Hey Mambo Sultry Red, Bistro Style, 2007

California red wine. A blend of syrah, barbera, zinfandel, petite sirah, malbec & alicante bouchet grapes. Down some alley off Columbus, I bang on an unsuspecting door. And of course, there's some big brute just waiting to hassle me. Once inside the hollow building, he points me down a dim set of stairs. A bar and tables emerge out of the smoky blackness. I sit in the back corner and order the house ravioli and a bottle of wine. On the postage stamp of a stage, the lights reveal a luscious gem - with cocoa brown hair and cranberry lips. She belts out a lonesome note to awaken her band. Like striking a match, the room comes ablaze with music. Her voice like velvet, beckoning strays to the dance floor. A few couples and then a few more. The crowd is insatiable! The music, the food, the wine, all together hypnotizing. I savor every drop. 13.5% alc. by vol.