Ever heard that expression? Well it's not only relevant to books, it's also relevant to people, places, DVDs and more specifically for me, bottles of wine. Going back to a previous post I made about being confused about coffee, I'm also in a similar situation when it comes to wine.
Back in the UK, I had a rule never to buy a bottle that was under £4, hoping that would make sure I got a reasonable product. But now it seems since moving here, my selection methods have changed and are somewhat more relaxed.
My criteria for selecting wine at a supermarket is now a combination of:
- Is it red?
- Does it have a cool label?
- Is it local produce?
The 1st bottle I see to comply with 2 out of 3 of those, generally goes in the basket. And I still really don't really get the difference between the varieties. Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon etc. I stand for 7-8 minutes looking at the shelves, then just pickup the one that looks good. Wine makers and enthusiasts all over the world must hate me. Apart from those with cool bottles of course.
Living reasonably close to Martinbrough means that we often have a trip to the vineyards to sample the local wines. We have been to quite a few vineyards there and over the last year we've adopted a favourite - Margrain.
When we first went to Margrain back in October 2006 it was my birthday. The people that run the Old Winery Restaurant (which is the main reason we go!) were great. Marrisa was driving so I got down to the gruelling task of tasting. Never mind this swilling-round-the-glass-and-sniffing-its-fresh-bouquet rubbish, I just drank it. Quite a lot actually! After several samples and a tasty meal, we spent excessive amounts on a few bottles.
Moving here has certainly encouraged me to try more varieties of food and drink, and with a load of products I've not had chance to try before, it's going to take me a while to get through them all!
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