He wore two holsters. One held a bottle of 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, the other, a bottle of 2009 Ballfield Syrah. He never used guns or force of any kind. Instead, anyone he observed raising trouble would get a glass poured from either bottle to settle them down.

He always kept you guessing, too. Just when you thought you were in for the Syrah’s aromas of blackberry, boysenberry, and mocha, its mid-palate filled with subtle flavors of berry and pepper spice, he’d be there with tall pour of the Cab Sav. Next thing you knew, your palate would be alive with rich and robust flavors of black cherries, plums, and cassis, followed by oak notes of cedar, sandalwood, and vanilla.

For many years, Caton was hailed as a hero, bringing about order in a town crawling with crime. When he retired, we all expected the whole place to go up in flames. But oddly enough, it wasn’t two days after he’d hung up his sheriff star that peace finally settled on our streets. It was then that we realized, we weren’t a town of rabble-rousers; there were just those among us who were thirsty, those who’d do whatever it took to get a good glass of wine, even if it meant breaking a few laws.