On a whim I went into a wine shop I was passing that had a sandwich board blocking my path on the sidewalk that side, “Free Wine Tasting.” How could I refuse?
So I walked in and not a whole lot appealed to me. There were a few French wines, a few Argentine wines, maybe something from Italy. I tasted a few of them and did not love them. But since they had dragged me into the shop, I decided to buy something.
Then on the shelf a colorful label caught my eye. Yup, I went with the label. That and I had just had a conversation on twitter with a few other bloggers, one of which made a note that she loved Viognier and this bottle happened to be a Viognier.
So I bought it. The Ninet de Pena Viognier 2006. It was priced at about $10 and it just screamed “try me!”
Well I did, and I was completely surprised by what I found in the bottle.
No, it was not the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket (although that would have been nice).
I found strawberries! Specifically strawberry preserve. My tasting notes read, “Fresh out of the jar and onto a peanut butter & jelly sandwich!” I was prepared for a perfumed nose with a round white stone-fruit (peach, apricot, etc.) taste. What I got was strawberries, with more strawberries, rife with minerality.
It was a good trick and certainly worth the cost. But not really what I wanted out of the wine.
So I walked in and not a whole lot appealed to me. There were a few French wines, a few Argentine wines, maybe something from Italy. I tasted a few of them and did not love them. But since they had dragged me into the shop, I decided to buy something.
Then on the shelf a colorful label caught my eye. Yup, I went with the label. That and I had just had a conversation on twitter with a few other bloggers, one of which made a note that she loved Viognier and this bottle happened to be a Viognier.
So I bought it. The Ninet de Pena Viognier 2006. It was priced at about $10 and it just screamed “try me!”
Well I did, and I was completely surprised by what I found in the bottle.
No, it was not the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket (although that would have been nice).
I found strawberries! Specifically strawberry preserve. My tasting notes read, “Fresh out of the jar and onto a peanut butter & jelly sandwich!” I was prepared for a perfumed nose with a round white stone-fruit (peach, apricot, etc.) taste. What I got was strawberries, with more strawberries, rife with minerality.
It was a good trick and certainly worth the cost. But not really what I wanted out of the wine.
