Vino for Me, Sushi for You

This past weekend we had some new local experiences that were a lot of fun. So, I'm going to share them now. Lucky you! On Saturday at a local outdoor concert venue, a wine festival was being held. There was no admission fee, you just paid for your tastings ($2/taste, $6/glass). They were grouped in various tents by category: Old World, New World, Southern Hemisphere, Italian, French and Sparkling (sadly I never did find the sparkling tent). The weather was looking ominous but we headed out anyway, trying to embrace a spirit of trying new and exciting things.


Here are our first tastes. Each tent had reds and whites that fit the category. These were from the Southern Hemisphere tent. I had the Lindeman's Moscato from Australia. This was sweet and delicious. I know it's readily available at my wine shop too so I'll be sure to seek it out. John had this Mistero malbec from Argentina. It was dry and smooth. The only other malbec I had ever tried was digusting but it was also only $4.00 for the bottle. Never a good sign. This one was great. Would be delicious with a steak. So, the Southern Hemisphere was a hit for us! Not surprising. I really like Australian wines.

The next two were Old World (I think). I tried a Blufeld (There's an umlaut in there somewhere and I can't remember where) Riesling from Germany. It was sweet and tasty. John's Old World selection was not so good. Going out on a limb, he chose an Albarino by Monticello. It was dry and the flavor seemed to just stop in our mouths. Pass on that. We had never had Albarino before (more on that later).

Here is a view of the park during the deluge. We were seeking shelter under an awning. The skies had promised rain and they did not disappoint. Ponchos were available for $2.00 but we sucked it up and ran to the next tasting tent. No one looks good in a poncho. No one. And they just make you hot and sweaty. I will say, that as hot and sticky as it had been all day, the park was treed and breezy. Very pleasant. Anyway, this isn't a very good picture. My bad.


Because the rain didn't seem to be letting up, I just tried one more and we left. This was in the New World tent. I selected a Hatteras Red from Duplin Winery in North Carolina. This was very sweet made from the muscadine grape. It was similar to the local Concords that Ohio wineries are so fond of.

The rain still hadn't stopped by this time (we were there less than an hour) but nearby was a newish wine shop that I've been wanting to visit. It's called Rumbleseat Wine and it's super cute inside! They have several wines that you can taste each week. There are probably 6-7 tables for people to taste or enjoy a bottle and there's a patio for outdoor seating as well. I love a patio, but not in a downpour. We were telling the shop owner that the rain forced us in and what we had tasted at the festival. He felt badly that we were disappointed in the Albarino and gave us another to try that was much better than the first. I can't remember what it was! I didn't write it down like I did the others and by this point, I'd probably had the equivalent of 2 glasses of wine in a rather short period of time. I wasn't driving! Anyway, I tried a delicious Viognier whose name escapes me now and also a Lucky Star Pinot Noir that was really good. It was a winey kind of day!

In the evening, we went to a Thai restaurant with some friends. I had been there before but not in a few years and John had never been. It's so good! John even had his first sushi which he deemed tasty. It's a spicy tuna roll.


John was brave and ordered his stir fry at a spice level 4. I wisely chose a 0. He was paying for it Sunday. Lesson learned.

What a great weekend of new experiences, fun time with friends, and good food and wine!