Tasted as much today as I have all my life combined!

[txkajun]

Ok, I went to an all-wine shop today and tasted some wines. The shopkeeper had 4 bottles open, and I tried them all.

I sure wish I had more experience, especially when it comes to descriptions.

I had a Rodney Strong 2000 Sonoma County Chardonnay. It was ok, there was a sort of taste initially that wasn't great, but not totally bad. I called it "beerish" for the lack of a better description. (I do not like beer). It only lasted the second the wine hit the tongue.

I also tried Veramonte Alto de casablanca 2000 Cab. This I didn't like very much. There was a "bite" to it that I did not favor. But, on the other hand, the color was beautiful.

Then I tried Buehler Vineyards 1996 Zin. This, I did not like one bit. I thought the smell was harsh, although I don't know how to describe it. The taste was also harsh somehow, and I knew immediately that I was not going to try this again any time soon.

I also had a taste of Planeta La Segreta 1999 Rosso Sicilla. This I really liked. It's color was not as pretty as the Veramonte, but the wine was not at all harsh. It had a light taste to me. A couple, who was much more experienced than I, also tried it at the same time. They also mentioned the lightness, and the man said it had almost no tannins. I am learning here thanks to you good people that this has something to do with the harshness. I bought a bottle of this, and will absolutely return on future Saturdays for more sampling.

I brought my notes from here, and jotted down all the info on the bottles. What a fun time!

tk