Wine Tasting

Our big "bulk" warehouse store, called Metro was having a wine tasting party this afternoon. I have visited their wine section on a couple of occasions, taking in all the labels from around the world and hoping to see some of my own favorites from the States. Their selection continuously changes. I'll admit, I'm definitely not very familiar with wine on a global scale, so looking at all the unfamiliar labels (in different languages) can be pretty daunting. I was ecstatic to learn of this wine tasting event since I have been hedging on buying anything unfamiliar up to this point. I was looking forward to the opportunity to try several of the bottles on display.

I had invited my Australian friend since, she too, is very fond of wine. She had enthusiastically accepted, but unfortunately something came up and she had to decline earlier in the day. So, I ended up going myself...and Mr. Chen. :) And, nooooo, Mr. Chen didn't partake of the festivities as he IS our driver! haha The kids napped at home with ayi in the house.

Anyway, they had food and several bottles lined up along 3 different tables, white to red, including some champagnes, Chiantis and Shiraz. Because I was so curious as to what the rest of the world offered, I tried many of them. I found the whites to be either too placid or too sweet. The champagnes were just ok. The reds (mostly Cabs and just a couple of Merlots) had several tiers of flavor among them...some were ok and some were very, very dry. The Chianti offered bold beginnings, but all of them fizzled and left a bland aftertaste. I'm not normally a big fan of Shiraz. However, even I was able to recognize that their Australian Shiraz was pretty darn good. The last to try on the table were Shiraz-Cab combos. These, I liked the best. Shiraz, by nature, is a little more fruity. Cabernets are very dry reds. Separately, I don't generally care for either...usually choosing a good Merlot. However, the combo had a very pleasing taste, which seemed to offer the best of both the Cab and the Shiraz. I chose two bottles, both combos, both from southern Australia.

While Metro does offer a few bottles imported from the US, I find their US selection to be very limited. It's this way in every place I have looked so far. What I wouldn't give to find a bottle of Kendal Jackson Chardonnay or Beringer's Chenin Blanc...for this summer, at least. After having tried several bottles of wine from countries like France, Australia, Italy, etc., I can honestly say that my biased (to the US) and not-very-worldly palate were not very impressed. I suspect that this is because of ME...not the wine(s). With a stick-in-the-mud (or was it wood-in-mud? hee hee) kind of personality, I definitely like to stick with what I know! :)

While I'm here, I will continue to try the vast variety of imported vino that China has to offer. I know China also makes their own wine. However, they have several different types...rice wine, grape wine, etc. I look forward to trying many of them! :)