Monday, January 23, 2012

Elude to Etude

  A few Saturday nights ago I had the immense pleasure of trying a wine that I would have never purchased.  I was invited to a dinner and as our party sat down and began perusing the menu, I was asked what many are asked around this time in the evening, "Red or white".  Recently, I have been drinking a lot of red, so I said red.  After much discussion at the table over which one, a decision was made.  This was a party of 16, knowing multiple bottles will be needed, they decided on a pinot noir,  Etude, Estate Grown Carnero, Napa Valley 08.
  Let me first say, my experience with most wine to date has been based on what I am willing to spend on a bottle.  What am I willing to spend?  $20 maybe $30 max.  Up until this evening, I had not found a bottle over $20 that I wanted to buy.  I have to admit, this was a great glass.  It had a beautiful color (not sure why I find myself noticing that, but I do find myself staring at a glass of wine and noticing the color) silky smooth, rich and very easy to drink.  The menu listed this bottle for $75, a helluva lot more then what I would pay for a bottle.  But it got me thinking... there are a lot of blogs out there dedicated to cheap or inexpensive wines and they all reiterate that price does not equal a great wine.  I wonder if I can find a pinot that I like as much as this one within my price range?  Not sure, but I am up for the challenge.

1 comment:

  1. I too am battling the Pinot Noir challenge ever since being exposed to them in wine class. My exposure came via the Oregon class. My 2 fav's are; LACHINI and COEHLO's Paciencia. Both absolutely fabulous, rich and almost port like in flavor. Unfortunatley they are priced in the $35-$45 range, retail. Not an eveyday wine for me or most I would say. I will be intrigued to find your findings and I will continue to try and find similar tasting wines at less than $20.00. Bring'em on!
    Ernest
    whineandcheersforwine.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete