Yellow Tail Sweet Red Roo

Well, here's one I thought I would enjoy but didn't.

Nice bottle. I liked the red, made me think of Christmas.
Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, just not as sweet as I would have liked, a bit dry for my liking. Though it is a couple days later and as I sit and sip it, I can honestly say I taste the "hints" of black cherries.
I wouldn't buy it again, but it was nice to try. I didn't even get a nice fruity aroma from it. I was disappointed.

I wonder what I should try next.

Cooking With Wine

Wow! It's been a while since I've been able to get on here! Finals, now the holidays. Madness!

Well, here's another question I get all the time; "I need a wine to cook with. All it says is a dry white wine, what should I use?"

Well, honestly, in my opinion, any dry white will do. Most of the time I steer people toward a chardonnay or a pinot grigio. You really don't need an expensive wine if you are cooking with it. If you are going to drink it, well, then I would say go for a little more, but otherwise the $4.99 bottle on the bottom shelf should suffice. The alcohol cooks off so you don't have to worry about that.
I am going to try the difference in recipe taste between an oaked chardonnay and an unoaked one. I tend not to like the "oaky" flavor too much.

If your recipe calls for a dry red, cabernet sauvignon is where I will be sending you. But really, any one will do. Again, not necessary to have an expensive one unless you will be sipping along with your cooking.

Now when I say you can cook with almost any wine, I am referring to the dryer ones, I doubt a sweet wine will go well in your sauce. But who knows, somewhere out there is probably a recipe that calls for a sweet wine like moscato. If you find one, let me know, I'd definitely try it.

Chateau St. Michelle Harvest Select Riesling

Now here's a bottle of wine I really like. Chateau St. Michelle Harvest Select Riesling. When you pour it in the glass it has a very nice pale gold color and it smells very fruity. It is slightly sweet which I really enjoy with a nice crispness to it. What a great glass of wine to sip on. I guarantee this one won't last too long.

Wine Labels

What attracts people to a wine? Is it the brand? Is it the type? Word of mouth? Or is it the label?

I would bet dollars to pesos for most it is the label.
Of the almost 3000 codes at my store, I would say more than 3/4 are wines. Many of them with interesting labels and equally interesting names. Every so often companies change their labels to refresh themselves in the eyes of the purchaser. Some have bright, attractive labels to draw your eye to them and pique your curiosity. Some have elegantly designed labels to convey a message of a "refined", more "mature" beverage. Some have cute pictures to conjure up ideas of a fun, tasty glass of wine.

I suppose you could buy a wine by its label for just about whatever mood you may be in. If you are feeling snobby you could get a more stodgy looking bottle for the night. If you are in the mood for a fun night, a bottle that makes you think "fun" when you look at it will be on the agenda. I suppose if you were entertaining, who your guests are and the reason they are coming by would dictate what "style" of wine and label you would choose. I'm sure for a dinner with the boss you aren't going to buy a bottle with picture of a pair of flip flops on it. If the girls are coming over for an afternoon chick flick, that bottle would serve just fine.

There are a few that I am interested in trying just because the label caught my eye, or the name of the wine "sounded" fun. Of course there are the word of mouth ones as well. Lots of different categories and thousands of different wines to try. Maybe I will do that. Create categories like "fun" or "reserved" and try different wines that give those impressions from their labels.

What Should I Try Instead Of...

Sometimes I get the question of "well I like (insert varietal here) but I want to try something different. What do you recommend?"

Well, I have read that if you like Cabernet Sauvignon, you might like a Petit Verdot, a Petit Sirah or Nero D'Avola.
If you like Merlot, Cabernet Franc or Carmenere might tickle your fancy.
If Pinot Noir is your style, perhaps a Grenache would satisfy your craving for something different.
Those that like Syrah or Shiraz might enjoy a Zinfandel or Tempranillo.

I'd like to do side by side taste tests to see how similar these are to each other, ought to be interesting. A veritable "this or that".

Roscato - Rosso Dolce

Now here is something I really do like a lot. I've had this before. It is an Italian wine that is apparently served at Olive Garden. There was such a high demand for it that we finally are able to carry it. It is a red wine, on the sweeter side, and has a bit of an effervescence to it. Very yummy. Sure its got a screw top, who cares. Perfect for my sweet tooth. I have it after dinner as "dessert". Its deep red color is pretty and it smells delicious. Maybe not for the wine snobs out there, but it's a fun wine and I would recommend it to anyone looking to try something a little different with a bit if fun to it.

Wine As A Gift

Well, here come the holidays. Along with that comes tons of customers wanting to buy wine as a gift for people. Honestly, that is one of the hardest things to buy for people in my opinion. Unless you know they like  something specific, like a particular brand, I wouldn't suggest wine as a gift. Wine is a personal thing in my opinion.

If you know they like something like horses, you could probably locate bottles of wine with "horse themes" to tie into their hobby or their passion. I plan on getting my step daughter a couple bottles of a wine we have that have flip flops on them because she loves flip flops. Not necessarily because I know she'll like the wine, but she might like the labels and it fits in with her "passion", if you can have passion for flip flops.

People are loyal to certain ones, not to mention what you may like, they may not like, everyone's tastes are different. I have people come in wanting to buy a bottle as a gift. When you ask them what the recipient likes, their answer usually is "I don't know". Or when you ask how much they want to spend, the answer is "I don't want to look cheap".

Here's my suggestion; buy a relatively "cheap" bottle of wine, but one with a good reputation and buy a gift card for whatever amount you were going to spend. Put the bottle in a nice bag and attach the gift card. This way the recipient has something to open, not just an impersonal gift card. Plus, they could try that bottle of wine, giving them the opportunity to try something they may not have had before. Then they take the gift card and buy what they really want.