Fall has sort of officially kicked off, which brings back one of my favorite things on grapefriend: FOOTBALL WEEK! This week will be chock full of football grapefriends and tons of other grapeball goodies.

That said, last season took a LOT out of grapefriend. Even though my team won the Super Bowl, it wasn’t an easy road. But what was even harder on grapefriend: still no good wine at Blondies!!!

They’re no different from any other sports bar, but as many of you know that’s where I usually watch the games. I love the 1pm ones because it’s brunch time and I always go Bloody Mary, and they make AMAZING ones at Blondies. If I’m getting too buzzy to concentrate, sometimes I’ll switch to Blue Moon which I actually enjoy (partially due to OSP – Orange Slice Presence). But let me take you back to one agonizing night last season.

We were sitting at the bar. It was a night game, so I wasn’t going to get a Bloody. I could’ve gotten one of the many great beers they offer, but just really wanted a glass of wine.

“What wines do you even have by the glass?” I asked the bartender.

“Red and white.”

[Hold, please. I need a moment. This just makes me really emotional.]

That was his actual reply. Yes, he was joking. But grapefriend doesn’t even like to joke around like that!

I tried a glass of the “white.” It sucked jockstraps. I switched to beer.

So the mission remains: will Blondie’s ever serve a good wine for me?

How about a Riesling for those hot wings? A Shiraz for the burgers? A Zin for the chili cheese fries? Or just have any wine made by a former player or coach, since they all seem to retire in Napa and start making their own wine? I’d probably even pay a corkage fee if I could bring my own.

Maybe Blondies and all other sports bars will adopt the Super Bowl champs’ motto and “build the bridge” to grapefriends this season! Fans clinking wine glasses with beer bottles might be as likely as Sanchez and Tebow totally not having a problem with each other, but  Coach Tom Coughlin admonished, “Let’s bring the good things forward” and I think we all know he was talking about wine at sports bars.

Have a great season, everyone! And drink well with your wings.