Do you remember when you were younger and someone would tell you a joke, and they got to the punchline and you just kind of stood there . . . expressionless?  You’re supposed to be laughing, but you just don’t get it.  Then they explain the joke to you, and . . . you start laugh – albeit reluctantly since you still don’t get it.  Or how about this – you’re sitting in class and the teacher/professor is going on and on about a subject and everyone around you is nodding their heads, and you kind of look off into space because- . . . you just don’t get it.  This type of class is usually followed by a visit to the said teacher’s office for a more ‘detailed’ explanation, but you walk out of the office and – you just don’t get it.  Or some half crazed lunatic with a plethora of guns breaks into an elementary school and shoots as many as possible before taking the easy way out and shooting himself – we just don’t get it.

Maybe it’s age . . . maybe it’s education . . . maybe it’s environment, or a combination of all of them or none of them but in our ‘new and improved’ electronic communications era, we’re seeing more and more things that we just don’t get.  Why do we have to get a phone with 4G today, when yesterday the most important thing on the market was 3G?  Why do some places require you to have a PERMIT to have a garage sale?  Really?  A permit?  To sell your junk?  Oh, and of course no dissertation on ‘not getting it’ would be complete without what some neighborhoods call, “The Lawn Police”- – yep, your blades of grass get too long and you get a gentle reminder that it’s time to trim those little beauties.  Ignore that and the warning becomes a little more stern and focused on consequences.  Ignore that and get a citation . . . look we know that we need to maintain our landscapes but a ticket?  We just don’t get it.

How appropriate that we’d talk about this tonight after opening a 2009 Fattoria Viticcio Bere.  It’s from Italy, but you’ve probably already guessed that, and we were a little concerned when we pulled the foil off the top and the cork is synthetic.  It’s not a BAD thing, but when we think of Italian wines, we think long traditions of winemaking, bottling and corking . . . so a synthetic cork seems out of place.  Anyway, after an initial jolt on the nose, the wine actually opens up quickly.  Pouring into the glass, you’ll see a beautiful, full-bodied wine.  A swirl of the glass followed by the first sniff – and – and – “Houston, we’ve got a problem!”  Not sure what it was, but this wine didn’t smell right and when we tasted it and most definitely, it didn’t taste right.  Sour – bitter with little to no fruit and no finish – other than sour!  So, we looked up the wine online and here’s what the professionals said, “Boasting dark cherry and berry aromas and flavors, this polished red is vibrant and harmonious. Lingers on the finish, with a tight, fruit- and spice-filled aftertaste. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2013.”

Wow, we just don’t get it.  Wine Spectator gives this wine 90 points.  We’d give it less than 10.  Robert Parker gives this wine 88 points.  We’d give it less than 8.  Now, it could have been the bottle we bought – yet another deal at Central Market where the regular price was $13.99 but because of the sale, we paid $11.89.  So we were left scratching our heads and doing something we rarely (if ever) do.  We dumped the wine.  Yep, we just didn’t get it and so BECAUSE we didn’t get it, there was no reason to try.  Since the price point is excellent, we glad to have someone buy, taste and review this wine, but if not, no big deal!

Do you have 4g?  Did you absolutely HAVE to  have it?  Of course, it’s WAY faster than 3G–even though most of the world is still on 3G–but like this wine, you’ll want to be careful before you try it, and when you do – enjoy it responsibly and remember to recycle whenever possible.