Oct 03 2008
My First Great Red Wine
This is the 10th installment find the 1st one here
My wife and I were invited to a recently acquainted friend’s home near us on the beach. She is a well-to-do realtor and the evening promised to be fun and interesting. She offered us a glass of wine and in tandem, we responded, “A glass of white wine, please.” I soon learned that this person was way beyond opinionated and replied, “All white wine tastes like crap! I only drink cabernet – you’ll love it!” (Yeah right!) I watched as she took it out of the rack, popped the cork out and poured three glasses (balloons, of course) of warm red wine. This was going to be horrible but, remember, you’re a guest so shut up, sip it slowly and don’t pucker or comment.
I moved the glass cautiously to my lips, took a sip and WOW! This stuff is really good! I took another sip and could not keep silent any longer so I let out the reply, “This stuff is really good!” My wife looked at me and figured I’d slipped a cog, but I meant it. I saw that she too had liked what she had just tasted by the look on her face, but knew she wouldn’t say anything just yet.
I asked what it was and our host happily told me, “A 1999 ‘Honig’ cabernet sauvignon from Napa Valley, California.” She described the taste as “freakin’ butter” and said it had a smooth, pepper finish. You know what? She was exactly right! The feeling instantly came over me that this “red wine” was really good and it wasn’t served cold! I guess they are right and it should be served at this temperature!
We drank that bottle and then one more! That’s when I found out that it cost $40.00 a bottle. Great! Now I’ve found a red wine that I really like and I can’t afford to drink it! We left very satisfied but yet I wondered if there were other red wines out there that could compare in taste but not cost as much (half would be too much). I started my search that night and I have never quit – and I’m not going to, either!
Jim Albinger (Andrew’s dad) grew up in smalltown northwest Iowa in the 1950’s. He has been writing down his experiences looking back at all that has shaped his current wine tasting hobby. Expect to see more of Jim’s writings here at offthecork.com.
