Wine and Chocolate

(Day Seventeen in My Month of Blessings)

A really special day includes one (or both!) of these. And not any wine or chocolate will do although I’d say I’m pretty easy. I do not require the best - simply one that meets my needs in the moment (sometimes this is easy and sometimes it proves to be a challenge – just ask my husband!).

I’m mostly a red wine kind of girl and that has occurred only after hanging out with my mostly red wine drinkin’ husband for the past ten years. Prior to out relationship I didn’t even like wine and if I drank it, box wine was acceptable. I didn’t know what I didn’t know (and box wines have come along way!). Now, I know only enough to be dangerous, nothing more. For instance, I had a really good Malbec with my brother and now I think all Malbecs are good. My husband jokes that if they have a Malbec on the menu, I’ll order it (this is mostly true).

But the beauty of wine, like life, is that it is never exactly the same – the grapes change, our tastes change, what we are eating with the wine changes. Even over the duration of a meal, a wine changes (perhaps it opens up more or perhaps we like it more because we get less choosy after indulging in a glass or two . . . ). Whereas, when someone drinks a Budweiser and knows exactly what he or she is getting, with wine you have to get to know it. It requires more of you. I like that complexity.

Chocolate, on the other hand, is a need for me in a way I hope wine never becomes. There are simply days when I crave chocolate or notice some lingering desire in the back of my mind that I finally tune into as a chocolate calling. I’m a bit pickier about my chocolate but not by much. I am a dark chocolate kind of girl but beyond that just about anything goes. I don’t require Godiva or Vosges – and in a pinch even semi-sweet chocolate chips will do. But truly, chocolate can right an afternoon for me. Sometimes, it’s that easy.

Oh – and the best news – both of these things are good for me (well in moderation, of course)! How great is that? And now that I’ve got myself thinking about chocolate . . . well, I’ll have to let you know what I find – but as I type, I remember the kids’ Halloween candy. I think it’s beckoning . . . good night!