“Red goes with everything.”
“Says the master winemaker.” Ashley laughs.
“It does. That white with fish thing is an old wives’ tale. There’s so much more variety with red wine.”
“My man speaks the truth,” Ashley avers. “Are you a wine drinker, Callie?”
“I’m mostly a Diet Coke drinker. Or beer. But wine is okay. I just don’t know much about it.”
“If you want to learn,” Donny says, “I can’t think of two finer teachers than Dale and Ashley.”
My cheeks warm further. I swear flames are erupting beneath my skin. Honestly? I wouldn’t mind learning about wine. I wouldn’t mind getting to know Ashley Steel better either. She seems like a lovely person.
But I’ve got so much else on my mind. Might be nice to think about something else for a chance, and wine tasting fits the bill.
“What the heck?” I finally say. “Pour me a glass, and you can begin my lessons tonight.”
“No one will mind if I just have water, right?” Donny says.
“Not at all,” Dale says. “We already know you’re a lost cause.”
“I’m pretty much a blank slate,” I tell them, “so go for it. What are we drinking tonight?”
Donny grabs the bottle from the counter. “This is…aged Cabernet Sauvignon.”
Dale and Ashley both roll their eyes. Totally in unison. It’s eerie.
“Aged Cab is way too dark for red snapper,” Dale says. “We need a light red. Do you have any of the Ruby in the basement? It would be perfect.”
“Good thing I didn’t open this yet.” Donny picks up the bottle of Cab. “Be right back.”
A few minutes later, he returns with a bottle of the wine Dale called Ruby.
“This is Uncle Ryan’s Southern Rhône blend,” Dale says. “He named it after Aunt Ruby, of course.”
“That’s sweet,” I say.
“I agree with my hubby,” Ashley says. “This will be great with the meal tonight. It’s lighter and less tannic than a lot of reds. A big aged Cab is best with a robust meal, like—”
“Steel beef?” I finish for her.
“Exactly! I think you’re going to take to wine just fine, Callie.”
I smile. I already like Ashley. I just wish we were getting to know each other in better circumstances.
“I’ll take that.” Dale grabs the bottle from Donny and expertly uncorks it. “The beauty of a light Rhône blend is that it doesn’t need to be decanted. We can enjoy it straight from the bottle.” He pours three glasses. “Sure I can’t tempt you, Don?”
Donny sighs. “What the hell? Maybe it’s time I tried once more to become the wine snob my big brother wants me to be. Sure, pour me a glass.”
Dale pours the fourth glass and then hands one to each of us. “Ashley, I’ll let you do the honors.”
“Sure.” Ashley picks up her glass by the stem. “Swirl the wine in the glass, Callie. First thing to take note of is the color.”
“It’s red,” I say.
She chuckles. “Very good. Light? Dark? Orangey? Purply?”
“Would you hate me if I said it looks like every other glass of red wine I’ve ever seen?” I smile hesitantly.
“Of course not. That’s a normal reaction. In fact, forget about color for now. We can’t accurately assess the color without having other wines to compare it with. Swirl it again and stick your nose into the glass. What do you smell?”
Ashley literally sticks her nose in the glass, almost coating the tip with wine. For real?
I swirl and do the same.
And unceremoniously dip the tip of my nose right in the red liquid.
I quickly move the glass as the wine drips from my nose.
Donny erupts in laughter. I shoot him a stink eye.
“That happens to everyone.” Ashley hands me a tissue.
“Or maybe my nose is just bigger than yours.”
“No, your nose is perfect. I wish mine were as nice as yours.”
Ashley is beautiful, and I can’t find a thing wrong with her nose. Still, I appreciate her compliment.
“Try again,” she says. “Just don’t go in so far.”
I begin—
“Swirl the wine first,” she says.
“Oh. Right. How many steps are there to wine tasting?” Frankly, I’d prefer to just drink it and realize it’s still okay but I’ll never love it.
“There can be many,” she says. “I’m giving you the condensed version.”
“My wife is almost a doctor of wine, after all.” Dale smiles.
“Try again, Cal,” Donny urges. “I’ll do it too.” He swirls his glass and inhales.
“What do you smell?” Ashley asks.
I inhale. I try. Really I do. “It smells like wine. Like alcohol.”
“It’s okay. Let me give you some ideas. I’m getting strong red currant.”
“I’m not sure what a red currant smells like,” I say.
“Fair enough. Try strawberry. You know that scent.”
I nod and smell the wine again as I swirl it. Again, I get mostly the smell of wine, but I close my eyes, determined to learn something so I don’t look like a complete idiot in front of two wine scholars. “I’m getting something. I’m not sure it’s strawberry. Maybe…” I sniff again. “Maybe blueberry?”