Rejoicing With A Glass Of Wine: Cheers To Tenacity & Typos

/ Ally Bean

TENACITY, I GOT IT

AFTER TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY for three weeks to get wine in our weekly grocery order for curbside pickup, we finally got some wine in the house.

How did we do this, you ask?

We joined an online wine club wherein you pick from their selection of wines and your wine is then delivered, a few weeks later, to your doorstep.  All that is required of you, beyond deciding which bottles of wine you want and having a valid credit card, is to have an adult sign for the wine when it is delivered to your doorstep at an assigned time.

I am an adult, with time on her hands, thus I was more than willing to sign for the wine.  Which I did by standing in my jammies, shamelessly, on our front stoop a week ago Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m.

And by having gray frizzy hair.

The friendly UPS man sized me up from afar as he walked across the lawn carrying the box of wine.  He didn’t bother having me physically sign for the wine, instead he scribbled something on the electronic form and went on his way.

That worked for me, buddy.  No need to be uptight about the signing part of the blessed wine delivery. 😇

Hallelujah!

FUN WITH TYPOS

LAST TUESDAY NIGHT I opened the first bottle of the wine we ordered.  We were having salmon and mashed potatoes and spinach, thus I reasoned a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc would be lovely.

[Truthfully I almost always think a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc would be lovely, but I digress.]

As I was sipping the first glass of wine to cross my lips in quite some time, I decided to read the back label on the bottle of wine.  I like to know what I’m supposed to be tasting according to the vineyard.  Plus I’m into marketing, so I do like well-written copy.

When I can find it.

And even when I can’t…

Below is a photograph of the back label on the bottle of wine. Can you see the typo? The numerical one that made me smile?

And with that I’ll end this post by telling you we enjoyed this bottle of wine.  Perhaps it was because of all the effort it took to get it.  Or, perhaps it was because it taught me a profound lesson: YOU CAN’T JUDGE A WINE BY ITS TYPO. 😉

Happy Weekend, everyone.

143 thoughts on “Rejoicing With A Glass Of Wine: Cheers To Tenacity & Typos”

  2. That’s a pretty obvious mistake. Note to vintner: next run of labels – remove date from description of product!
    Someone got a tongue-lashing about this, I am sure. “No more proofing copy during wine tastings!” 😉

    Deb

    Liked by 3 people

    • Deb, the mistake does make you wonder about when the label was proofed. Before or after an in-depth tasting for the wine? I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw what had happened.

      Liked by 3 people

  3. Interesting you mentioned this wine delivery service, ABean. Lately my Instagram account has been full of these ads. As for the typo, maybe the label makers were conducting a little wine testing. I’d overlook the typo to finally have wine back in the house! Cheers!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Jill, I was happy to overlook the typo for the exact reason you mention. Plus, as much as I like finding silly mistakes like this one, life is too short to fuss about such things. My IG account hasn’t shown me any wine club ads and now I feel neglected by IG. I found this club all by myself.

      Liked by 2 people

        • Rachel, I have problems commenting on your blog. I just tried again to no avail. I read along and enjoy what you say, but as for joining in, I cannot make the system take my comments. I don’t take it personally, just wanted you to know because if I can’t comment maybe other people can’t either. 🤷‍♀️

          Liked by 1 person

            • For you to be reading this… I commented on your comment on my blog. When I try to comment directly on your blog my comment disappears into thin air, or virtual space, or wherever wayward comments go.

              Like

              • Oh oh oh. I use a common theme… One more clue for me please: do your comments fail when you are in WordPress Reader, or on my actual website, or both? I’ve noticed I can often comment in Reader but not on someone’s website.

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  4. Maybe they meant to add, “but, of course that’s not what’s in this bottle. 2017, a rather unremarkable year. Try harder next time!”

    Im guessing your confident presence told the UPS guy you were over 21

    Liked by 2 people

    • Dan, your interpretation of the label works for me, although we liked what we drank. Yes, no doubt it was my confident [jammie-clad] presence that inspired trust between me and the UPS guy. I was a sight to be sure. 🙄

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  7. Somebody likes cut and paste at that wine bottler! You sound like me. We usually have a nice selection of wine on hand, but these days, since it isnt easy to come by (our liquor stores were deemed essential businesses so they’re open) we’ve started buying boxed wine! Its not too bad, but i yearn for a return to being able to stop in at a winery and have a lovely choice from actual bottled wine without having to go through the corona dance at the register to make a purchase!!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Madeleine, your explanation of the label makes sense. I doubt that it was intentional and it did make for a good laugh so all is good. Our liquor stores are open, but they don’t sell wine or beer. We get that in grocery stores or speciality shops. I much prefer doing shopping myself, but this ordering online worked so I can’t fault it.

      I love your “the corona dance at the register” description. Ain’t it the truth!

      Liked by 2 people

  9. I can’t believe you went so long without wine; I wouldn’t make it. I’m just saying…
    and the typo was too funny. Some of us probably wouldn’t have noticed once we started drinking the wine. Cheers to you and your tenacity. Have a great weekend!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Busy Bee Suz, the lack of wine was weird. Our grocery has a large wine section but apparently it was sold out? Or they didn’t want to bother to fill our order? Or we picked up our order before the daily wine delivery? I dunno. All I know is we figured out a way to get wine and I am happy. Necessity is the mother of invention!

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Some of my relatives have had to resort to mail order deliveries too. Every time we go shopping it’s a mystery as to what will be available and what won’t. TP continues to be spotty. There are usually 3 packs available and the rest of the shelves are empty. How much can a person poop? Our state owned liquor stores recently opened for curbside pickup and they were mobbed. There’s a message there.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Kate, it seems random as to what’ll be hoarded and what won’t, doesn’t it? I cannot explain the lack of wine in the store, but this online ordering worked just fine. We have enough to last a few months and maybe by then our store will have wine again?

      I agree that there is a definite message in what happened in your state. Our liquor stores are open, but I haven’t been motivated to go to one… when I can get wine delivered to my doorstep.

      Liked by 1 person

      • I haven’t been motivated to go to any public place except the grocery store although we found a small family run hardware store. It’s rarely crowded and they are always spraying so it’s a great place to get those oddball house things.

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        • I’m not going out and into any business if I can avoid it. I know that around here we’re slowly lifting restrictions, but I’ll just stay at home, thank you very much. We have wine now, we’re good.

          Liked by 1 person

  11. Oh, bring me some figgy pudding . . . to go with this wine
    Whatever the year . . . it tastes just fine
    Hints of apple & grapefruit . . . fresh off the vine
    And rich fig essence . . . a fave flave of mine
    What can I say . . . eau de fig is just divine

    Liked by 3 people

  12. The liquor stores here had curbside delivery, but it’s not the same as wandering down aisles.
    We also pursued the mail order vineyard offerings.- It’s like looking at seed catalogs in January HAHA
    Big BRown’s delivery guy who knows our house far too well, saw us walking the dog and paused to wave and say “I left it on your porch” with a big smile.
    We all had big smiles then.
    Cheers (and glad you are able to pour on)

    Liked by 2 people

    • philmouse, you’re the second commenter to mention that your liquor stores have curbside delivery. I don’t know about that here. We buy hard spirits in our state liquor stores, but not wine or beer. Usually I pop into Kroger or a speciality wine shop to buy a bottle or two of wine when we want it so this planning ahead is weird to me.

      I’m charmed to know that your FedEx delivery guy knows you by sight. You’re rocking these healthy-at-home times in which we now find ourselves. 🥂

      Liked by 1 person

  14. I can understand how the oversight happened, for sure. Out of this, I’m sure that Monarch Glen is glad of the publicity. 🙂
    Also, I have been shamelessly appearing in public in my pyjamas for years. I used to walk the dog around the block early in the morning in my jammies. My neighbour across the street told me that he started to put his garbage out while still wearing pyjamas. He said, “If she can do it, so can I!” I was happy to be the one to give him that permission.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Arlene, I don’t know why I got such a kick out of this typo, but I did. The wine was tasty, regardless of what the label said.

      I like how you’ve inspired your neighbor, and perhaps other people too, to wear jammies with pride. I was fully covered in flannel and fleece as I waited on our front stoop, so it wasn’t like I was being seductive. Just anxious to get our wine, thank you very much.

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  15. I don’t often drink because I stand LESS of a chance of being able to stay awake to finish watching a movie.

    And now that we are staying-at-home and my 6 delightful children are all holed up with us, I fear starting to drink . . . it might become too much of a regular habit. 😉

    The typo is hilarious. Imagining you reading the label reminds me of when we were kids and we would read the cereal boxes at breakfast. Not to imply that you were enjoying your wine at breakfast . . . ha.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Ernie, I understand your logic for not drinking often and it makes sense to me. I’m surprised you know which way is up with 6 kids living with you… all the time… like we do now.

      I like to read cereal boxes, too. We usually only buy Cheerios so you read that once or twice, and the thrill is over. Wine labels are varied, if nothing else.

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  16. I love a wine subscription service. I signed up to one a few years ago called Naked Wine on recommendation & was very taken with the results. I paid a monthly fee & would buy by the (mixed) box. Unfortunately, my digestive issues meant I had to stop drinking wine except as an occasional treat, so I eventually had to cancel it. Himself likes a rough old bottle of wine, so he prefers to pick them up on his weekly grocery shop. I miss wine, and look forward to it’s return into my life now the digestive issues are now behind me, and as soon as the weight-loss requirement is likewise.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Deb, this is the first time we’ve done a wine service. It was easy enough and while I don’t see us doing this once we can safely get back into the grocery stores, in the interim it’s working.

      I’m sorry to read about your digestive issues, but if not drinking wine helps then by all means don’t drink it. I may be gaining weight from drinking the stuff, but tough darts. First I survive the pandemic, then I worry about my weight.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Oh trust me, I’m only doing it to help sort out my knee problem. Anything to avoid (or put off) the full knee replacement. Luckily, it’s going well so far. But if that doesn’t work, then I’m back on the wine (and the chocolate & the carbs!)

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  17. PS: At least you UPS driver didn’t require you pose beside the wine delivery in your jammies so he could take a snap for “their records” 😀 😀 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  18. That label is probably why the bottles ended up in a wine club box. Smart vintner.

    I love sauv blanc, but I have never, ever heard of one with fig notes. Interesting!

    Liked by 1 person

    • nance, that’s a good thought. You know about wines so I bet you’re right. I’ve never tasted a SB that was almost sweet [figgy?] like this one, but it was good. Usually to me a SB tastes like a Vodka & Tonic, if it were a wine. All about tartness and lime.

      Like

    • Marian, that TV series looks fascinating. What a wonderful, albeit dodgy, connection to the wine we drank.

      If there’s one thing I adore about blog comments it’s how everyone goes off in his or her own direction so that I never know what to expect when someone comments. In my mind that’s the real fun of blogging– just to see where the conversation goes next.

      Liked by 2 people

  22. It appears to be confused about its year of birth. I wish I could be. Perhaps it was actually 1957? 😉 Getting beer in my grocery pick up is also impossible. Maybe there is a beer club. In the meantime, I stop by my small neighborhood store(masked) to pick up a six pack. Wish there were an easier way! I loved your story of the delivery of the wine, and your dinner sounds delish.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Margaret, we can get beer here without any problem, but wine is more difficult to come by. I cannot say why. The typo on the label made me laugh. You have a good point about changing your birth year– off by one year, who’ll notice? Go for it!

      Like

  23. Oh, those confusing vintages! We did the wine-by-shipment for a while and really enjoyed it. Our only reason for quitting it was budgetary, but now I’m starting to think it might be a good idea to re-start it. Cheers! – Marty

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    • Marty, I’d never considered doing this wine online dealio, but considering the alternative I went with it. It worked for us, but I don’t see us continuing with this after we can get back into the stores. I much prefer to wander the aisles, buying on a whim– not by plan.

      Liked by 1 person

    • evilsquirrel13, yes big difference between soda pop and Sauvignon Blanc. However usually a bottle of wine has only one date on it… but why be fussy?

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  26. Haha! So, was the wine 2016 or 2017? I could learn to love having wine delivered to my doorstep while I’m still in my jammies. And my thoughts usually turn to Sauvignon blanc around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.

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    • Laurie, I fear we’ll never know for sure which year it was, but who cares? It tasted good and was the catalyst for a blog post, not to mention I finally got some wine in the house. I’ll take my victories where I can find them.

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    • Pam, yes we *suffered* in silence here, waiting, waiting, waiting for some wine. It’s not like we drink it every day, but when we do we really want it. For me wearing jammies mid-morning is now more of the norm than not. Another instance of how COVID-19 has changed my lifestyle. 😷

      Liked by 1 person

  29. As this stuff was a big part of what I did for a living for several decades I cringe every time I see errors like this or “From our humble beginnings 16 years ago…” Oh yeah? You gonna remember to change that to “17” next year? What about in 5 years?
    Rule #1: ALWAYS keep your copy evergreen grrrr!
    In the end though, it’s wine. The contents of the bottle are more important than how they’re described, and on that front it seems to have been a success. Cheers!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Norm, I like your rule #1. Apparently this vineyard doesn’t know it. Or didn’t when they applied this label to the bottle. Now? They might be aware of it. All I know is we did like the wine, so from my pov all is good.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Donna, yours could be the explanation of what happened with this label. It made me laugh because clearly someone didn’t do a good job proofreading, BUT it was a good bottle of wine so all is forgiven.

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  32. Two different dates – point it out to them and they may grace you with another shipment, but gratis this time. Well good for you doing the online wine. My boss likes his Cabernet Sauvignon and orders from a vintner in California and our UPS guy always had to ask me age before I signed for his shipments … my response was to roll my eyes. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda, I never would have ordered wine online if it weren’t for the difficulties getting it via the grocery. I prefer to be spontaneous about buying wine and then just springing for one bottle. BUT these are different times, so we tried the online wine club approach & have many bottles of different wines to try now. I like your eye roll approach to age verification. I’ll remember that.

      Liked by 1 person

  33. And my first thought was, horrors! How could you not have a sufficient stock of wine in the house?! But…you do have the convenience of grocery store wine purchases in normal life, so I forgive your lapse.😉

    We still buy everything but beer at privately owned liquor stores in Colorado. I keep a stock on hand and the stores have never been closed.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Eilene, Ohio has state liquor stores for hard liquor, but for wine, beer, cider we can buy it in grocery stores and convenience stores. Normally when I’m in the mood for wine, I drive to the grocery and buy a bottle. Our Kroger has a large selection so it’s no big deal. However these aren’t normal times so I/we tried something new. Never let it be said that we don’t know how to solve our own problems.

      Liked by 1 person

  34. That’s funny, Ally. I love dry red wine, but in the heat, white or rose is usually better. 🙂 I think you’re right that the effort you put in getting this bottle make it taste even better. 🙂

    janet

    Liked by 1 person

    • Joni, it was a good meal. It was what I needed. We haven’t been out to eat in two months now, so I was craving something more formal, something like I might order in a restaurant.

      Liked by 1 person

  36. So are we to deduce this wine was blended from old stock? Pfft! In a former life, I was a telemarketer for a wine company selling these kind of subscription and learnt so much about wines with accurate labeling! Typos probably happens more often than one thinks with the larger operations pumping out volumes of wine yet trying to cut costs. And I note that you did get some “fig” after all! Just in the form of wine. You go girl!

    Liked by 1 person

  37. “Hey, I can’t taste the rich fig!”
    “Oh, that’s just you.”
    “No, I am telling you, there ain’t no fig in my glass.”
    “Hand it over and let me try it.”
    …
    “What the…”
    “I told you.”

    Liked by 1 person

    • Almost Iowa, love it! That’s pretty darned close to our conversation about the alleged fig flavors in this wine. I liked the stuff, but my palate may not be refined enough to discern said fig. I do however have sharp eyes!

      Liked by 1 person

  38. Imagine a world where vintners stop selling one year’s wine and instead blend it into next year’s wine…
    Works very well with chicken stock…
    I hope you savored every migrating old fruit 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  39. Three weeks without wine!?! Such hardship!! The company probably used the 2016 label to create the 2017 label, eh? I’m not the only one with proofreading problems!
    Also, I just ordered this on the advice of my oldest who is 25 and does have a discerning palette, but haven’t gotten the merch yet so can’t personally attest. Have to admit the price is right.
    http://www.groupon.com/deals/n-wineonsale-com-20-bottles-award-winning-international-wines?utm_campaign=UserReferral_mih&utm_source=undefined&utm_medium=sms

    Liked by 1 person

  40. Sauvignon blanc is hands down my favorite wine, particularly from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. Fortunately, there are lots of good varieties for around $10 a bottle. Well worth it!

    I think somebody just did a copy and paste job on the label and forgot to update the year. Oops!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Swinged Cat, I like SB from those regions when I can find it. And like you said, the price is right. I don’t know what happened with that label, but it did catch my eye. And made for a good blog post.

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  41. I’m at the other end of the spectrum right now. I’m off alcohol and wine just isn’t doing it for me … although I did manage to choke down a martini on Friday night 😉 It’s like getting your cycling legs back. I don’t want to lose any of my built-up drinking fitness 😃

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  42. The issue with the years reminds me of the many times I’ve cut and pasted things – and then failed to completely update the text.

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    • Sheryl, it’s easy to accidentally make a mistake when you cut and paste. I’m most forgiving on that issue, having made mistakes myself. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t get a chuckle out of this label. I take the funny where I find it. 🙃

      Liked by 1 person

  43. Yay! You found a way to get some wine! Makes for more that we have in common – a chilled glass of SB is delightful with salmon and one of my favorite go-to wines. We’ve found a growing love for Bonterra Organic wines. But, don’t tell anyone though, we don’t want the supply we can buy locally to suddenly disappear off the shelves. Now that the bars are open in our state, we think we’re safe from that happening?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Shelley, I had no idea how tricky it was going to be to find wine once we all were asked to stay home. I’m glad this online ordering worked for us, but I do miss going into the grocery or wine shop to browse. I’ve seen the name Bonterra but I’ve not had any. I’ll look for it when I can get into a store again. I hadn’t thought about how with the bars opening up wine may become more available in the stores again. Good point.

      Liked by 1 person

    • L. Marie, the front of the bottle of wine said it was 2017. Somehow this being the first bottle of wine we opened from our first ever online wine order, this seemed imperfectly perfect. We were just happy to have the wine and it tasted good.

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  45. I didn’t realize how lucky we were that our grocery store never appears to be out of wine! I typically find at least one typo in a book, but this is a first for a wine bottle. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Amy, I never expected to have any trouble finding wine in our grocery, but oddly enough we did. Typos in books happen, of course– but this was a first for me, too. It made us laugh.

      Liked by 1 person

  46. Is there any reason to wear anything that ISN’T jammies at this point? The poor 2017 that wasn’t…

    And now I’m craving a chilled Sauvignon Blanc.

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    • Katie, you raise an excellent point. I felt no shame standing out in front of the house in my jammies. Of course I realize no one in this neighborhood pays attention to me to begin with, BUT I was a woman on a mission to get some wine, dammit. Priorities.

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  47. I think I might have missed the number typo – good eye – and how cool to have the wine delivered – glad you enjoyed – and it sounds perfect combo
    __
    I have to admit that I am glad rules were loosened regarding selling alcohol during this time. My son and his gf work at a restaurant that has been super busy with curbside pickup during this entire shut own (good for them) – and when we dipped by (they are 90 minutes away) we had to eat on an empty patio. and he brought us a mixed drink and showed us the bottles they had for selling them with the curbside food – and the regulations they follow.
    Gosh – it was is so much better than being stupid about alcohol like during the Prohibition in this country (what the heck were they thinking)
    anyhow, the bottles had a $2.00 deposit and were good for so may different mixed drinks.
    The one we shared was something pink with vodka and it was perfect with Pho

    Liked by 1 person

    • Prior, this home delivery for wine was new to me. I was aware of it, but never paid any attention to it before. Now that we’ve done this, I’m impressed. Still would prefer to shop myself, but this works.

      I can only imagine how many rules there are about selling alcohol curbside during this pandemic. I agree that the one thing Prohibition proved was that Americans will find a way to drink. Why not make it safe & easy for us, eh?

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      • yes – keep it legal – safe and easy – ha!
        I have not drank any alcohol in a while – since Feb 6th – wedding rehearsal dinner and only had a couple glasses of red -and a shot – but felt the effect for at least three days and not sure it was worth it. okay – it was….
        anyhow, next thing on my list is to get a bottle of sambucca
        —
        also – I shared this on my blog a while back – not sure if you saw it:

        Liked by 1 person

          • hahaha – yes – anything that has a connected bad memory is yuck!
            that is usually vodka for me – I am such a lightweight – but whiskey – a little – my body doesn’t mind at all.
            quick sambucca story
            —
            last June – while up north – my mother and I were together for like two weeks straight – well I had some time alone – but it was great and actually special as I only see her twice a year.
            so we went place after place over the time together – and I was offered alcohol
            always no
            – craft beer (homemade) at a cousin’s ? no thanks
            – wine with dinner at sis’s? no thanks
            Just not into drinking and part of it was to stay energized and heathy while traveling with her – because people forget how exhausting tarveling is.
            –
            so near the end of our trip – we go to my sitar’s MIL – who speaks Italian- English (very little English) comes out to the table with Amaretto Disaronno in one hand and Sambucca in the other.
            Which one? she asked
            Sambucca I declared and imbibed
            but my mother at first was like – oh none for her and I stopped her – and accepted the invite to enjoy!
            because the time was right.
            it was also to share with her and this culture experience and I wasn’t driving so hey.
            —
            and I felt your smile and pure enjoyment of having that 2016 – I mean 2017 wine with your meal….
            mmmmm the small pleasures

            Liked by 1 person

  48. Wine copy is fascinating to me. The lyrical ways they find to describe a beverage are magic. It also makes me wonder how much wine they drink while describing the miraculous wine you drink. Could be a chicken or the egg thing.

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    • Laura, I agree that wine label copy is fascinating. Some of it is so ethereal while some of it is down to brass tacks. I’ve never seen a typo before but it made this particular bottle of vino perfect.

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  49. So glad you have wine to taste! We’ve been fortunate here and our stores never ran out of alcohol. Either that means I live in a rather dry county, or the stores knew their customers well enough to get stock of wine and beer on the double?

    Typos are fun to catch. Some of them can be really hilarious. You caught a good one!

    Cheers!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Kate, I can’t explain why our grocery store ran low on wine. They had all the beer you could possibly want, but as for wine… beats me. Clearly you live somewhere that knows its customers.

      I was charmed by this typo on this bottle of wine. We finally got our wine and then the wine entertained us in its own unique way. How groovy is that!

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