Every Alexander, no no, everybody braves a few terrible days in his or her lives, but when you are an Alexander the problem is amplified because you share your misfortune with a children’s book, your fate has been spelled out. My Friday was definitely the worst day of the year for me, however their was a silver lining, slipping from the clutches of crapdom and ending with the best example of a Washington Cabernet Sauvignon I have ever tasted.

Alexander’s “Terrible, Horrible, No good, Very Bad Day” became a reality on the 18th of February when I woke to a cacophony of sound produced by noisy construction workers with too much energy at 7:00 a.m. I was off to a career-defining job interview, only to see that my car had been the victim of a drive-by cementing (actually more like a cement shower) from the construction project next door.

Perfectly on time for my interview, I had no time to have a meaningless conversation with a bunch of guys who could not care less for my poor car so I trudged on. My interview began timely and it went really well, feeling proud of the case I’d made for wine specialist.

Unfortunately, I got word later in the day that they went with another candidate for the position and that story gets far worse but I am done kvetching.

So after a very dispiriting day at work, I took up a friend’s suggestion to come and hangout with a few ladies at a high-rise building downtown and have some drinks.

I brought a bottle of Amavi Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (#417) from Walla Walla Valley in Washington State. A wine with such rave reviews that I could not resist, and hoping to change my luck by uncorking it.

I began with introductions while I broke the beautiful capsule of the bottle with her-all-inclusive Rabbit opener and pouring the deep-hued liquid into the hosts Mikasa stemware.

We all took in the fragrant bouquet redolent of a cigar box and blackberries; the nose was alluring and powerful, leaping from the glass. The palate offered more of the same, pregnant with black fruit, a lush mouth feel and minimal drying tannins.

Overlooking Los Angeles’ rain-cleaned streets from the eighteenth floor vantage point, devoid of automobiles around 3:00 a.m. and enjoying a seven-fifty of Amavi Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon from the PNW—an area that is fast becoming a favorite for my palate since it has already captured the title of favorite place to visit—with new friends, the night transformed into a memorable one. With the wine’s capacity to alter the course of the day, even enough to wash down a terrible defeat of the Ducks (5-1 loss against Minnesota), I was incredibly grateful to have purchased two of them. Not so terrible, so not horrible, nor even bad after all!