First, a little backstory.
Now that I’m retired and approaching my dotage, I’m active in quite a few community activities. At the time I’m writing this, I’m working in one of the primary elections, which necessitate 10-to-12 hour days. Fortunately, this particular primary is “only” one week plus Election Day. Hence, it’s not as bad as the General Election, which is always a combination of war zone, tantrum, and zoo.
The long days mean I’m dead tired and can barely function at the end of the day. For instance, a couple of days ago, we had a problem with a voting machine that took quite a while to resolve. (the resolution was stupidly easy and, as the saying goes, “if it had been a snake…”) Once the resolution was completed, I was wrung out, and the stress level was all the way up to there.
“I will indulge in an adult beverage when I get home,” I said to myself.
When I got home, I poured myself a glass of Pinot Noir from my box (yes, box. Don’t judge me. Shut up.) of Really Good Boxed Wine, Pinot Noir, 2021 Russian River Valley Reserve. It was beautiful in the glass.
Before indulging in my glass, however, I got dressed for bed. I went into the bedroom and lay across the bed to check the email on my iPad. It was about 8-ish p.m.
Suddenly, a shrieking alarm woke me up. It was 6:00 a.m., and I realized I’d slept, fully clothed, on my bedspread all night.
Dammit.
I glared at the bottle because all I wanted was a freaking glass of wine before bed.
Fast forward to last night. I had to stop at Smart & Final to pick up something for lunch and snacks for today. Some clearance items were on a table, and a 2022 La Crema Rosé was among them. It was only $9.00! The usual price is about $25.00! I snatched a bottle and took it home.
After doing a quick chill (and actually getting ready for bed in the meantime), I poured myself a glass and took an enthusiastic sip.
Ew. A little funky. On the nose and palate. What happened? Where are my notes of raspberry, watermelon, and strawberries? Where are my roses? Where’s the peach?
I tried to drink it but couldn’t. I glared at the bottle because all I wanted was a freaking glass of wine before bed, especially since the other glass had to be poured out. Even a good wine sitting in an open glass overnight (or longer) can go bad. Like milk. Wine can be like milk.
Mollydooker to the Rescue!
“I will indulge in an adult beverage when I get home,” I said to myself.
Since I’d poured a little of the Rosé into a glass already, I just made sure the screwcap was firmly, well, *screwed* and gave it a few good shakes. I removed the screwcap, let it air for a minute, and repeated the shake. It’s a method that’s called The MollyDooker Shake for a reason. There’s a scientific, winemaking reason for the Shake, but who cares as long as it works!
I let it sit for a while with the screwcap removed before replacing it to give it another go. Then I let the bottle sit open for about half an hour.
Wow. What a difference! While I know it wasn’t as good as it could have been–let’s face it; Smart & Final isn’t exactly a provenance paradise–it was certainly drinkable. For those of you not located in California, Nevada, or Arizona, Smart & Final is like a mini Costco/Sam’s Club, except without the dues. It’s not quite as inexpensive, but it’s certainly a viable alternative if you don’t feel like driving all the way out there to Costco.
My Conclusion
The Mollydooker Shake worked fine on my La Crema. The lessons I gleaned from this little experiment are not to buy sale wines off a clearance table, and don’t be afraid to use unusual methods if all you want is a glass of wine!
