cheap wine critique

I've been meaning to post this since that night...

About two weeks ago my friend Neely sent me a text message asking if I wanted to go grab some dinner with her that night.  Instead of going out to eat, I suggested that she and her husband Eric come to mine and Blaine's house.  I also wanted Nelly (remember, I call her Nelly) to see our house since she had never been there (even Eric had been there before).  I also wanted her to see that the dish they gave us for our wedding (pictured below on our coffee table) went so well with our decor like I told her it did. (I digress...and yes, our coffee table looks kind of bare, and no, I did not put the dish out just because Nelly was coming over).

We agreed on a time for Neely to come over (Eric couldn't make it) and she said she would bring some wine.  On my way home from work I stopped by Walgreens to pick up a prescription.  While I was waiting I stopped to check out the wine selection (mistake #1).  I thought, "maybe I should pick up a bottle just incase"(mistake #2). The shelves were stocked with wines ranging in price from $2.99 to somewhere around $12.  As I searched for a bottle of cabernet I remembered hearing various friends rave about wine they have picked up from Trader Joe's for less than $5.  When I saw the $2.99 (it might have been $3.99, the point is it was really cheap)I thought maybe I had stumbled upon a little secret treasure like that at Trader Joes (mistake #3...looking back on it I should have remembered I was in a drug store, not a grocery store like Trader Joes).  So, I decided to take my chances and get a bottle of the cheapest cabernet, hoping that I had discovered something good (pictured below).

When Nelly arrived I told her of my purchase and we decided to open my bottle first incase I had stumbled upon something special (mistake #4).  I poured a glass for Nelly and one for myself, then put my nose to my glass like a seasoned wine expert and swished the wine around (if there are technical names for these practices I am unfamiliar, but feel free to fill me in on what they are, mistake #5).  Ordinarily this might be a good thing to do with wine, but not in this case. I think I may have released additional aromas and additional flavors, which as I said, in this case, was not a good idea.  The wine smelled terrible, but I proceeded to take a sip.  It tasted equally as bad, but with an added chemical aftertaste.  I told Nelly I couldn't drink it, but being a gracious guest, said she'd drink hers.  I couldn't allow her to drink it though (Blaine, who doesn't like to waste a thing, told us to pour it back in the bottle and that he would drink it later....which he did...and he doesn't even like wine). I apologized to Nelly for serving her this putrid wine and we popped open a different bottle. 

The purpose of this story is this: a public apology to Nelly for subjecting her to Walgreens wine.  The morals to this story are these:  1) don't buy wine at the drug store unless it's absolutely necessary, 2) if you must buy wine at the drug store, don't opt for the cheapest bottle, 3) don't buy the cheapest wine anywhere (unless you're at Trader Joes), 4) don't serve the cheapest wine to your dear friend without trying it first, and 5) always have a back-up for your back-up on hand incase your back-up bottle is filled with Southern Point.

Oh, and I have to give credit where credit is due... Blaine made dinner (as he does 95% of the time) on the grill outside while Nelly and I sat inside on the sofa, sipping wine from the good bottle.  Such a sweet husband!