The Inspiration

Well, here goes nothing!! This has been one strange week for me. I've had three good friends tell me I should do something related to wine all independent of each other. I was in a large local retail shop on Monday picking up an order and had a woman (don't even go there) walk over to me and ask for help. The salesman who was following her looked like someone kicked him in the privates as she hung on every word I said. Maybe she had a jones for bullshit but whatever I was selling she was buying. She was throwing a wine tasting for 10 couples and needed recommendations to match cheeses and finger foods. Here's where we ended up:

Sparkling: Gruet Blanc de Noirs Non Vintage- From New Mexico of all places! Blanc de Noirs in French means "White of Black". Pretty silly, right? What it really means is the juice comes from Pinot Noir grapes which are dark red to black in color. The juice is squeezed from the skins with almost no contact thus producing a pale colored wine. For $11 you'd be hard pressed to find a better deal on great bubbly.

White: Kris Pinot Grigio-Trentino-Alto Adige Italy 2005. This comes from the northeastern corner of Italy. It's fermented in stainless steel tanks so there won't be any buttery midpalate you might find in a California Chardonnay. What you will get is a crisp, light, food friendly glass of wine with nice balance for $9.

Red-Guigal Cotes du Rhone-France 2003. Mostly Syrah (Shiraz to those of you in the wrong hemisphere) blended with Grenache and Morvedre. 2003 was a very hot year. If you read the news Europe had one of the hottest on record. The wines produced are much more fruit driven because of the heat and will have much more immediate appeal to those of us who have be slaves to what California and Australia produce. The syrah in the wine lend a certain spicyness with a full body but very little tannic grip on the back end. I'd recommend this to those of you looking to try something new. The tarrif-A whopping $7.99.


To my friends and especially to my wife. Thanks for all the encouragement. You've pushed me to do this. Bear with me while I find my "voice".

Much more ramblings to come as I have lots more silly stuff rattling around upstairs.

Aloha!