I have a drinking problem.<\/p>\n
Let me be more specific.<\/p>\n
I have a drinking wine problem.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s difficult to explain the problem, but it\u2019s grown beyond the available storage at my home and is now spilling over to my office at the Long Beach Post.<\/p>\n
There are bottles of wine tucked into every corner and drawer and cubby in my office.<\/p>\n
It piles up to the point where a couple of times a year I give up and start passing out bottles just to get it out of the way.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s under the reception desk and in the storage room.<\/p>\n
The empty bottom drawer in the kitchen has at least half a dozen bottles.<\/p>\n
Ok – maybe it\u2019s not so difficult to explain: See, I have our winery shipments sent to the newsroom because someone 21+ needs to sign when it arrives. If I miss the delivery at home, it is a haul to get all the way to the UPS warehouse in Cerritos to fetch the wine box.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s how it piles up at work.<\/p>\n
Maybe my problem is that I\u2019m not drinking wine fast enough?<\/p>\n
Fortunately, I recently learned that Feb. 18 is National Drink Wine Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n No, really. The goal is to \u2018spread the love and health benefits of wine.\u2019 Absolutely, I\u2019m good with that goal.<\/p>\n I suggest kicking off this important national holiday with a moment of reflection, pondering the important questions, like, \u201cAre breakfast wines a thing?\u201d<\/p>\n Rieslings? Yes. Sauternes? Absolutely.<\/p>\n Sunrise is at 6:34 a.m. in Long Beach on Saturday. A bottle of the fantastic 2020 Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Sp\u00e4tlese with french toast? Bring it on. Cinnamon Rolls with a 2019 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes? Boy, Howdy. It\u2019s only a half bottle, after all.<\/p>\n The forecast tomorrow says it will be partly to mostly cloudy\u2014much like me.<\/p>\n I think a gloomy day is great for light-bodied reds. Probably the 2019 Saint Damien Gigondas Les Souteyrades, which is mostly grenache, although I\u2019m impatient and impulsive and should really let it bottle age a few more years.<\/p>\n If alliteration is your thing, for a cloudy day, go for the Cloudy Bay\u2014a great sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. Another great white: the Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc and a Wine Spectator top value for 2022.<\/p>\n But please, for National Drink Wine Day, trust the local experts, take their recommendations and shop in their shops:<\/p>\n\n
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