Young Winos of LA

There’s something so very reassuring about finding a nice layer of dust on a bottle of wine you’ve had for a while. In one sense, it’s a testament to your moral turpitude: “in all the time I’ve owned this wine, I’ve never had a drunken binge so depraved that I’ve felt the need to open it.” A more fastidious person might suggest it’s also a testament to your lack of neatness, and then ask you why you don’t dust more often, but you can just tell them you don’t want to disturb the wine during its slumber.

Tonight I’m bringing a particularly dusty bottle to tonight’s Drink What You Have event: the 2001 Leal Vineyards Meritage (San Benito), which I believe I bought back in ’06 at a Vendome tasting. I remember enjoying it at the time, and I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to open it — but as Alder Yarrow reminds us, there’s never really a better time than the present.

A little light goes a long way: my bottle of ’01 Meritage, with and without the harsh glare of my flash

I’m gonna do my best to not disturb the dust on the trip to Jessica’s. How often do you get to drink a dusty old bottle you’ve had for three years? People have to see this dust! Maybe even taste it.