What, you haven’t seen this video of a cup-stacking sea otter at the Pt. Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, WA? If you are in need of an overload of adorableness to get you through the day, this is the video you need to watch over and over again. It will permeate your thoughts long after you’ve torn yourself away from You Tube. (Hat-tip to Leslie from Fresh-Picked Seattle for bringing it to my rapt attention.)

I recently tasted a wine that, like Nellie the Sea Otter, I can’t stop thinking about. Do you like Chateauneuf du Pape (CdP), the storied wine from France’s Southern Rhone that’s name-checked by the Beastie Boys in their song “Body Movin'”? (Cue up Hello Nasty; it’s at the 2:31 mark.)

Do you want to get a flavor, the flavor, of this fancy wine for a low tariff price? Check out the 2012 La Chaussynette. It’s made by a fantastic CdP prodcuer, Mas de Boislauzon. Like a lot of CdP, it’s Grenache-based. But, unlike CdP, it’s a $15 wine. Whoa.

I only wish I could say something along the lines of this British reviewer: “it is a real Bobby Dazzler of a wine“. But a sea otter stacking cups trumps any English colloquialism.

Tags: bargain chateauneuf, Mas de Boislauzon Chateauneuf du Pape