bricap (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} bricap) wrote,@ 2008-09-08 11:54:00 |
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Wine
I've gotten into wine somewhat over the past few years. And I have to say I'm really surprised at what is and isn't popular. Last night, we tried a new place. The wine the place was pushing was a merlot/cabernet blend from Chile. I inquire as to what else they have besides this unoriginal bottle. I am told cabernets, merlots, and chardonnays. Does a wine list get any more boring than that? Wow, three of the most overrated wines in the history of mankind. Oh, they do have a malbec and a pinot grigio. (Malbec can be good with the right dish, though it's a disaster if paired wrongly.) But this list is still not interesting. (I settle for the sangria they make, but I guess I am reminded that I don't have much of an opinion of sangria either way.) I'm thinking that most people's wine vocabulary consists of chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir, pinot grigio, zinfandel, and syrah (or shiraz). Basically anything that is widely grown in Napa, the most overrated wine region in the world. But wait, let's see how this same grape works in another part of the world. Exciting.
Whenever I go to a restaurant, it is my goal to avoid anything that is on the list of usuals, and to order a kind of wine that I've never tried before. I have usually found the experience to be more than I expected. Some good ones I've run across recently are viognier, pinot blanc, bonarda, gamay, barbera, mencia ,and ribolla gialla (I mentioned some of these in the Vegas post). There are a lot of good wines outside the overrated regions, also. Portugal has some outstanding wines that use native grapes not seen in other parts of the world. Vinho verde is a fun white wine. The Dao region of Portugal has some great reds. I had this one bottle from a producer named Grilos, and it was one of the best I ever had. I love port wine, but that's another topic entirely. Spain has mencia as I mentioned before, and blending tempranillo and garnacha is a winner, also. It is infinitely more interesting to try a native variety than to see what a grape tastes like in Australia in comparison to California, France, or Chile.
One never has to spend a fortune on this stuff, either. The most I ever spent on a bottle was $20 on a bonarda, but only because it was the only bottle I could find. I just found a different one for $10, recently, though. I got a good bottle of vinho verde at Trader Joe's for $4, also. There will be no $50 bottles of cabernet from California around here, that's for sure.
I've gotten into wine somewhat over the past few years. And I have to say I'm really surprised at what is and isn't popular. Last night, we tried a new place. The wine the place was pushing was a merlot/cabernet blend from Chile. I inquire as to what else they have besides this unoriginal bottle. I am told cabernets, merlots, and chardonnays. Does a wine list get any more boring than that? Wow, three of the most overrated wines in the history of mankind. Oh, they do have a malbec and a pinot grigio. (Malbec can be good with the right dish, though it's a disaster if paired wrongly.) But this list is still not interesting. (I settle for the sangria they make, but I guess I am reminded that I don't have much of an opinion of sangria either way.) I'm thinking that most people's wine vocabulary consists of chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir, pinot grigio, zinfandel, and syrah (or shiraz). Basically anything that is widely grown in Napa, the most overrated wine region in the world. But wait, let's see how this same grape works in another part of the world. Exciting.
Whenever I go to a restaurant, it is my goal to avoid anything that is on the list of usuals, and to order a kind of wine that I've never tried before. I have usually found the experience to be more than I expected. Some good ones I've run across recently are viognier, pinot blanc, bonarda, gamay, barbera, mencia ,and ribolla gialla (I mentioned some of these in the Vegas post). There are a lot of good wines outside the overrated regions, also. Portugal has some outstanding wines that use native grapes not seen in other parts of the world. Vinho verde is a fun white wine. The Dao region of Portugal has some great reds. I had this one bottle from a producer named Grilos, and it was one of the best I ever had. I love port wine, but that's another topic entirely. Spain has mencia as I mentioned before, and blending tempranillo and garnacha is a winner, also. It is infinitely more interesting to try a native variety than to see what a grape tastes like in Australia in comparison to California, France, or Chile.
One never has to spend a fortune on this stuff, either. The most I ever spent on a bottle was $20 on a bonarda, but only because it was the only bottle I could find. I just found a different one for $10, recently, though. I got a good bottle of vinho verde at Trader Joe's for $4, also. There will be no $50 bottles of cabernet from California around here, that's for sure.
