineapples in it, but in a classy "notes of pineapple" way, not in a Boone's way. Also, Joe Benziger, the winemaker for Benziger wines and this sister winery, Imagery, was the cutest older man. he was hovering around a barrel of 2006 Pallas, which was oh so conveniently set up next to the 2005 Pallas and some 2005 Pallas Estate, whatever that means. it was fun to compare and try little sips of each and dissect what you're tasting.

malbec

so i went to costco a while ago and got really impressed with their wine stewards who wander around helping you buy well-priced wines and make suggestions. these guys really know their stuff, and i ended up buying a little-more-expensive-than-usual bottle of wine based on his recommendation and loved it. something starting with a v.

but i started with this in my cart:

things i learned about malbec: it's heavier than a syrah, lighter than a cabernet, and almost like a merlot (i always thought merlot was the heaviest of the wines, but i don't think that's true, given how it's used comparatively to describe a medium-bodied wine).
okay, anyway, apparently malbec is usually grown in europe and it's used as blending grape, to add it's characteristics to other red wines, much like how grenache is used. argentina is starting to make really good malbec wine and it's starting to appear on shelves on its own.
this wine in particular got a 98 on wine spectator and i got it for seven dollars. how can you argue with that?
and you know what? we drank this on a really hot day and it was awesome.