Jeff is the one who buys the wine but he hasn't gone grocery shopping for me lately. I wanted wine for Easter dinner, so I had a bash. And I bombed.

Well, what happened was this: another patron followed me very closely into the Wegman's wine cellar and set me off my nut. The buggyless shopper seemed anxious and frustrated by my inability to get the hell out of his way. I was trying my damnedest to "pick a lane," but the cellar aisles are narrow and he seemed to be at once on my right shoulder and then on my left. Halfway through the package store, my male tail left off and I found myself in the kosher section.

Our Holy Land guide had warned us about the immaturity of Israeli wines¹ but claimed that the harvest improves every year. It's been eight years so, taking a chance, I picked up a bottle of white Riesling. We like it better than a chardonnay these days. The price was relatively high ... which I took as a good sign ... probably due to being an import.

And we had the kosher wine with our baked ham Easter dinner and we gave the customary toast "Next year in Jerusalem" and found the taste a little strong. And discovered that the alcohol content was twice what we are used to. So, yeah, Easter dinner got me a little buzzed. It's been a while.

¹ The tour schedule had us at the Golan Heights winery first thing one morning, shocking the sensibilities of our older companions. But, after adjusting for the time difference, it was just like a late night out! As I remember, nearly everyone tasted a sample or two.