Never Met a Wine I Didn't Like...until now...

It was a Montepulciano Monday, with plenty of mysterious aromas and much, much mouthfeel...

Sipping, waiting...thinking. Thinking about the events of the day, the week, the year...time passes quickly, (strangely) unlike this glass of Montepulciano that sits before me. 

I am waiting now, just as this bottle has waited to be opened for days, weeks in this apartment - and a year or so since the juices hit the mold of the bottle. And tonight the cap has been unscrewed, the evening begun...

I think this is definitely a first in my wine daze: I have actually come across a wine that I am not so keen on - so "unkeen" (yes, that is a made-up word, just for tonight) in fact that I stuck a bottle from Trader Joe's white wine into the freezer in hopes of relieving my palette when this glass has finally gone down (I am not disclosing the origin of this wine in front of me, at least not yet.)  Yet, I am not so put off that I am going to discard it down the drain...

My mind is piqued to wonder: What happens when you discover that a wine which you yourself has recommended on several occasions turns out to be one you shouldn't have been recommending all along and won't do going forward - at least to those whose preferred tastes lean towards the smooth and supple fruitiness of a Burch Hall Pette Sirah or a mellow yet meaty del sorvo Chianti? 

Two Options:

A) Question your own (wine) discretion and knowledge of this drink (glass, bottle) at hand and shy away sheepishly into the corners of marked wine mishap

B) Use it as fodder and testament to the idea (philosophy) that goes "to each their own." In this case, the confidence of one's own with which they make recommendations...I think I will take option B.

Ah, yes...at last the smooth texture of a welcome switch to the light, white goodness. The heater is gearing up for the night next to me, making this a very appropriate night for this glass of white that awaits before me (until I potentially switch back to red to test its pasta-pairing power - the whole reason behind my ill-fated recommendation(s) in the first place.

Montepulciano: Mysterious aromas of wood, moss, mold, and toasty notes...

TJ's white blend (tres pinos): Honey notes yield to a sweet first sip - a clear distinction: This is indeed a Trader Joe's white.

But sometimes that is just what the moment calls for.

The (Dreaded?) Return from a long, wine dazed Break...

...Though for sure and indeed not a break from the wine daze...
The holidays of 2009 - spent in the frozen tundra which is my "other" home - the lovely, albeit frigid, home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Luckily (and certainly not coincidentally) there was no shortage of wine (and occasional spirits) to help warm (all) our parts and souls - and to soothe and comfort the passing of our very own "Reine du Vin" - la maitresse who can be held accountable for the beginning of not only my - but that of our whole family line's wine daze.

Grandmere, ceci est pour toi...

...Not a break from the sipping, savoring, and, well, altogether drinking, of wine, but rather a break from reporting on it and about it; A break from the madness of the city, the banality (and occasional madness) of the 9-5 work day, and from the trekking and schlepping that comes with living in NYC - and Astoria...but no break - not a day or a meal - without the soothing and familiar feel and taste of wine on the pallet.
And now, for something I rarely do: A listing of all that was savored (to the best of my memory, which is focused wholly on memories made with my amazing family and trusted friends; memories in different settings, ambiance, etc, etc...