Wine

I've noticed, since i quit smoking, that my taste buds are starting to enjoy foods and drinks that i once despised.
Case in point.. Coffee. Well, anything derived from the coffee bean. I don't necessarily like a regular cup of coffee, i have been fancying espresso flavored beans made into Latte form.. yummmmm.
Now I've jumped on a new liquid band wagon.. the wagon of wine. Now I'm not saying i love the stuff, but it certainly has my curiosity peaked.

I can tell you for certain i have, and most likely always will, despise white wines. They are way too dry for me and no body at all. Yes, i realize that most white meats should be consumed with white wines, but "The Wine Lover's Page" said that rule is no longer carved in stone. YEAH FOR ME!!!

New Year's Day, Kyle and i turned back the hands of time and celebrated Christmas with his Mother and her Fiance'. I bought them a nice wine called Amazing Grace from 2004. They enjoyed the wine, thankfully, as i had no idea what i was doing when i bought it. It was the recommendation of the week at the local liquor store.

At our dinner that night they served a Meritage wine 2005, it said it had raspberries and black currants and a lingering after.. No joke. It was nice i guess, but i didn't taste raspberries at all, but they didn't lie about the sharpness at the end. WHOA! Needless to say i didn't care for the after too much. So now, I'm on a mission. A wine tasting mission i guess you could say.

When Kyle moved into his house in October 2007, he received a lot of different wines as house warming gifts. Most of them are Shiraz. One basket in particular has 3 different Shiraz in it made from the same company: Matties Perch. It's an Aussie wine with no date (jerks), how am i supposed to learn what i like if i don't have a date?! Anyway, When Kyle left for work tonight he told me there was left over chicken and rice and i could have it if i needed to eat. PERFECT! So i went to the closet where we store our plethora of liquor and looked at what wines i had. Some looked fancy and i didn't want to waste them in case i just wasn't liking the wine thing at all. I opted to open the basket with the 3 Shiraz bottles. No dates means probably cheap.

One is a Cabernet-Shiraz, they explain it to be served with lamb or beef.. OK I'm eating chicken so no go. The 2nd bottle is a White Shiraz, good with salads, cheeses and mildly spicy curried fish. OK No fish on my plate so let's move on. The 3rd bottle is a straight Shiraz, good with pastas and meat on the grill. Hmm.. well i do have rice which i could, in a long shot sort of way, call it a pasta.. Heck why not!?

I carefully pulled the cork out.. Sniffed it, just to make sure it smelled OK.. don't ask me i have no idea what I'm doing lol.. and poured it into a glass.. I sniffed the wine, swirled the glass and took a sip.. hmmm.. not too bad.. doesn't have the lingering kick at the end.. more smooth than the one from the day prior..

I sat down with my meal and my glass of Shiraz.. It's called RIPPER! pronounced RIPPA in Aussie lol. Go to their website i kid you not!
After my first bite i decided to follow with a sip.. wow my mouth was on fire! Kyle put hot peppers in the rice! HOLY TOLEDO! Though it tasted good i just wasn't ready for the punch! The wine enhanced that fire 10 fold too! so maybe not so good to pair this wine with a hot and spicy dish.. i should have gone with the white Shiraz instead! Hey, i didn't know!

After my meal i decided to go on-line and do some research on wines, Sho-nuff! I found an article that stated that spicy foods and my kind of wine don't mix because it enhances the heat! In essence i figured that out for my self.. See i AM BRIGHT, though others may not think so :p

Hear i sit, with my 1/3 empty bottle of Shiraz, freshly cut sharp cheddar (because those two do go well together), the scanner blaring (they are hunting burglars right now lol GET EM BOYS!), and the dog at my feet wondering to myself.. "Am i going to make it to see CRASH tonight?"
Its my lucky day!!! I can watch full episodes on their website! WOOHOOO!!!

Sorry to get off track, back to the wine.. So the Shiraz I'm drinking says it delivers fresh blackberry flavors with a touch of caramel.. I certainly taste the caramel at the end which is nice.. Makes it nice and smooth. However, i do not taste the blackberries. The website states i should smell plum and vanilla, which i do very faintly. The vanilla ends with a caramel note, I don't smell the plum at all. I'm thinking the aroma will take time to develop, as will the tastes. I guess they call that nose and pallet.. I feel stuck up and snobbish right now.. I think i want to move to Napa Valley and grow some grapes! lol