A tale of wine and ivy (could be a good name for a Rowan knitting book)*

Ironstone Obsession Symphony

Quite a few years ago we were quite fond of this wine.  On a tip from the wine woman at Food Emporium in Lynnwood (closed now, sadly)  we took it to Thanksgiving dinner about 7 years ago .  We bought 2 or 3 bottles and it went fabulously with turkey dinner.  So well, in fact, that we went back for more the next day to drink with leftovers and then every time we happened to think about it we bought more.  The price fluctuated between $8 & $10, which is our bracket. 

What we try to do with wine is to buy it on sale, at least $5 off and less than $9/bottle.  Sometimes we find very good wine that way; some we find is mediocre.   Some is extremely overpriced at it's original price and not even worth it on sale.  C'est la vie.  La vie.

Back to my story, because there IS a story in here, somewhere.

Gradually, we began to realize that the Obsession was no longer easy to find, and this was probably 2 or 3 years ago.  After a few months of not seeing it anywhere, we had to face it: discontinued.  At least not available locally.  Sad.

Awkward (or non-existent) segue:

The ivy under the front porch and along the walkway was doing it's usual spring growth spurt.  Why do people plant this stuff?  Do they not realize that 20 years down the road it will be invading the siding of their homes and climbing 30' up the Douglas Firs?  What?  It's not rocket science. 

This photo was taken during the revamp of the yard, and
shows the ivy on the side-yard side of the drive.

 That side-yard is very cute now and it looks way better sans ivy.
Maybe we'll put rhubarb in the blank spot.

 This is the ivy under the front porch.

 This is an attempt to trim the ivy falling off the rockery.

Oh heck, let's just yank it!

And off the rockery, as well.

Big piles of ivy,

and Dave, dear Dave, hauling it away.

It looks better.

Ok, how does the wine come together with the ivy in this tale?   While he was pulling the ivy out, Dave found a bottle of it under the porch!  It must have rolled out of a grocery bag which must have been put down on the walkway for some reason.  That bottle might have been under the ivy for years, at least 2 years, most likely more.  It probably went through several harsh winters and one particularly hot summer.

We thought we'd try it.  Chilled, of course.  Worst case scenario: undrinkable vinegar.  Best case: a couple of glasses of our favorite wine, after a very long dry spell!

The label was the only thing ruined about this bottle of wine.
It was DE-licious!
We're on the quest for an interweb source.

*  (could be a good name for a Rowan knitting book)