Sunday, April 01, 2007

The Wines of April

On this lovely Sunday, we at the Naked Vine decided to take a time out from Wine School to do a tasting of some real kick back wines. These wines are readily available, and all of them are best served well-chilled. While chilling a wine to fridge temperature typically causes the fruit in a wine to become tightly wound, I find that cold really improves the flavor of these particular selections.

Lancers November 2006
RoséLancers, the rebirth of the long-popular Mateus rosé, evokes an urban vibe on the first sip. Lancers has a lovely nose of peaches soaked in isopropyl. The flavor, mellowed by the proper serving temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit, bursts on your tongue with the velvety touch of a bolt of fine Chinese silk wrapped around a newly purchased ballpeen hammer. The finish is a bit sharp. Lancers’ website recommends it be mixed with “lemonade concentrate” and be garnished with a mint leaf, probably for the antioxidants. $4-6.

Boone’s Farm January 2007 Strawberry Hill – The original “flavored citrus wine” takes me back to my days in high school, roaming the hills of Eastern Kentucky, hoping that there might be a beneficent 21 year old visiting one of my friends. The light nose of strawberries and hormones is followed by a fruity blend of flavors, all of which properly mask the fact that the drink actually contains alcohol. The finish is long and sweet, with faint notes of teenage rejection and regret. $5-7.

Manischewitz October 2006 Concord Grape – The concord grape, long overlooked by many, holds a special place in my heart. This was the first wine I tasted in my career. I learned that there are two kinds of families at Shabbos, Mogen David and Manischewitz families. My family was the latter. While Manichewitz has diversified its product line, adding a “smooth and light” line, as well as elderberry, blackberry, cherry, and loganberry versions, I consider myself a purist. Nothing says “L’Chaim” like good old fashioned Concord. If you only get one wine to cook with for Seder, this is the one. $5-6.

Until next time…April Fool’s, y’all.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Good choices.

I still have the Strawberry Hill t-shirt somewhere...

I myself, favored Uncle Tony's blackberry wine.

JettieSatellite, The_Wizard of Covington said...

What? No Nighttrain?

JettieSatellite, The_Wizard of Covington said...

http://www.bumwine.com/