Friday night was a big night; the Sox game was on, and we had a dinner of grilled zucchini, mashed sweet potatoes, and steak. What better accompaniment than a nice big Cabernet Sauvignon. We happened to have a ten year old bottle that I got from work (retail value $90) that I was eager to try. It's not everyday that I drink $90 wines, so I had rather high hopes. The one thing that worried me was Bryan's quick research online, revealing reports of it being past its prime...

Here we are with part two of the big wine tasting of two weeks ago - I'll reveal up front that there are only 5 more wines to go, as I got a bit tired at the end and maxed out at a total of 10; even when you're a wine enthusiast, sometimes you cannot fathom drinking any more.  Fortunately (and surprisingly), I did not even get a hint of a buzz, despite not having any water to drink and only a few cubes of gouda.  They had a nice spread of various cheeses, oysters, and bread, and boy did it get destroyed!

A couple of weeks ago I was at loose ends after work and decided to head to a rose tasting at Club Cafe sponsored by Boston Wine Tasters . It was free, there were twenty wines to choose from, and I love rose, so it was an easy decision.

I am bored. I have not uttered these words in months!  But I have found something to occupy myself, as there always a wine that needs tasting.  I just cracked open a bottle of Figuero del Duero, a tempranillo from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain, and it was a pleasant surprise. 

A couple of weeks ago I was at loose ends after work and decided to head to a rose tasting at Club Cafe sponsored by Boston Wine Tasters. It was free, there were twenty wines to choose from, and I love rose, so it was an easy decision. I took the approach that I have just christened "strategic snobbery"; I aimed to try the more expensive wines so I would know whether or not to purchase them in the future. As for the less expensive ones, I'm willing to take a gamble and just grab a bottle in the store without having tried it before. I also avoided the few names that I recognized and knew I could easily find in most any wine shop. And thus, my epic tasting began.

I must diverge from our general theme of wine for a moment and give cider its proper due. I first encountered cider at a pub in England (which ideally, is where everyone should have her first taste).  I remember that glorious moment in The Crytsal Palace very well.  A friend was drinking a half pint of an intriguingly colored beverage and, knowing I was not a beer drinker, urged me to give it a try.  What joy!

Huzzah! I am pleased to report we have our first supermaket gem. Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, year 2006, from Marlborough, New Zealand, which happens to be on sale at Shaw's for $10 instead of $14 for the next few weeks.

This bottle was probably corked- yum yum vinegar essence - so technically I should buy it again and try it for real. But there are so many wines out there (so many tasty roses that are ideal for summer) , I am not that eager. Now that I ponder it, I think it was a screw top...

This was a South African rose: Goats du Roam Rose 2006. Price was roughly $8. Let me add that I have thoroughly enjoyed some of their other wines in the past. But let us move on, forge ahead, and delve into more wines. One of these days, we will have a gem.

Now, I must confess that this particular choice is slightly obscure and may not be available at most supermarkets. I would imagine that wine from Nantucket is relatively difficult to locate outside of New England, though in this case, it doesn't matter anyway as I cannot in good conscience add it to my list of gems. Once again, I wanted to like it (who doesn't like the image of whale pant-wearing vintners?) but I must be ruthless in my quest for excellence. I'd give it an overall rating of "eh". It's certainly drinkable, but there's a lot of wine to drink in this world and I do not have time to waste.  The subject wine in this case was Nantucket Vineyard Pinot Gris, approximately $13.