A Toast to Me!

I was catching up on the various “tweets” on Twitter this morning and I came across one that mentioned “user-friendly” wines.  My first thought, was “hmmm, interesting”, so I went on to read the article posted by a very respected person in the “wine world”.  His post give readers a basic list of wines that would go with their meal.  Great!

But my question is why introduce yet another list for readers to remember?  Isn’t that adding stress to what should be an enjoyable part of the day?  I understand that wine can be intimidating — I get it — I was right there with you for a LONG time!  Let’s see, I’ve heard: “white with white meats, red with red meats”, pinot is girly”, “reds are for serious drinkers”, yada yada yada.  Yes, there are some rules that can be followed – but they’re not written in stone.

I want to share with you a basic rule that I’ve learned over the past couple of years that holds true EVERY time, for EVERY meal — ready?  People charge good money for information like this, and I’m about to give it to you for free, so pay attention ok?  Drink what you enjoy.  “What Claudia?  What is this gibberish? You mean I can drink a red wine with my fish?  Oh and I can drink white wine with my hamburger?”  “Yes my wine padawan, you can do WHATEVER you like when it comes to wine”.  If you like white wine, try it with your meal.  Who says you can’t?  Who says that you can’t experiment with the various tastes your palate is about to sense?   Then you can decide if you like it or not.  It’s as easy as that!

My Wine-Mentor reminds me that “wine is a journey of discover”.  I encourage you to embark on that journey.  Give it a try.  Make your own decisions.  And, at the end of the day — drink the wine that you enjoy.

Red, White, Wine red wine, Rules, White Wine, Wine, wine tasting

Originally written: June 3, 2008

Tonight was a perfect night! An evening under the stars, on the balcony with two hookahs and a bottle of Westerly’s 2006 Sauvingon Blanc — our homework! When you open the bottle, you are greeted with the pleasant smell of apricots, pineapple, melon. QM and I really didn’t think much about analyzing it, but rather simply enjoyed it over a discussion of relationships, futures and those odd creatures we refer to as MEN! We wondered why men couldn’t be more like this bottle — simple yet refreshing, enjoyable without any drama, yet able to stand on its own with powerful flavors, mint, cherry and watermelon in our hookahs.

A toast to the Wine Maker at Westerly for allowing us the opportunity to encapsulate this evening in a bottle!

Sauvignon Blanc, White, Wine Sauvignon Blanc, Westerly, White Wine