I am to wine . . .

. . . as most people are to beer.

I'm not much of a wine guy. For a wannabe gourmet, that's probably some kind of horrible crime or sacrilege, but really, I've just never been a fan of the stuff. I have never had a white wine that I liked at all, and only the occasional red that I've tolerated or liked at all. Most times it's more the effect of most alcohols where after the first glass or two, you just don't care anymore.

So I suppose it should come as no surprise to me that the Crane Lake cabernet sauvignon that I have managed to polish off this fine evening is in fact nothing more than another brand name from the same man who is responsible for Franzia in a box.

I feel vaguely dirty, but damnit, it wasn't a half bad wine to me, and the review I found online at Winecast has be wanting to try their petite Syrah tomorrow. At $3.33 a bottle, it's damn hard to resist.

Dinner itself was a bit of an odd sandwich. Roast beef and red-pepper marinated canned squid on marbled pumpernickel/dark rye, with a Tillamook smoked cheddar spread, fresh spinach, and Cardini's original Caesar dressing. Pretty good, though I'm not sure the squid really added anything to the party, and was in fact far milder than I expected.

For lunch a few days back, I got a Black Angus ball tip steak, cooked to a char medium-rare, and sliced sashimi style, and served with a dipping sauce of shoyu, crushed red pepper, Korean red pepper paste, sugar, and brown rice vinegar, quickly boiled and then filtered. Very, very tasty, and something I'd be proud to serve as an entree in the restaurant.