White Zinfandel

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I have a bottle of white zinfandel that is sitting on my shelf in our pantry. It is a gift that keeps showing back up in our house every few weeks. I’m sure it’s the same bottle. In fact I think its been circulating around our community for 15 years. No one really likes white zinfandel for kiddush and to be honest no one really likes it with the meals we serve. No one really knows what to do with it except our rabbi who mixes it with a few other horrible tasting wines to stretch the Kiddush wine out to feed more people. I’m not a wine connoisseur. In fact the only wine I really like is a sweet bubbly wine. A few years ago a kosher sweet bubbly wine started to become popular and now everyone buys it. It’s like drinking over priced lemonade. I actually like it a lot. Every once in a while my husband decides we need REAL wine. So he’ll order some expensive fancy wine and offer it to people at our Shabbos table. About two people will drink it because everyone really wants the overpriced lemonade. Then it will sit on the top of our refrigerator until my twins run through the kitchen and bang into the refrigerator door sending it crashing onto the floor. Anyway, when people come over our house or we go to someone's house, it is customary to take a small gift or food item. If you get a bottle of white zinfandel, it’s usually because the giver grabbed it at the last minute before running out the door. I know because I’ve done so myself. My husband would like to get rid of the “token drop off”. If everyone stops dropping off tokens no one will feel compelled to do so. He’s right, but it just doesn’t feel kosher to come empty handed. I’ve dropped off pickle jars, tomatoes, cookies, etc. I have even dropped off Shabbos toilet paper, a seriously coveted item around orthodox communities. Now Shabbos toilet paper falls into the “niceties” category and that may include things that smell nice like soap or candles. Recently I received a little package of little candles. I have no idea what to do with them. They smell nice. I will keep them for when the lights go out. Once I received a little butter knife. Cute. I don’t think it ever made it to our butter. Candy of course is a huge hit with my kids. It’s just that I have to monitor it or I’m pulling them off the walls. I used to ask my host, “What can I bring?” That is the nicest thing to do as then you can actually bring what they need. But often I will get a reply like, “Well, what do you like to make?” The truth is that I don’t like to cook or bake at all. I’ve been asked three times this past week to make food for families who have just had new babies. I’m practically running a short order kitchen. So when I get an invitation, I like to take advantage of the break. I don’t ask and I just show up with a gift and hope its user friendly or else they have enough sense to pass it along. I’m not alone in this strategy. I am trying very hard not to pass the white zinfandel back around. I’ve even googled what to do with left over wine. Some options were: make salad dressing, make syrup and pour over ice cream or use in beef stew. My favorite was to freeze into little ice cubes and then use it to flavor soups and other dishes. I don’t know. I think I’ll just let it sit for a while. I’m feeling like I’m going to need it soon enough.