Of the wines I tried, my favorite was the Ardales (ar-dah-lays) Noble Organic from Spain. A bit like a merlot, but even smoother, the Ardales is something that I could drink all evening chatting with friends around a fire. It’s light, not too dry/not too sweet, and went down easily. When I stuck my impressive proboscis into the glass, I immediately detected the aroma of a spring pasture. So clean! My favorite white was the Clean Slate Riesling from Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany. Truly a clean, clear taste and not as sweet as most Rieslings. Of course, I’ve always loved the wines from the Mosel region. It was Nettl’s favorite. Before we left, we went into Cork’s and bought a bottle of the Ardales. Only $12! Guess what I’ll be stocking up on this winter.
My only disappointment was that no Oklahoma wines were represented. Most people don’t know that this state has 34 vineyards, and more are sprouting up every year. We talked about taking a Saturday to “vineyard hop” with some friends next spring. When I still lived in California I loved going up to the Santa Ynez Valley for a day of winetasting. I used to have a large number of glasses that I’d collected on these grape safaris, but I guess my ex kept them. Time to start anew!
You know me, I’m no wine snob. Hell, Pete and Fran (Peter Vella and Franzia) always top my party A-List, but I do love winetasting. I love getting all of the senses working, and ultimately, my philosophy is this: If you like the taste it’s a good wine. If you don’t, it’s a bad wine. On this, John Cleese and I are in total agreement.
