I've always been intimidated by the shelves of wine surrounding the coolers though. My only wine experiences to date had been grocery store variety. Barefoot, of course, and others. Not that there is anything wrong with grocery store varieties in the slightest. However, when you walk around a wine shop and you literally see nothing at all that you recognize, it can be a bit disconcerting. So Saturday while perusing the beers, I asked Allen, my favorite gay guy (who runs the shop in the evenings) if he could recommend a great starting wine for an amateur like myself. He recommended what he calls his favorite "bridge wine." (Bridging someone from a sweet to a dry.)
It's a 65% Syrah blend from South Africa called The Wolftrap. He poured some into a plastic cup and let me try it. The smell was quite excellent, so I was already excited before it even hit my tongue.
However, I was very shocked at the first taste. It's so earthy and spicy! Not at all what I am used to. I swallowed it down and let the after taste wash over me. That is when the sweetness finally came. Not sweet like moscato but delicate and barely there. It stayed with me too, reassuring me and urging me to try another taste and give it one more shot.
As I sat there and contemplated it, I had to smile. The difference between the first swallow and the after effects were intriguing. I told Allen that it was like my tongue had been attacked but that the lingering flavors were comforting. In my head though, I thought it was like my tongue was raped and then cuddled afterwards. I was so intrigued by this wine, that I took it home with me. The more I drank it (not all at once, just over the weekend) the more I enjoyed it. I really wished that I had a steak to go along with it.
I'd like to be able to offer some sophisticated tasting notes, but I'm just not there yet. For now the best I can do is earthy, spicy, very aromatic in a musky sort of way, deep and semi-complex. If you're a fan of spicy reds, I definitely recommend it!
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