Wine Update

George recently complained that there was too much about wine in this blog. On the one hand, it's my blog, and I can write about whatever I want. On the other hand, it's nice to know someone is actually reading this thing, so I want to respond to reader feedback.

As a compromise, here's an summary of the last three wines we've tried.

2002 Torre Spina Valpolicella

I'm beginning to divide wine into various categories of quality. I think there's certain wineries that produce decent quality wine, nothing spectacular, but are easy to find, easy on the wallet and easy to drink. Torre Spina, I believe, is an Italian incarnation of this trend. The Valpolicella was nice enough, and I'd be willing to try other instances of this grape variety, but the Torre Spina was nothing special...I probably wouldn't get that particular one again.

2002 Chateau Ste Michelle Semillon

I got this wine because we had enjoyed the 1999 Columbia Crest Semillon. Christina didn't like it as much as the Columbia Crest; I thought it was OK. I find it hard to find a drinkable white; I'd put it in this category.

2002 Hardys Shiraz

I think Hardys falls into the category I mentioned earlier of high-quantity, low-cost wines that still are several steps above the Franzias of the world. We had this wine tonight with some steak and really enjoyed it. It was uncomplicated, but very fruity and very tasty. I'd definitely get this one again, but I might also look for some fancier Shirazes. (Is that the correct plural?)