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Yup, this is going to be a year for wine. I'm quite taken with it, although I must admit that I wouldn't know a good vintage from a bad one, but I think that's okay because the whole reason that I'm drinking wine is different from others. For some, it's a chance to show how cultured they are, for others a delicious indulgence. For me, it is decadent, but mostly for the way the taste of wine makes me feel. Wine is complicated, complex with lots of subtleties and different notes. It can be surprising and sometimes, just a little unpleasant, in the way it feels to touch a bruise or a sore tooth, which is to say one does it constantly. Wine is an elemental taste, which to me means I can't say that it tastes good in the way we say that apple pie or a hamburger tastes good. It's like really, really good chocolate, the kind that has an extraordinarily high cacao content or really good coffee, such as the kind that passes through lemurs' intestines. There is something about the flavor which is off putting for the newly initiated, that others can never get past. There is nothing sugary or fake about these tastes, they are very, very primal. It also smacks of death and decay, just like the coffee beans passed through intestines and really good cheeses, in fact, if I can find it, there is a wonderful article on how the best foods in the world are redolent with death. When I drink wine, I think in poetry, which is the main reason that I've decided to keep on trying the fruit of the vine. In attempts to describe what I've just tasted, I think in new and unexpected ways, mainly because I'm such a novice, I haven't the experience to really describe it so I flounder for words. This is good, though. It stretches the ole brain pan and it helps me make clearer and better descriptions.
I recently visited a local winery and I tried their pink and white Catawbas, so naturally as the biggest snow storm of the season got ready to pound north eastern Ohio, I packed up my friendS and we drove and hour and forty-five minutes to procure wine. If it's gonna snow for three days, a good bottle of something is not a bad companion.
So what did I buy?
a pale cream sherry---this is probably my new favorite drink in the world. It's strong, really strong. It burns on the way down and a golden, fuzzy glow suffuses me, pulsing from my stomach and radiating to my fingers and toes. It tastes like autumn, burnt caramel and smoky amber with just a hint of vanilla. It has a lovely color but the smell, is that the bouquet?, is strong enough to remind me of the smells from the paint thinners in art class. But then there is a delicate hint of vanilla and burning leaves which makes it all worth it. It went lovely with mushrooms and is delicious with chocolate.
white Catawba---this is a very, very sweet wine. There is only residual sugar so it doesn't make my mouth hurt the way a drink like Arbor Mist or some of the really, really cheap sorta wines do, but it isn't sharp at all, at least not in comparison to the other white wines I've tried. I tried a Pinot Grigio that was so sharp it felt like my tonque was cut by blades of grass. I discovered that day that I adore sharp, white wines, the drier the better. I believe Catawbas are an Ohio thing, so it's interesting to try something so specific and regional, but I kinda find the white Catawba pleasant for sharing but kinda boring. Everyone who has tried it has liked it, including myself, but it lacks the complexity of notes and flavors that some of the other wines I've tried had. There isn't anything that I can immediately say, Ah this is what this tastes like. The pale cream sherry brought to mind burning amber, which isn't a flavor, but that's what I thought when I first tasted it. The white Catawba was pleasant and crisp but not very distinctive, although there was a faint hint of flowers in the after taste.
raspberry wine---haven't tried it yet but it has the most delicious red color. It looks absolutely decadent and ruby in the bottle. I'm going to be sorely disappointed if it's not good.
On the list to find: a good port, a good German Riesling, a good sparkling California wine and something from 1995.
I recently visited a local winery and I tried their pink and white Catawbas, so naturally as the biggest snow storm of the season got ready to pound north eastern Ohio, I packed up my friendS and we drove and hour and forty-five minutes to procure wine. If it's gonna snow for three days, a good bottle of something is not a bad companion.
So what did I buy?
a pale cream sherry---this is probably my new favorite drink in the world. It's strong, really strong. It burns on the way down and a golden, fuzzy glow suffuses me, pulsing from my stomach and radiating to my fingers and toes. It tastes like autumn, burnt caramel and smoky amber with just a hint of vanilla. It has a lovely color but the smell, is that the bouquet?, is strong enough to remind me of the smells from the paint thinners in art class. But then there is a delicate hint of vanilla and burning leaves which makes it all worth it. It went lovely with mushrooms and is delicious with chocolate.
white Catawba---this is a very, very sweet wine. There is only residual sugar so it doesn't make my mouth hurt the way a drink like Arbor Mist or some of the really, really cheap sorta wines do, but it isn't sharp at all, at least not in comparison to the other white wines I've tried. I tried a Pinot Grigio that was so sharp it felt like my tonque was cut by blades of grass. I discovered that day that I adore sharp, white wines, the drier the better. I believe Catawbas are an Ohio thing, so it's interesting to try something so specific and regional, but I kinda find the white Catawba pleasant for sharing but kinda boring. Everyone who has tried it has liked it, including myself, but it lacks the complexity of notes and flavors that some of the other wines I've tried had. There isn't anything that I can immediately say, Ah this is what this tastes like. The pale cream sherry brought to mind burning amber, which isn't a flavor, but that's what I thought when I first tasted it. The white Catawba was pleasant and crisp but not very distinctive, although there was a faint hint of flowers in the after taste.
raspberry wine---haven't tried it yet but it has the most delicious red color. It looks absolutely decadent and ruby in the bottle. I'm going to be sorely disappointed if it's not good.
On the list to find: a good port, a good German Riesling, a good sparkling California wine and something from 1995.