Funny Wine Tasting Notes

I love wine. I am pretty sure that I have written here on this blog at some point that I’m quite likely going to be the guy at the A.A. meeting in the future that stands up and says, “My name is Mike and I’m an alcoholic. But I’m just not going to be able to give up the red wine. Sorry.”

Although I’m a huge wine fan, some of the wine snobbery makes me laugh. Part of the reason it amuses me is pure jealousy – I don’t have that great of a palette or nose. As much as I love wine (and this goes for food also), I really wish that I had a more developed sense of taste and smell, so that I could both appreciate and describe what I like even more than I do now.

Tasting notes at wineries or restaurants can occasionally be a good source of fodder. Here are a couple of my favorites from the Martinsbourgh region in New Zealand: one from a winery and one from a wine bar/restaurant.

River’s Edge, Margrain, 2007 vintage
Deeply scented black cherries fuse with toasted marshmellow, sweet custard pie and cinnamon sticks. Well seasoned oak supports the floral scent of musky black roses and a savory thorny understory like a briar growing through straw mulch after a recent rain.

Well that pretty much sums it up, I guess.

Vynfields, Reserve Pinot Noir, 2007 Vintage
Earthly wooded forest floor, Autumn leaves and dark brooding fruit. The palate is elegantly structured with finely grained tannins. Try with our French terrines.

Yep, brooding. I wish it would have been in a better mood when I tasted it. Perhaps I would have liked it better.