If you've been here to Hansen it's likely because (a) you've heard about us from someone, (b) you happened to stumble upon us or (c) your last name is Hansen or Hanson and you thought that it was pretty darn cool that your name was on a label!
Wine Club? You're extended family! Newbie? You're either gunna love Bruce or hate him (no, really, there is NO in between)! And then, every once in a while we get a repeat visitor...someone that happened upon us at one point or another, and felt the need to brave the backroads for another go.
These folks had definitely been in before. I recognized them immediately, and remembered that their previous visit had been a lot of fun. They brought a new guest with them this time, though, and let's just say that no one could have prepared us for what she was about to bring to the tasting bar.
When I began this blog, I promised that I would tell stories about our hilarious Tasting Room trysts. We have a plethora of characters on any given weekend that I could write about. Instead of standing on two legs, however, this guest came bearing four.
With the most gorgeous head of pearly-white hair, Roxy the Shih-Poo (that's Shih Tzu-Poodle) quickly made her presence known.
You see, Roxy is no ordinary pup. In fact, as "daddy" was tasting, Roxy couldn't keep her eyes off of his glass.
"She's a total wino," he explained, to which Bruce and I raised our eyes.
"Now I've seen a lot of interesting things in this winery," said Bruce, "but a wine-loving dog? This I have to see."
Unscathed, her owner cooed in an enthusiastic voice, "Hey, girl, you want some wine?"
Now, I've seen a dog go ballistic when asked about heading out for a walk...the idea of their imminent freedom causing their enthusiasm to well up to a place where they're almost unstable. You know what I mean, right? Let's just say that proverbial "puppy on a leash about to go for a walk" syndrome paled in comparison to the reaction that this precious pooch exuded.
It was like her tail was going to flap itself right off of her dainty little body. If she could have backflipped, she would have. If she could have sung, she would have busted out a ballad, but both of those would have taken her focus off of "the glass."
We all watched, enthralled, as her owner put a drop onto his finger and offer it to our little friend. With voracious tenacity, she lapped it up staring intently into the glass for more.
"Get this," he explained, "it's only red wine, though. She won't touch white."
Of course, we have to test this theory out, so we get a second glass out, and Roxy is offered a sniff of our lovely Viognier. To say she turned up her nose is an understatement.
Back to red. He placed the glass in front of her little snout, and that tail went wild.
A few satisfying drops later, and we're all in stitches.
This little girl LOVES wine.
Mom went on to explain, "I swear she knows when we're about to open up a bottle. She'll wait in the kitchen and stare, and when she hears the cork pop, she goes absolutely crazy."
(As do we, little Roxy, as do we)
All good things must be in moderation, though, and before too much debauchery Roxy was cut off from her craving.
Sadly, she relented, but not after a few good attempts at dad's glass (see picture below).
As they prepared to leave, Bruce chuckles again, and pat's her on top of the head, "I'll be darned! You're sweet, your cute and you LOVE wine! You're my kind of girl there, Roxy. You're my kind of girl!"
Roxy, the Wino Shih-Poo checking the nose on our 2009 Reserve Cab
