Harp: Drats. I knew she'd leave one day.

Guinness: Mama? Did she find that tall dark handsome wine maker and leave without us? I got my passport renewed just in case.

Harp: No, no. I'm talking about that vixen vet Dr. Liz Murphy. She knows our insides and outsides since we were two of her first clients at the Broad Ripple Animal Clinic when she started in 1998. Now she's heading east - for a man.

Guinness: Or WITH a man, Harp. Her husband. He got a great job at the children's museum there and she's going to do her doctoring in that neck of the woods instead of ours.

Harp: I'll never forget that dreamy look I gave her after she prescribed Valerian for us when we got neutered.

Guinness: Now Harp. We went through this last column. I said we'd been tutored and you said we had not.

Harp: NEUTERED Guinness. And that sweet, smart Dr. Murphy prescribed Valerian to our crazy mama to keep us still while our stitches healed. Dr. Murphy said she learned about that herb helping animals at school. I guess horses dig it.

Guinness: Well, Mama says keeping me happy is like caring for a high maintenance thoroughbred horse.

Harp: If you were a cat you'd be labeled finicky. And I'll be finicky finding a new vet to take care of us. I wonder what kind of treats Dr. Sue offers for shots. . . .

EASLEY REGGAE RED - Drink it chilled or at room temp. As part of Reggae Jam (see recipe below) or warmed and stirred with a cinnamon stick. It glistens ruby red in the glass and offers fresh jammy aromas and flavors. No wonder it's Easley's most popular bottle of the over two dozen made, tasted and sold from the downtown Indianapolis winery. Reggae Red sells best on the retail shelf too, in stores across Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, New York and Illinois.

Why? It's fun. Winemaker Mark Easley isn't trying to make a serious wine with this blend of Concord and Fredonia grapes, nor is his wife Meredith marketing it as such. What you see is what you get from a bottle of Reggae Red. The label lets you know what you'll find inside: frisky, fresh, and softly sweet but not cloying red wine. It's the friendly wine we all like to see at a party or picnic or wedding reception because we know what it will be: Fun. And the next time you're at the winery, ask Mark or Meredith WHO is the inspiration for the "jammin' mahn" on the label. You might not believe it till you taste it.

www.easleywinery.com 205 N College 317.636.4516

Visit August 12, 2006, and enjoy the food, wine, music, art and games at the annual TASTE OF DOWNTOWN Street Festival from Noon-8pm.

Reggae Jam

Garnish with slice of orange and ease on down.