The icebox in the title has several meanings (in undergrad literature class fashion). First, it’s a reference to my neck of the woods, currently blanketed in ice, and with > 500,000 homes sans power. Including 1WD HQ.

Then, there’s a coy reference to the internal temperature of my house, which, after two days of no heat and sub-freezing external temperatures, is starting to feel more like home-sweet-meat-locker than home-sweet-home. Incidentally, I’m also without Internet access, and Swype-typing this on my cell phone after enough of you complained when I mentioned on Twitter and The Book of Face that 1WD would probably be going dark since I couldn’t really get online to write (a service for which you complainy lushes pay $0.00, I might add; you’re welcome!).

Finally, in terms of symbolic references, there’s the makeshift “ice box” we’re using to chill a sample of one of my fallback / favorite winter warmers…

Where there’s a will, and leftover ten inches of snow, there’s a way, particularly when you want to imbibe something that’s 20% abv to help you forget the fact that you’re temporarily living in a refrigerator. And since I’m typing this on a cell phone, let’s just cut to the wine before I get carpal tunnel…

Warre’s Otima 10 Year Tawny (Porto, $30)

You’re getting a lot of ten year for the cash with this consistent Port performer. There’s the spiced-fig-drizzled-in-caramel you’d expect from a ten year, but also a helping of the toasted-walnut-rancio you would expect out of a 20 year. Throw in an undercurrent of acidic freshness, and you’ve got a winner that, since its first release, has never really failed to deliver (or slightly over-deliver, actually), and has probably been overdue for some additional love here, a good four years after I first mentioned it.

Ok, back to shivering. And drinking.

Cheers!