Wine Whine #1

Wine Whine # 1

Every few weeks I am made to feel really good when I get an e-mail from Rita Murray asking me what to order from the current Opimian Offering. Not having heard from Rita since the Offering 184 arrived I suspect that Rita somehow intuited that I know nothing about wines from South Africa or New Zealand and that I am growing progressively disenchanted with wines from Australia.

However, having made two really, really bad choices in ordering wines the last two nights I need to bolster my own ego somehow, so I am, if not exactly putting pen to paper, indulging myself at the keyboard.

My recommendation this month will be very, very brief. Since I never met a South African wine that I really liked, I am not going to try and educate myself by ordering by the case. If you do, you are on your own.

New Zealand is not a hot country, and as such its reds tend to be astringent. If you decide to order any of the relatively expensive white from this offering, save a glass for me.

My problem with wines from Australia is that they seem to be rising in price (perhaps because the Australian dollar shot up at the same time the Canadian dollar briefly hit parity with the U.S.). On the other hand I have had some very good luck with Australian grenache and, of course, Australians are know for their shiraz. Thus, I am going to recommend a wine I have never tried, but one that sound like fun (# 4694 Fat ‘n Skinny, “Picker’s Choice”). If you have a coupon the 4721 Milyaroo Merlot is probably a good bet for quaffing wine ($ 4726 at $ 14. if you don’t have a coupon).

Of yes, here are my sad stories about ordering bad wine in good restaurants. I have been on the road recently, doing my annual university site visits on behalf of my employer (FBS-CAUBO). As I had four meetings on Monday (one in Moncton and three in Fredericton ) Betty and I drove to Moncton on Sunday night. Betty decided to blow the entire trip’s expense allotment with a meal at Little Louis’ Oyster Bar (certainly the best restaurant in Moncton, but only the second most expensive). When my mental calculator added the cost of the foie gras layered withy smoked artic char first course and the veal and lobster main event I foolishly tried to keep my credit card from melting by down-ordering the wine. Once the waiter got over the shock of my ordering the cheapest wine on the menu (an 05 Carmemere) he held out the bottle (under the light of one small candle) for me to inspect. Later I took off my glasses and saw that she had brought an ’07.

The food was fabulous and I am surprised that the lobster didn’t jump off my plate and attack me as the subtle sauces were blended in my stomach with the thin and very sharp liquid. While Betty restrained herself from any really nasty comments, she communicated nonetheless that I had failed Wine Ordering 101.

Yesterday, after a meeting at the University we drove to Fredericton, where Betty shopped while I had my three meetings. We then drove back to Monkton just in time for our 8:00 p.m. reservations at Pastille’s (a very affordable little Italian place that we have visited often). This time I ordered an old standee-by Spanish wine. However, the waitress brought a different wine and asked if that would be o.k. Recognizing that the wine was more expensive than what I had ordered I stupidly commented that that would be fine providing the price was the same. I spent no time sampling the wine but had lots of time to try and get down a very musty bottle that they must have been trying to get ride of for a number of years. After some exaggerated facial expression Betty noted that the wine got gradually better after ingesting a lot of garlic.