Not Your Mother's Wine Tasting

Friday was clearly a success. A group of people got together to taste wine, and fun ensued. As you see below, I already mentioned the wines we were planning to taste. The two Chardonnays were both decent, and it seemed that people were split on the two. Both had gone through some Malolactic Fermentation, and the BV was smoother and less crisp in comparison to the Columbia Crest. The Pinots seemed to already be ranked for us, from worst to first. The MacMurray was flat and seemed watery. The Sebastiani was a step up. Much more fruit driven and pretty tasty. But the wine of the night appeared to be the Argyle. Asking around, most people chose it as their favorite. It was full flavored but nor overbearing, and hopefully a "gateway" wine into other Oregon Pinot for our guests. The crowd was much younger than before, which resulted in a more informal setting. I believe I described something that night as "F'ing Phenomenal," except I didn't abbreveiate the first word. After the five wines we plowed through some more bottles as a fire was lit outside in the fire pit. These included the Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, and the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2000 Signature Cuvee, which was simply divine. What began as innocent wine tasting turned into quite the late night party. And hopefully the neighbors didn't mind. We plan on having another tasting in the fall, but keep your eyes peeled for a mid to late summer get together just for kicks. We are off to Martha's Vineyard for the week tomorrow, but I'll be back posting about dinner at Ruth's Chris in Providence and any food and wine we consume on the vacation. Till next time..."You could dip your lobster in the wine."--comment on overly buttery Chardonnay