The moment I walk into one of those huge warehouse stores that features everything from groceries, to clothing to car tires, my husband and I split up.

We’ve been married for 13 years and our routine is always the same—he heads for the tool section, and I bolt immediately for the wine department. We always know where to look for each other.

It’s not that we don’t share common interests, but Tim simply gets little pleasure reading wine labels, and for the life of me, I can’t find anything interesting about battery-operated power tools or the latest design in table saws.

He knew I was a wine geek when he married me. Still, it changes the face of things when you live with one, and I will admit, he is more tolerant than most. Tim enjoys wine, but he just doesn’t like it THAT much—not enough to talk about it to just about anyone who will ask, or listen.

Being part of a couple does not automatically mean your significant other will passionately embrace your love of wine, although in my next life, I want it written in my marriage vows,
“ Thou Shalt Love Wine and all the Peripheral Activities That Go With It.”

Instead of beer and pretzels at the recent Super Bowl party, we had a wine tasting. I saw my husband examine the lone six-pack of beer in the refrigerator, and heave a quick sigh, resigned to the fact that beer and chips would not accompany the game. He is a quiet, reflective kind of guy who rarely complains when routines change. I felt a slight tug of guilt, hoping somehow this would be fun for him too.

Participants were asked not to drink wine, but rather taste and spit at the beginning of the game. I explained that once they decided on the wine they really liked, after the tasting, the wine was theirs to explore, along with the food to accompany those wines.

We tasted mostly Washington Syrahs: Andrew Will 01 Syrah; Canon de Sol ’00 Syrah (and one 01 Syrah); Harlequin 01 Milbrandt Syrah; K-Vintners Morrison Lane ’01 Syrah and Reininger ‘01 Syrah.

At the end, I also threw in two new favorites: Fidelitas, a Meritage from Charlie Hoppes, and a Hogue ’99 Reserve Merlot.

None of the wines were disappointing. Out of 12 people tasting, the K-Vintners and Andrew Will seemed to be the favorites. Most gave a thumbs-up to the Fidelitas and Hogue Merlot.

But the best comments came, surprisingly, from my husband Tim, the tool guy.

He tasted lavender in the K-Vintners Syrah. We used to grow lavender when we lived on the Olympic Peninsula, (in Washington State) so that aroma was familiar to him. I was shocked that he could single out that flavor. I didn’t taste it, yet after he mentioned it, I realized exactly what he was talking about.

He liked the wine.

The next comment came from Tim after the half time of the Super Bowl, when Janet Jackson exposed her breast to the American public. We were waiting to see the special guest Ms. Jackson alluded to in an earlier interview—most of us were guessing it would be her brother Michael. Instead, Super Bowl watchers saw her breast.

My quiet husband turned to the wine crowd and said, “I guess that was the special guest she was referring to. ”

Next year, I promise we will serve beer, pretzels and anything else Tim wants for the football game. He is not a wine guy, but he certainly earned rights for next year’s Super Bowl.

I may have to learn how to use a few power tools in the meantime. It won’t be pretty.