Winey Tasting Notes: Some “Spur”s for My Very Muddy Cowboy Boots

I am not a selfish person. I truly don’t mind sharing things. I share the bathroom with the Winey Hubby, and really, we have no problems there. I share my wine with friends – again, no problems. I share my advice with the Winey Children – um, OK, maybe not a problem free experience, but I try. And in the past few years, I have learned that I am able to share my footwear with the Winey Daughter. Yup, she topped out at a shoe size just a little bit less than mine. Which means that it is extremely easy for her to fit into my shoes. But not so much the other way around (a shoe can be a little too big…but a little too small? Ouch).

I have actually been in favor of this most times a pair is borrowed. It has saved us some money on dress shoes. However, I must draw the line at extending my favor when it comes to my cowboy boots. I love them – I really do. They are a soft brown color with some black lacy type overlays that make them the best of all color worlds. They work perfectly with my jeans – all 1,000 pair. (I don’t really have 1,000 pair of jeans, it just seems that way.) Did I mention the lovely, low heels? No, well, let me do it now. They have the perfect heel – not too high, not too flat. Apparently, the Winey Daughter agrees with me. She “borrows” them constantly.

This is not to say she doesn’t have her own pair of gorgeous cowboy boots. In fact, we bought our boots together on the same trip to Nashville a year and half ago. But hers have a high-ish heel. Not very good for rocking out on the lawn of all those country music concerts she went to this past summer at Blossom Music Center’s Country Megaticket series (awesome venue – pavilion and lawn seats – can handle every act from Elton John to the Cleveland Orchestra). But if you are sitting  dancing on the lawn, apparently, you must have low heels.

That is why said boots were at nearly every concert in the series. They started with Tim McGraw and moved on to Rascall Flats, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean.  All was well. UNTIL Keith Urban came to town. Sort of.

It started like any other concert evening. Winey Daughter came downstairs decked out in full country regalia, already wearing my beloved boots. (I guess she had worn them so much that she didn’t need to ask anymore. ??? ) I bade her goodnight and off she went.

The weather had been very sultry and summery that day. Hot and steamy, in country music lingo. But the rain held off. At least it did here in Cleveland. At least until about 9:30 pm. That was when the skies opened up and deposited a ton of mud-making raindrops on the concert goers. That was also when my boots were pretty much slathered in gobs of slimy, grassy dirt. Heels and all.

This is AFTER drying out and  a first attempt at cleaning. But seriously, aren’t they cute??

Oh wait – did I mention that the rain did not hold off in New York City? Which is where Keith Urban was trying to fly out of to get to the concert here in Cleveland. Which is where he stayed, due to the storms, overnight. He never made it here that evening. Luckily, his openers, Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch did, so there WAS some music to dance to. (Keith made it here two days later and gave an unbelievable show. Unfortunately, The Winey Daughter couldn’t be at the make up concert, and my boots were given a reprieve to dry and heal – get it, heal/ heel?)

But in the meantime, there romped my boots. Sopping wet, mud covered, but still perfectly low heeled.

Where does the wine come in, you ask?? Well, it so happened that the winemakers at Murrietta’s Well had just sent me some of their wine to review. One of these wines was called The Spur. Can you believe it? I might not be able to put a pair of spurs on my now completely soaked boots, but I sure as heck could sip some in my wine glass!

The Spur (2011,13.5%, Livermore Valley, CA) is a red blend of Petite Sirah (31%), Petit Verdot (27%), Cabernet Sauvignon (8%) and Cabernet Franc (5%). It’s an estate blend, so each of those wines was grown right on the grounds of the winery. (There really was and is an artesian well there, hence the name.) You start out by sniffing up some cherry and chocolate. When you first taste it, you get plums and cherries. And then the pepper (from the Petite Sirah, I’m told) hits you. As do some dark spices and oak. The tannins are very much present here. And while they are rather smooth (as opposed to pricking you with a spur), they do linger. The wine is more thin and sharp (like a good pair of spurs), not fruity and round.

Since this is totally not a fruit forward red blend, I’d pair it up with richer foods – like grilled steak or bison or with really rich cheeses. In an on line chat with the Murrietta’s Well folks, I also learned that The Spur would make an outstanding marinade – especially if you brush it on near the end of cooking, so you get that oakey taste fresh on the meats.

Strap on this bottle of The Spur if you like your reds oakey and full of spices. (It retails for about $25 a bottle.) Just keep in mind that your cowboy boots should be clean, dry and teenage concert goer free if you intend to sip it while wearing them. And if anyone has some extra boot cleaner, feel free to send it my way. Luke Bryan is in town tomorrow night.

Off to check the weather forecast!

Cheers!

I was sent this wine for review purposes. The opinions are all my own.