Wine Tasting...

On Labor Day, I went wine tasting with a group of friends! What fun to explore the subtle bouquets of the local wineries. But, I learned a few things about wines in general:

1. White wines made in steel barrels don't taste the same as white wine made in oak barrels or with oak chips in the barrels. I hadn't realized that there was such a divergence in the wine community about the choice. Apparently the implementation of steel barrels proves to be more economical for smaller vineyards. The tradeoff is that the white wines have a less "woody" taste.
2. The Bordeaux region of France doesn't like others calling wines made out of grapes from Brodeaux, "Bordeaux wines." Thus, "Bordeaux" wines from other locales are blended and called "Meritage" wines.
3. Vineyards go to a lot of trouble to make the wine tasting room and wine tasting experience so pleasant that you can't leave without buying some of there wine.
4. Tasting with cheese or chocolate can dramatically change your impression of the wine.

As it was, I ended up picking up four new bottles of wine. One is an exceptional dessert wine that I'm going to save for a special event (called Rosso Dolce). It tastes a lot like chocolate. I think I'll have to make a chocolate souffle to go with it. I also found a great red called an Alouette. It's a sweeter red wine. I also found a Vidal Blanc and a Seyval Blanc. Both are great end of summer white wines.