August 3, 2010
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(UPDATED) Confession: I’m a Wino
You’d think, me being the Piratess that I am, that Rum would be my adult beverage of choice. While I do enjoy Rum from time to time, occasionally a nice glass of wine is a great accompaniment to a meal, or all by itself, enjoyed in the company of good friends and family (or other pirates).
Typically I like red wines over white, and wines on the dry side.
It was about three years ago that one of my sisters introduced me to Woodbridge Merlot.
It is a relatively inexpensive wine that one can find at the grocery store, not outside the budget of most people, and it is a very sophisticated Merlot for the price. I love the layers of flavor in this Merlot, but not having been a wine connoisseur, I really didn’t have a wide range of other mid range Merlot’s to compare it to. So, for the last two or three years I have been on a search for good mid-priced Merlot wines.
After having tasted quite a number of them, simply by trial and error and not at a wine tasting, I have only found one other Merlot that came close to Woodbridge:
Red Bicyclette doesn’t have the distinctive layers of flavor that Woodbridge Merlot has, and the finish isn’t as smooth, but it’s not as bad as most of the others I’ve tasted. The worst of which is this one:
Barefoot Merlot has the distinct flavor of nail polish remover, but it is readily available at all fine BP gas stations and other convenience stores, not just the grocery store. Just EWW. (Yes, that is the proper technical wine review term).
This afternoon before I headed home from work I was browsing the wine section and was about to pick up a bottle of Woodbridge Merlot, my old stand-by, when one of my managers directed me toward a wine that was marked down significantly from its original price. It wasn’t a Merlot, it was a Chianti, but at $10.00 off on the bottle, I couldn’t pass it up.
This is a photo of the actual bottle of Stellina di Notte Chianti I will be drinking this evening. I am not even sure I like Chianti, but I am giving it a shot. I may have to round up someone’s liver and a side of Fava beans while I’m drinking it. I will post my review later.
I am thinking about doing periodical wine reviews at CynaraJane. May as well. Why not share what I discover? I am a most unselfish Piratess.
Do you like wine?
What is your favorite wine?
UPDATE: The Stellini di Notte Chianti was amazing! I tasted oak undertones, which really brought out the plum/cherry/berry layers. Great bouquet, and extremely smooth.Oh, and check this out! How to open a wine bottle with a shoe.
Comments (16)
Moscado di Asti and Stella Rosa are my favorites… Sweet and bubbily, I LOVE them!! I prefer the Moscado over the Stella Rosa..
I’d feel rather unmanly asking a dude in a bow tie to bring me a glass (or bottle for that matter) of wine. So, it will probably remain unknown to me. Unless I drop by your house one day and you serve it over dinner with your hubby and I.
@MomGoneMadd - Oh, you like the sweet and bubbly stuff! I like that, too, sometimes. Good choices!
@Xcholo4u - Okay, what do you want me to fix for dinner? It will help me in my wine selection.
I’m a fair Merlot fan because it’s becoming more and more difficult to fnd a decent Burgundy, which is my fave.
@Born261YearsTooLate - Ah, Burgundy! It has been a while since I’ve had a good Burgundy, come to think of it. I guess it’s no wonder that Merlot is fast becoming a pirates choice.
I keep trying to like wine but I’m a martini or margarita person..Maybe champagne once in a while. My husband is a Merlot kind of guy!
Do you like wine? yes, Cabernet and Merlot on the red side ………………..
I also like icy cold Reisling …. especially in the summer at a bar-b-q …..
but beer and tequila are still at the top of my list
I’m new to the wine scene, when I got MonkeyBoy, I got wine. I had always wanted to try, but when I would go buy some it was always horrible… but MonkeyBoy has encouraged me. He loves Merlot, but I don’t…
I like bubbly, and sweet, but not too sweet. We went to Branson and there was a winery there, so we got to do the tasting…. and I like the semi-sweets. I was lucky enough that the local liquor store carried this brand… so now I can walk in and buy my own!!! My dislike with darker wines is-to me- they taste like perfume to me. And I make “the noise” as MonkeyBoy calls it… kind of like a cat with a hairball… LOL. But I think it would be cool if you posted a little about wines. I would play along and try things, but our liquor store is mucho tiny and we are mucho out in the sticks. LOL. They aren’t very diverse.
My favorite is Fetzer’s Gewurztraminer -> http://jerichowine.com/item.asp?PID=1062 I rarely drink red wines as I haven’t found many that I like. Mostly I drink Pinot Grigios, Rieslings, and Moscattos, but this one is tops as it is delicious, pairs well with just about any dish and is reasonably priced.
I love wine, especially red wine. My favorites are Pinot Noir and Malbec.
@dingdongdingbat - I like martini’s (dirty the best) and Champagne, but I’ve never taken a liking to Margarita’s.
@Alive_in_Vegas - Straight Tequila? Shots? Or in a mixed drink? Tequila makes me crazy. LOL. I like beer, too.
@BubblysLife - I think I can relate to that “perfume” taste…much like the Barefoot Merlot, though I likened it to nail polish remover. I think it’s all about personal preference and brand. Some Merlot’s are awful tasting to me. Thanks for the vote for occasional wine posts. I think this’ll be fun!
@skittler335 - I have had, and like, Fetzer’s Gewurztraminer. When I was younger I couldn’t stand red wine, unless it was sweet, and preferred white wine. I don’t know what to attribute it to, but now the red strikes my fancy. Still enjoy white on occasion.
@TheCheshireGrins - A good Pinot is hard to beat. I’ve never had Malbec, but I will have to try it soon. You’ve piqued my curiosity.
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