a tale of two wines

1. a cautionary tale: hoodwinked by a wine shop employee

she told me it was fabulous. she told me it was actually periwinkle colored. she is a liar and i am gullible.

this blend of garnacha, syrah, and tempranillo was so bad i had to pour it down the sink, and i am not one to waste wine. i actually made a puckered, sour face at my first sip. apparently i am a slow learner and kept going back in for more until i just gave up. i was clinging to the hope i would magically enjoy sip number ten more than sip number one. alas, no. down the sink it went.

it is clearly the color of grape jelly, not periwinkle.

2. a tale of unexpected pleasure

it was cold, miserable, rainy day when we visited st. julian winery in michigan. (fyi: st. julian is the patron saint of hotel keepers, boatmen, and travelers) we tasted several of their wines; the whites were crisp and fruity, the reds bland and one-dimensional. all are made with locally grown grapes. i was intrigued by a cherry wine. i love cherries, but i have also come to realize cherry alcohols often cross the line to cough syrup. happily, this was not the case with st. julian's, made from montmorency and meteor tart cherries grown in michigan. it tasted like cherries, real cherries, nice and tart. simply spectacular. i think i would like to pair it with some sinfully dark chocolate.