Wine & Whine O' the Week (v. 1.7)

In honor of the upcoming IMOP-V, we bring back a classic IMOP whine from last season's outing.  The scene is the Bellagio, at a late morning 2/5 NLHE game.  I'm fresh from a nap, but the table is filled with cranky players trying to get unstuck from their overnight sessions.  I happen to be wearing a t-shirt that has random paint splotches and the words: "I Just Killed a Clown".  Establish loose-stupid image.  Check.

After half an hour or so, I get into a hand with a gentleman who was on tilt from running into a string of bad beats and suckouts.  He raises preflop, and I call with 5s2s.  Flop is A-3-4, giving him top set, and me the wheel.  We get it all in on the flop, and my hand holds up as he fails to catch a boat.  The guy stands up, mutters a bit, flings his cards my way, and snaps, "You are a f#cking clown!"

Why, thank you for the compliment!  But I don't clown around with wine, even one of my everyday "go to" wines, the Mitolo Jester Shiraz 2007.  This is a serious, and seriously tasty Australian shiraz, available at a good value price around $15-$18 retail.  It's not as "dense" as some Aussie shirazes, with a lot of blueberry and plum fruit, and a subtle note of black pepper.  It's light enough to drink alone, but should pair well with most lamb and beef dishes, or spicier chicken and pork dishes.