East Hill Bottle Shop, 11 January

It is rare to even kind of like all the wines at a tasting. I often finish wine tastings not liking anything that I tasted, but I still try everything. You never know if the wine that you know you will not like actual tastes good. I see that A LOT! “Oh, I don’t drink Chardonnay.” “Why” I ask. “They are too buttery and oaky.” Or “I don’t drink reds.” Those two are very common. Well, there are 1000+ Chardonnays and like a million red wines. And many are not oaky or buttery, and red wine probably does not give you that headache. So I always recommend trying all of the wines.That was an easy recommendation at tonight’s tasting. Almost everyone liked almost everything. Our two Crowd Favorites were Garganega Frizzante (fizzy/sparkling) from Soave Italy, and Route Stock Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 from Napa Valley California. Garganega is the top white grape varietal in this area of Northern Italy. It is a sparkling wine that is “just” under sparkling. The bubbles are more of a strong fizz. The result is a playful wine with hints of pear and apple that has almost a creamy mouth feel while simultaneously being very light. Pretty cool. RouteStock is what I call a Cab Cab. It’s a Cabernet Sauvignon for Cabernet Sauvignon lovers. It has the quintessential deep aroma of black plum and umami with a taste of red cherry and dark chocolate. Yeah, it was good. Hope to see you at the next tasting.