Last week I went to a wine tasting at WineStyles in Lakeview. Limey Dave won the tasting at a charity raffle and invited me to go. It just so happens that this is Limey’s regular go-to wine shop and that he’s good friends with Matt, who is a wine specialist there. One thing I really liked about the WineStyles store was that they split up the wines by different styles – crisp, silky, rich, bubbly, fruity, mellow, bold, nectar – that I can actually understand. I tended to like the crisp and mellow styles the best.
Matt chose the wines for us and poured. We tried each one and then at the end we had seconds on the ones we liked. They also had cheese and crackers for us, which was good because I hadn’t eaten for like 7 hours and when I did, it was just a salad. I didn’t think our pours were large, but I was feeling the wine quickly!
WineStyles was also running a special on their wine club. You had to sign up for 3 months, but the first month would only cost $1. It was a great deal, but the store is not that convenient for me, so I didn’t sign up. Check out the notes Matt printed on our tasting sheet. Sorry Dave. And Go Heat! Matt is a huge Miami Heat fan, which we found out later when we went to Beckett’s to watch the game and eat dinner. Bulls lost, but Jill and I were big winners with the delicious burger we ordered and split. Get this, the Oui Oui burger was a french onion soup infused patty topped with truffled mushrooms, cognac onions and melted brie and served on a French baguette. So good. I really liked that place, too: Beckett’s. I hadn’t been there since it had been the bar called Belly’s, which I didn’t really like.
Also, I may not have joined the wine club, but I did buy two of my favorite wines from the tasting:
Skouras Chardonnay – Greece. Tasting Notes: Crisp. Only a touch of oak in this lean, refreshing Chardonnay. The pineapple, peach and vanilla scents are bright. Tropical and orchard fruit flavors, but crisp with the acid to focus the flavors.
Maryhill Winery Winemaker’s Red – Columbia Valley, Washington. Tasting Notes: Mellow. An easy-drinking wine with complex notes that make this wine a favorite! The caramel, cherry and smoke aromas lead into a palate of black pepper and nutmeg, followed by cherries, berries, and oak.
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