As some of you know, I like wine, a lot. I like drinking it. I like sampling it. I like buying it. I like stockpiling it for the future. All-in-all, I am one wine-loving gal.
So last year when we did our shoestring-budget kitchen remodel, one of the things my husband surprised me with was a small 12-bottle Haier wine cellar. It looks super fancy, but really is just a freestanding dorm fridge with glass door and inner wine rack. I love the thing, but frankly it does the worst job – if any at all – of either chilling or refrigerating the wine. It looks a lot like this one:

Only a lot less high-tech. No do-hickies on the top to regulate the temperature. Instead it has a turn-knob on the back that has two labeled settings, “white” and “red” with gradations in between. Turn it to red, and I think the thing goes off completely. Turn it to white, it gets just cool enough to tease. A bare whisper of cool. but enough to keep you from throwing the thing in the trash, especially since it wasn’t THAT cheap, and it looks so good in the kitchen. I guess what I am getting at is the thing is just a glorified wine rack, we store our bottles in it and they look so pretty and tempting, but if I am going to be drinking white wine, I have to remember to put it into the REAL fridge. I like my white wine chilled – actually COLD – and anytime I forget to put it into the REAL fridge for a cool-down (and have to pull it directly out of the Haier), I have to drink it with ice cubes in it. It makes me feel slightly less classy. Long story short – if you are going to invest in one of these Haier wine fridges, make sure it works. REALLY works.

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2008 is to be more disciplined when it comes to my wine drinking. Less unrefined knock-back swilling this year. And now that the Target Brand Box Riesling is finally gone, I can commit to that. This year, I will be taking a more considered approach to my indulgence. Although my husband and I have made a point over the past couple years of selecting new wines each time we stock up, this year I will go farther. I have set myself a new and worthy goal. This year I will concentrate on moderately priced to dirt-cheap wines ($15 and under), which I have not yet tried (or at least not in my new disciplined manner). I have even begun a **WINE DIARY!** to meticulously document all of my accumulated wine knowledge – all those nuances and bouquets, the fast-forgotten facts one inevitably sheds once the bliss is gone. Never before have I been so enthusiastic about a task. I have done research the past three nights and have been been ASTOUNDED not only by my findings, but by the amount of wine I can drink without feeling guilty! Yes, I know most wine tasters spit out their wine between sips – but NOT ME! I am UP TO THE CHALLENGE.