Tango and Wine

               Just a short piece on my personal observation of wine’s affect on me and my mood at a milonga. Initially, I hated red wine, too tart for my taste and I preferred beer. Over the years, that changed, a direct result of tango dancing.

               I used to drink a lot of beer, probably the reason for my beer belly. When I became a late night, long-riding tanguero, I drank less simply because there weren’t enough hours in the day. Often, I’d get back from tango with just a few hours to sleep before I started work. It wasn’t until I’d been dancing tango for three years that I finally began having a glass of wine at a milonga. Now, I cherish it.

               I can’t drink red wine without an equal amount of water in it and prefer it poured over ice in a large plastic glass. 

               The best place to drink wine and dance tango is at the Metropolitan Ballroom on Providence Road in Charlotte, NC. There are two reasons for this. Reason One: I get a large plastic cup of ice from the bartender when I ask for a cup of ice, not a small Dixie cup; the cubes are solid, not hollow, and take a long time to melt; then I get a glass of wine and pour it over the ice. I can dance for an hour and still have a cold glass of wine waiting for me when I return to my seat.

               The second reason has to do with the girls from Columbia, SC. They attend this milonga and they dance with you like a satin sheet. How they do this, I don’t know. It is not like they are hanging on you, they are on their own balance. It’s like you’re wearing them and I’ve not encountered this anywhere else. It’s very erotic and goes well with a glass of wine….or three. Erotic is probably not the best word to use but there is no room for a complete description here. My experience here gave me the inspiration for the sex scene in my book, River Tango, where Jack has sex in the coatroom.

               Which brings me to the point I’d like to make: when you are enjoying a milonga, wine adds to your enjoyment. When you are not having a good time, wine makes it worse. Beer is another story and I don’t think the two go together well. Beer makes me feel full and extremely self-conscious of my beer belly.

               Last Saturday is a good example of me not having a good time. There were too many leaders, too many skilled tangueros, and too few women, any women, 98.6°F and breathing would do, I’m not picky. Even with the girls from Villanova Tango Club, there were too few tangueras. By midnight, nothing changed and I was on my third glass of wine. Not big glasses, not like the ones I’ve had in Charlotte, but big enough change a sullen mood into a lethargic one. Nothing or no one could shake the cloud off my demeanor...not even Lady X, and that's saying a lot!