Did I just use "wine" as a verb? I believe I did.
For years I was intimidated by wine. I would walk into a package store wanting desperately for something good to jump off the shelf and scream "I'm the wine you want, I promise to WOW you and your dinner guests!" If the price was over $20, I figured I couldn't go wrong.
Wrong.
Oh, what I would have given back then to have the seemingly unlimited resources I have now at my fingertips. There are so many wine review sites with thousands of people rating bottles of wine from around the world. How could I possibly go wrong?
Well, wrong again. You see, what we like or dislike about particular bottles of wine is quite subjective. What I like may cause you to pucker, and what you like may cause my teeth to hurt. The only way to truly know what you like or dislike is to buy a bottle and drink it. Use reviews as a guideline, sure, but do you really want to rely on a bunch of wine know-it-alls who speak in terms you can't understand dictating what you should like or what you should pair with this food or that?
To help share my love of wine and my desire to learn more about it, I started a blog a few months ago called Serious Wining, a place where know-it-alls and wine snobs are not allowed to comment. I taste and post (mostly) about wines that are under $20, in an effort to demystify the wine-tasting process and help bring those affordable and accessible wines to light. I've been asked to share some of my findings on a regular basis on Patch! It's my hope that as you read here, you'll pick up some of the same wines and try them for yourself, and then be part of the conversation.
Wining is serious business, folks, because life is simply too short to drink bad wine. But we'll have to slog through some of it, I'm sure, in order to learn and appreciate the good stuff.
Let's get it started with some Serious Wining. Who's with me?
Thanks for posting this. I'm always looking for good wines. Over the past several years and probably a few thousand dollars I've come to realize its all about individual preference. Too many times I've bought an expensive bottle and been disappointed. Don't get me wrong I've had some great ones but I've had just as many good wines under $20. A cab I just came across and really like is Divining Rod http://m.thediviningrod.com/wines-cabernet-sauvignon.php. I think it's $17.
Kayleigh - ME, TOO! It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I realized CT had so many wineries, and they were so friendly and accessible! I'm hoping to hit the ones in the Stonington area later this week!
For the sweeter palate I recommend three whites. Night Owl and of course their Ice Wine along with Westwind; which is little less sweet. You won't get the elusive ten dollar bottle of perfect wine but with Westwind you will get an excellent bottle for just a little more with Night Owl around fifteen for a split. The Ice Wine is significantly more at around forty for a split but is a great value for what it is. Just to prove I'm not a hack for Bill I'll make another recommendation. Lol. SMV (Sunset Meadow Vineyards) in Goshen produces a semi-sweet white called Cayuga White which is priced in the mid to upper teens. SMV's tasting room also offers local artisan cheeses and chocolates. Either are a fun day trip for the wine enthusiast, regardless of their level of knowledge of crushed grapes.