The Frugal Winelover

I thought I'd start the real content of this blog with a subject that's near and dear to my heart: booze!

I love beer, especially medium-bodied, flavorful delights like bocks and weisens.  I also indulge in liquors from time to time, especially fine gin.  But one of my greatest pleasures is wine.  My taste preferences tend towards white wine, and I like to have a glass or two a day.

Wine is definitely not known as a poor-man's drink, so poor women who love wine, like myself, have to think outside the box. Here are my suggestions for frugal and satisfying wine consumption.

1. Avoid ordering wine at bars and restaurants.  Special occasions may call for throwing propriety to the wind and ordering a glass or bottle at a restaurant, but this should be a very rare splurge.  Before you order, remember that you may be a paying markup of 3 times the retail value of the bottle.  At bars, wine is NEVER the evening's special, and you know it.  Better to enjoy a drink after dinner, back at home, as you're curling up with a loved one, no?

2. Find the best price online.  Grocery stores and local wine shops may have good deals, especially if you buy multiples bottles at a time, but in my experience online vendors are almost always the price winners.  My favorite online retailer is The Wine Buyer.  I especially love their case specials, which include free shipping.

3. Think inside the box.  Boxed wines maybe be the best thing to have happened to vinophiles since, I don't know, fermentation.  I'm NOT talking Franzia, but rather totally decent and delicious wines, usually from Australia and New Zealand, that come in 3 liter boxes.  A decent box of wine should run you $16 to $25, and is the equivalent of four bottles of wine.  My personal favorites are Bota Box Pinot Grigio and Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon.

I know alcohol, as a budgetary category, is NOT frugal.  But for me, frugality is about affording yourself the possibility to fulfill not only your needs, but also your most fervent wants while being at peace.  Well, I fervently want to enjoy nice alcoholic beverages and they help me remain peaceful.

But seriously, I also know that alcohol is potentially very dangerous.  Please be conscious of daily consumption (shouldn't exceed two drinks!), avoid binge-drinking (even occasionally!  that includes holiday parties!), and my policy is to never get in the driver's seat if I've had more than one alcoholic beverage (extra-large margaritas count as more than one!)

Though, on the upswing, a recent study has shown that women who drink are less likely to gain weight than teetotallers.  And as most of us know, red wine (more than other alcoholic beverages) can be very salubrious in moderation. But even my favorite, white wine, may be beneficial to lung health.