Wine Tasting

At the poster session, about which I'll write soon but not now, people were drinking wine. I like wine and the greasy eggplant I had consumed for dinner left me wanting wine, but it cost $6.50 at the bar for a glass, and I didn't want to pay. It looked like maybe some people had these red tickets that got them wine and beer for free, but I especially didn't want to ask.

So after the poster session I walked to safeway, intending to buy some apples and wine. In addition to apples, I ended up getting tea bags, a cucumber, some cherry tomatoes, and some celery. But to my dismay, the Safeway had no wine. So I purchased my produce (And a Colorado mug) and left. Fortunately, a young and probably underage boy who worked at safeway told me that there was a liquor store down the street. So I walked down the street, and shortly I came upon this wine haven called "spirits and wine." The people inside were kind and friendly. I wanted to buy a single bottle and get out, but I also wanted to try something new, but then again I also wanted to get a wine I knew I would like in case the new one was bad. So in the end I got a

Oxford Landing Shiraz, 2006 (South Austrialia) which cost about $7.

and a

Mosel River Riesling, 2007.

The only criteria I had going in was that the wine had to have screw caps, because I don't have any stoppers at the hostel. This turned out not to be too limiting, although it kept me from buying the Yellow Tail Resiling I was going to buy initially, or anything from Sutter Home.

I like the Shiraz, although I wouldn't have a few months ago. I only started liking red wine very very recently--maybe a month ago. It kind of reminds me of the Pinot Noir I had with my grandparents. It's kind of fruity, I think (I guess I don't exactly know what fruity means when it comes to wines, but I use it anyway), not sweet, and has this taste of "I could get really nasty and start tasting like acetone, but right now I'm just pleasantly intriguing and very wine-like."

I would buy it again, and drink it, but I wouldn't tell people that they absolutely must drink this wine if they want their life to be complete.

As for the Riesling:

It is delicious, sweet (but not too sweet, not like the sweet Reisling I had at Suppenkuche on June 29th). It's fruity, and tastes bubbly even though it doesn't actually have bubbles in it.

I would definitely buy it again, although I dont' know for sure that it's the best Riesling I've ever had or anything. I like Riesling a lot.

Other wines that I have had:

Carlo Rossi Sangria: This was my first (maybe second) love, only I learned that if you keep a huge jug for a month it will, eventually, get nasty. Maybe some vintage years are better than others; the last time I had it I couldn't help but admit its less-than-perfectness, even though I still love it because Sangria is Delicious. It is sweet and delicious and like bubbly fruit juice.

Sutter Home Muscato: If Sangria wasn't my first love, this was. It is sweet and fruity and tastes of delicious muscato grapes and is delicous. And cheap. And Delicious.

Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio: I tried it at my parents' house and liked it.

Sutter Home Gewurztraminer: tasty

Some other kind of fancy-pants Gewurztraminer that I had at an italian Restraurant in LA: not tasty, although I didn't admit it to Robert at the time

Some fancy-pats Muscato

Pinot Noir for $16 (one of the Cheaper ones, don't recall the brand): didn't like it at first, but this was the first dry red wine I enjoyed when I had it with my grandparents.

Alazani, a Georgian wine that Borya brought over once: Delicious. And Red. and somewhat sweet.

Cheapo Zinfandel (don't recall the winery--this is why I'm writing these things down!)--pretty good, but not when it's been standing for a month. But good to cook with.