A 90 Point Cab in a Cup

Last week I had the best wine I've ever had from a plastic cup.  Granted, that bar is not set very high, as I'm not too keen on being distracted by riddles while enjoying a good wine.  But after a six hour drive from South Dakota to Minneapolis toward the end of our family vacation last week, we were ready for a glass of wine with our dinner.

Newsflash:  A leisurely meal at a nice restaurant is not an option when traveling with a toddler.  Our alternative strategy for having an enjoyable meal on our last night of vacation was for Jodi to put our toddler to bed in the hotel room while I went in search of a bottle of wine to accompany our takeout from the nearby Timber Lodge Steakhouse.  This is as close to hunting for dinner as I am likely to come.

Now let me say, finding a wine shop in the Minneapolis suburbs is no easy task for the uninitiated.  I passed sprawling mall upon mall without the faintest whiff of a wine's inviting bouquet.  Finally, in desperation I pulled into a convenient store advertising Coors Light in the window.  Perhaps they might at least have a serviceable merlot. 

But alas, no wine to be had.  I was ready to settle for beer, but figured I'd first try the cashiers.  After conferring for a bit, they suggested that if I hurried I could probably find a bottle of wine at MGM before it closed at 8.  I realized I needed to get back to my quest quickly rather than querying them as to why a wine shop would close that early on a Thursday night.

I entered MGM at 7:55 and eagerly scanned the vast aisles, each devoted to a major varietal.  I could easily browse about in a serious wine shop like this for an hour or two, but I needed to focus.  Steak.  Red wine.  Cabernet.  Done. 

I quickly latched on to the 2003 Beaulieu Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.  $28 seemed reasonable for Napa cab that got a 90 point rating from Wine Spectator, and I didn't have time to ponder the question for long.  A bit of a splurge to end the vacation sounded like the thing.

Waiting to pick up our steaks at the Timber Lodge the issue of wine glasses came to mind.  Hmm.  I asked for a plastic cup of some sort so that we wouldn't need to resort to drinking from the bottle.  All they had were plastic kiddie cups with clever riddles such as "What's a good way to catch a squirrel?".  Oh well, I was hungry and thirsty enough to take the offered cups and get down to eating dinner.

So now, to the wine review part of the article.  It was the best wine I've ever had from plastic cup, but I'm afraid the accolades stop there.  This cab is a decent wine, but considering the price and rating it had gotten, it was a bit of a disappointment.  It was much lighter than most cabs, more like a pinot.  When I want pinot, that's fine; but I was expecting some heft to this wine.  On the plus side, it definitely had some complexity, with tastes of cherry and gentle tannins in the background.  How much of my assessment is colored by the plastic cups from which I was drinking, I don't know.  You can try this bottle from a real wine glass and let me know what you think.  Or save $13 and have the 2003 Pietra Santa Zinfandel I wrote about recently with your next steak.  I think I actually liked this zin better without even considering price.

Oh yes, the riddle answer.  Climb a tree and act like a nut.