My nephew Steve is a professional sommelier. For special occasions, he sends us a bottle of wine. This Christmas was no exception and the wine is a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. On the gift card, he wrote that this wine is one of his favorites.
Meanwhile, here in Redondo, far, far from New Zealand, our friend and former neighbor, "D" came for what turned out to be a minor champagne tasting and app grazing. Knowing he is a wine aficionado (no, this is not polite-speak for "roaring drunk") I showed Steve's bottle to him and asked, "Have you ever heard of this winery?" knowing nothing about NZ wines and very little about Sauvignon Blanc either.
"Heard of it?" came the quick retort, "I've visited it!" My eyes flew open in shock and then I recovered, belatedly remembering "D" had been to NZ. He went on, "I OD-ed on the Sauvignon Blanc but came back on their Rieslings. They're drier, not as sweet as here or in Europe."
If that isn't proof that we do live in a small world, nothing would be.
Champagne Tasting
"D" brought a bottle of 2011 Laetitia Brut Champagne (Methode Champenoise because made in
Arroyo Grande Valley, CA) It was as crisp as a freshly-ironed linen sheet.
We countered with an Almond Creek sparkling wine someone had given us (and I hope to God it wasn't Steve or "D") which lived up to its label which read "almond-flavored." Perforce, it had a softer taste, due no doubt, to the almonds whose taste was definitely there.
Finding that we still had an ample supply of anecdotes to share, we turned to my old favorite, Amour de Paris which has a champagne front taste and a peach back taste. It can be legally labeled "champagne" as it is made in France (and quite possibly sent over to America by tanker ship.) ((Trader Joe $4.99))
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