Wine in the Hood

Fort Hood, that is.

As a side note, my husband and I just finished watching a documentary last night about the beer industry: Beer Wars.  We like to watch lighthearted documentaries over dinner every now and again, and this one was pretty interesting.  It made us want to continue drinking beer from independent breweries, that's for sure (Shiner, Dogfish Head or Point beers, anyone?)! This isn't a post about beer, though.  The documentary just reminded me about the issue at hand.

I don't drink much beer.  I like it on occasion, but one is usually my limit.  If I have more than two, I start to feel like a whale, and I don't like feeling whale-y.  One of my loftier goals in life is to feel like a whale very infrequently.

Therefore, I am a wine girl.  I realize that I have posted about liquor, liqueur, and beer, prior to this, my first post about wine, so you will just have to trust me with this fact.  Above anything else offered, nine times out of ten, I will choose a nice glass of wine. Some of my favorites are: 14 Hands Cab, Wente Merlot, and Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc. All of these are around $10 a bottle, and I've never had much difficulty finding them in the past.

This is a HUGE problem in Texas.  Specifically Killeen and Fort Hood, Texas.

1) We are in beer country. Obvious for the following reasons:

• There are over 170,000 military personnel stationed at Fort Hood.  A large number of these are young (18-23 years old) male enlisted soldiers.
•  Barbecue is the local fare.  Even I would rather have a beer than wine with barbecue.
• We are in the middle of nowhere.

This is one of two beer aisles at out local H-E-B (a Texas chain of grocery stores).

2) The wine selection that does exist is an anomaly to me:

• I do not recognize most of the brands.
• The brands that I do recognize are the big bottle brands: Barefoot, Sutter Home, etc.  Nothing wrong with that, just not what I'm looking for.
• Most of the wines (red and white) carry the descriptor 'sweet' on the label.

The wine aisle at H-E-B.  Two things I have never seen before: 

a bottle of wine for $2.98 and the brand "La Di Da"

3) We came here from Bethesda, Maryland.

• The wine selection in the DC area is impeccable, although overpriced.
• I am in culture shock!

Good things came from my adventure to H-E-B, though!

After scouring the shelves, I found these two for me, and now I know where to find them!

I also found a six-pack of Shiner Seasonal for my husband.

Because I found some decent wine, I was able to finally use my Riedel "O-to-Go" wine glass :) I have a thing for pretty glassware, and it makes me happy to have a pretty glass among our paper plates and plastic forks!