Wine and Chili?

So my wife, Judy says to me the other day: "you haven't mentioned me in a blog in a long time".
I grunted and thought: "Geez, nobody realizes the the intense pressure I'm under writing these blogs".
Have I mentioned before that Judy is a great cook?
And I love her?
I should have, if I didn't.
Unless you're living in California, you've probably experienced, to some degree, the rough winter we've had thus far.
We were trapped in the house for a couple of days because of the snow and cold.
But we were prepared.
Like millions of other screaming, panicked St. Louisans, we went to the grocery store to stock up on the basics, just in case we could not get out of the house until Spring - milk, bread, eggs and about 100 pounds of ground beef.
Judy made a meat loaf and her famous chili.
So, it's Monday night. What do we eat?
Meat loaf or chili? Meat loaf or chili?
CHILI!
And what should we drink with this chili?
This is not really an easy pairing with wine. Judy stayed away all together and opted for a margarita.
Me? I accepted the challenge and went for the wine.
No white. Red.
No Cab - too tannic.
No Italian - too acidic.
The wine must be fruit forward, with a little spice to compliment the flavors in the chili.
The short list: Syrah, Grenache and Zinfandel.
I have some really great domestic Syrahs and Grenache based Chateauneuf du Papes, but these are expensive wines, averaging $50 - $60.
This is chili for Pete's sake!
I haven't said "for Pete's sake" in about 25 years. I wonder where that saying comes from??
A $23 Zinfandel should do the trick.
I had the 2011 Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel with the chili, and it was a perfect match.
Another tough food and wine pairing conquered.
And we have a freezer full of meat loaf and chili.
Have a great weekend!

Tom