Wine & Whine O' the Week (v. 1.8)

On a Festivus trip to Vegas, I was playing a session at Bally’s. I got into a hand with an uber-tight nit who would overplay big pairs. Nit raised to $15 preflop, I called from the button with 6c4c, and a loose-drunk player also called. Flop is 2-3-5 with two spades. Donkey Kong! Long story short, Nit bet, I raised, he pushed for $450 total, and I made the reluctant call.

Nit: “You must’ve hit your set.”

Me: “Nope, no set.”

Nit: “No set? Then I’m good!” as he rolled over the obvious AA.

Me: “Aces? Is that all?”

I rolled my hand, Nit did a quadruple take. Hilarity ensued for a moment.

Unfortunately, the board went running spades, and Nit scooped with a backdoor flush. Nit then proceeded to berate me for 15 minutes. “$15 preflop? Do you know how big of a dog you were?” He must’ve asked me this half a dozen times, as I sat there quietly. Finally, I felt the need to respond: “Do you know how big of a dog you were when you pushed $450 into the middle with just Aces?” Mercifully, this stopped the lecture.

Speaking of big dogs, I’m a huge fan of petite sirah, and Vinum Cellars makes a great value petite sirah. The Vinum “Pets” 2007 is a juicy concoction with boysenberry and blackberry barking up front, backed by the bite of some spicy tannins. “Pets” pairs well with pizza, hearty pastas, and burgers. This wine is consistently one of the tastiest, best value petite sirahs on the market, usually in the $10-$13 / bottle range. My only knock is their decision to take the beautiful dog off their label; however, they continue to make a contribution to their local animal shelter for every bottle purchased.  As a bonus, "Pets" is now bottled with a screw cap for freshness.