Went to the market today. Actually, I went to the library, it was closed by the time I got there (our local library is only open for about 20 minutes a day, five times a week, it drives me nuts) so instead I went into the discount market next door and decided to do some rambling. I've fallen into doing as little "housewife-y" shopping as possible lately, so I never think to shop for the extra discounted goodies I can find at this store - I just go straight to the big market in town and get everything in one full swoop. But I've made some improvement in my new "eat healthy, eat at home" game plan, so it was fun to find some special additions. Until I got to the end of the trip, opened my check book, and discovered hubby had been saving up a bunch of ATM slips and had just subtracted them all and we actually had only half the money of the check I was about to write. Oops. But it was the weekend and then the first of the month, so - whew. ANYWAY.... I took some photos of wine art.

I liked these three together. First, on the left, you've got yourself a tree. In the middle we have a tree and a tempting green snake wrapped around it. And finally, on the right, we've dispensed with the tree altogether and all that's left is a snake. And apparently once you're on your third bottle of wine, even the bottle is somewhat snakelike - can you see that the bottle curves?

And then I found this cool (hot?) looking fellow. Awesome. I read the label and apparently this wine was the result of a contest between vintners to come up with something drinkable out of a one year timetable from vine to glass.

And more shady looking characters! All merlots. Hmmmm, snakes and sauvignon blanc, shady characters and merlots - is there some sort of symbolism that you have to be a wine drinker and "in the know" to understand? In any case, I loved these bad boys so much I wanted to bring them all home with me. I came to my senses, however, and realized that I didn't really need A merlot, much less MANY merlots. ("I do not own a gun, much less MANY guns, that would necessitate the need for a gun rack." - name that quote) Unless I was planning a merlot tasting party, which I was not. Who would I invite? William? Underage! I really need a trashier.... er, I mean "more refined, wine drinking" set of friends who live close enough to do crazy things with on occasion.

So I settled for my favorite, and the one that sounded the most drinkable - Diaboliqué. But first I have to finish up a bottle of Chardonnay my hubby gave me for my birthday - because he thought I'd like the bottle. Not the best way to choose your wines (although usually my selection choice) but this time it turned out really well. One of the nicer bottles we've had in a while. It's from a vintner called Moonshadow Wines out of Napa, but I can't even find a weblink to share with you. Too bad - you'll have to go find your own - by the selection process of your own choosing. Choose by label? Pick a number from one to ten? Close your eyes and select the first bottle your fingers touch? Choose by size of bottle (or box!)?

More wine bottles!!

I went to Safeway for some groceries a couple of days ago and passing the wine and beer aisle it occurred to me that I'd never looked at their selection. I've definitely decided that the smaller the store the more interesting the bottles. The small specialty corner market that started this whole fascination with wine labels had the most interesting wine art. The large but local market label selection was also diverse and interesting. This large chain market had the least selection and what they had wasn't nearly as creative. Just my opinion of course. But I did find some things to photograph.

This one appealed to me because it reminded me of a bright quilt. The horse reminds me of a fabric print by designer Laurel Burch and the uneven and unusual border pattern would look fantastic in fabric, doncha think?!

The label on the right looked a lot better in person. It's not very memorable in this photo unfortunately. The label on the left caught my attention, probably because it was one of my favorite colors.

The big V label I noticed before and almost photographed during my last group. It's very dramatic. The unevenly bordered quail label, again, was more dramatic in person. Hmmm, I seem to be losing my touch.

This one isn't a label. It's paint, or perhaps it's etched, on the glass. I didn't touch it to be certain. Jack London - I guess this makes this one a good choice for a "literary" evening - a comfy chair, a warm fire, a good book, and a glass of wine.

The silly smoking loon was one of my favorites of this group. It has a sort of Pacific Northwest Native American art look. Don't ask me to explain that one. It's just the feeling I get when I look at it. And the sun on the right is also one I've noticed before. I think it too is paint rather than a label.

This was my favorite. It reminds me of the art from a children's book. Not sure if that's a very "wine-ish" way of looking at it. So, maybe think of someone sitting on the back porch sipping a glass of wine, listening to the tree frogs sing, watching the fireflies dance above a dark garden.

A fuzzy photo - my bad. Pull up a chair, preferably around a round table, and enjoy a bottle of wine with friends while you discuss how to bring about a new, more peaceful world.

I wonder if these details were created with some historical accuracy that I'm unaware of or if it's just the create fantasy of the artist. Either way, I love the combination look of medieval knight and pagan ritual mask. This isn't wine by the way, it's champagne. Or, I think, if it's not made in Champagne, we are supposed to call it sparkling wine, yes?

I think I've now photographed all the wine selections in town. So that's it. Unless I move on to hard liquor. Hmmm. "Move on to hard liquor" - somehow that sounds bad. Maybe I should move in the other direction and check out juice, tea, or soft drinks. Although I doubt I'm gonna find as much artistic variety there. Perhaps I'll just bide my time and whenever I find myself far from home, I'll remember to take a stroll down the wine aisle in search of more "Art in the Market".