Early on in our dating, Mrs. Chump and I began going to a quaint New England church every Sunday. Afterwards, we would then go out for a bite to eat. And that’s where the “trouble” started. One of us, we will call him a “traditionalist”, was in favor of frequenting the same restaurant on a regular basis. The other one of us, we will call her “wrong”, insisted on going to a different establishment each week. Needless to say, this debate has continued throughout our 26 years of marriage. And while I am obviously right, I can admit that there are pros and cons to both sides. Let’s start with wrong side first so we can end on a high note (mentally hits Mariah Carey screeching high note).

Variety

I can see how some people might get bored eating the same thing over and over again. Although I think I may have a slightly higher tolerance for this than the average person. When the show Big Brother first came out, one of the “punishments” for the have-nots was that they could only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the entire week, and I remember thinking “That would actually be kind of nice.” But I get that not everyone else is wired that way. So going somewhere new every week and having new and different menu items to choose from can certainly be appealing.

I can also see how getting to try new experiences and see new sights would be nice as well. It’s a big world out there with a lot to see. Why look at the same picture in an art museum when there are plenty of other pictures?

Now for the downside of variety – I will start with the main one – who wants the pressure of finding a “new” place every week? “How about this place?” . . . “No, we went there two years ago. Let’s try some place new.” Right? Eventually, you are going to run out of places. Either that or the places you haven’t tried are on the “haven’t tried” list for a reason. It is just too much pressure and work to come up with a new place every week.

Secondly, what if you like your meal at one of the places you go to? I mean really, really like it? It’s a shame that you can never have that meal again because you have to try someplace new next week. And the week after that. And so on and so on. Mark my words, you will never see that meal again. Pretty soon you are only ordering things you don’t like because you don’t want to suffer knowing something so delicious is out there in the world and you can never have it again. Extreme? Yes. But that’s the price of variety!

Tradition

 Let’s move on to the good side. About two years ago, Bonnie the Boss at work gave me a gift card to a restaurant called The Wine House, in downtown Fairfax VA. Perhaps she had picked up that I was interested in wine by my constant blabbing about wine on a daily basis. She’s quick like that. Anyhoo, short story long, Mrs. Chump and I thoroughly enjoyed it the first time we went. And the next. And then we learned about the free wine tastings they do every Saturday (usually led by Kevin) – so we tried one of those. And loved it. Each time we went back, we were welcomed back with smiles from the staff and it wasn’t long before Ashleigh, Lisa and Kevin (and the rest of the staff) got to know us a bit better and we got to know them a bit better. These days, Wine House feels more like Wine Home because of how welcome we feel. To be honest, I almost get a sense of how Norm must have felt walking into Cheers! Which brings me to my clinching argument.

By a click of the mouse (preferably on the ‘Like’ or ‘Subscribe’ buttons), how many of you enjoy a good sitcom? Happy Days, Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, How I Met Your Mother . . . all tremendous shows that brought laughs week after week. And what did all of these famous shows have in common? That’s right! They all had a place the characters met at on a regular basis! Friends had Central Perk, Seinfeld – Monk’s Café, How I Met Your Mother – MacClaren’s, Cheers . . . um, well Cheers. Even Ritchie, Ralph Mouth, Potsie and Fonzie used to always gather at Arnolds. The tradition of all these people having a common meet-up place made each one of those shows what they were. Can you imagine Norm walking into a different bar each week? No one shouting out “Norm!” as he walked in because no know knew his name? How does the theme song go?

“Sometimes you wanna go . . . where everybody knows your name. And they’re always glad you came . . . “

I don’t know about you but it takes me a lot more than one time of meeting someone to remember their name. But there is something special about walking into a room and seeing not just familiar faces, but welcoming familiar faces who are happy to see you as well. And you just don’t get that without making more than one or two visits. It’s obvious that all of TV is on my side, and I don’t know about you, but I’d hate to have to argue with the Fonz.

Once again, I can hear you asking “What does this have to do with wine Don?” (you really need to learn to keep your voices down – my hearing isn’t that great to begin with and I can still hear you). But the answer, if I’m honest, is very little. I just wanted to get this off my chest. And what is worse, the little bit that does have to do with wine makes me look like a complete hypocrite!!! Because while I absolutely love going to familiar places on a regular basis, when it comes to wine, I actually like to try as many new and different wines as I can. Yes, I enjoy most of the traditional varieties (i.e Cab Sauv, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, et al). But I also love trying some of the lesser known (at least to me) varietals. And that’s why this week’s wine is one that you might not have heard of but is most certainly worth trying. For a long time, the people who grew it did not even know they were growing it – they thought it was Merlot. Turns out, they had been growing Chile’s most famous grape all the while – Carmenère!

This week’s wine is Cuvée Alexandre Carmenère Apalta Vineyard (2023) from the Apalta Valley in Chile, by Lapostolle. This wine has a deep crimson color and is loaded with dark fruit flavors, along with red berries and cocoa. It is a medium plus to full bodied wine with a healthy amount of tannins (I decanted for a couple of hours before drinking mine). While very similar to Merlot, it does separate itself with softer tannins and more notes of green pepper and peppercorn (full admission – I got that from the web, not my palette). But at a price range of around $25-$30, it packs a ton of value in every sip! It is definitely worth exploring if you have never tried it.

And you know what makes this week’s pick even better (at least for me)? I was introduced to this wine at . . . . you guessed it, The Wine House!!!! They had a class on South American wines recently and this was one of my favorites from the class! Stay tuned for a longer recap on the class in the weeks to come.

So there you have it – all the reasons why I think “tradition” is a winning tradition. And it feels good to have Chandler, Rachel, Jerry, Kramer, Barney, Ted, Robin, Norm, Cliff, Sam, Richie and Fonzie all on my side. But how about you? Are you Team Tradition or Team Variety? Let me know in the comments. As always, thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

Wine Stat Sheet