Retail Therapy?

posted by Annie in Wine

I used to think I’d never meet a bottle of wine I didn’t like. Because, after all, whats not to like? Sure, not all wines are created equal, but they all have their charms. Or at least thats what you’d think…

After a long day of work on a cloudy fall day, nothing sounds better to me than picking up some wine on the way home and sipping a glass, feet up, while watching Hollywood gossip shows. This past week, midway through the daily Britney Spears update, I took a sip of possibly the most vile glass of uncorked wine I’ve ever tasted. The bottle looked nice, and I was pretty confident that I couldn’t go wrong with a decent quality Hunter Valley Chardonnay. It had none of the nutty and fruity bold flavors I was expecting. Instead, it had a bland wilted-herb nose with a bitter aftertaste. I was instantly disappointed. Aside from the fact that I had missed Britney’s latest shenanigans during my unfortunate sip, I had wasted a perfectly good $9 on this monstrosity of a chardonnay. What now?

My normal reaction, “exchange it for something better,” only works when talking about tank tops and sweatshirts. I needed a Plan B. I could always drink a good wine first, and then once sufficiently “happy,” slip myself a glass of *this*. I could pawn it off on a houseguest - but then they might think I have bad wine taste and never trust me again. I could pour it down the drain, but I would feel guilty for throwing out someone’s hard work and also that $9. The only thought that came to mind was cooking with it. I decided there would be a lot of pan sauce and tossed pastas in my immediate future. Turns out, I created a rather tasty chicken with a mushroom wine sauce that evening.

Now that I saved the day with my frying pan(and caught up with Britney Spears on the internet), I felt much better. But what happens next time I make a poor decision? Will I sentence myself to wine sauce for the rest of my life? What do you do? And also, why does Britney Spears like to make faces at the paparazzi so much?

Thanksgiving + Wine = Good

posted by Annie in Snooth, Wine

Ah, Thanksgiving - another day of socially acceptable gluttony has ended. I must admit, I look forward to the stuffing and cranberry sauce for most of the year. This time around, however, the wine was a force to be reckoned with.

Since I’m the resident wino in my family, I usually have the pleasure of choosing the wines we pair with our meals. After researching and thinking carefully about each dish, I picked out a grouping of wines I thought would be appreciated - a dry rose from the south of France, a Sardinian red, a Chinon, plus a few more.

The holiday was barely underway, (well, we were already halfway through the vegetable platter and the football games) when someone asked me an interesting wine question that I was not prepared to answer. “Annie, what wine can you recommend that goes well with taco dip, cheese and crackers, *and* spinach dip??” I giggled slightly, although purely out of nervousness. Truth is, I had no idea what goes well with all those things. Choosing a pairing for taco dip hadn’t been on my mind pre-holiday. But, how do we really know what will pair well with our Thanksgiving meals? So much of Thanksgiving is enjoying a spread of many different flavors across many dishes. (and in my family when I say many, I mean many) Is it really possible to choose a wine that can blend nicely with butternut squash soup, tangy cranberry relish, and turkey dressed in buttery gravy?

I decided that you can’t - well maybe you shouldn’t. The rose went nicely with the famed taco dip, an Australian red brought out the saltiness in the spinach dip, and the Chinon matched my buttery gravy perfectly. Every wine found a great pairing in the meal, which to me, made everything work. In the end, the wines enhanced my enjoyment of all my favorite Thanksgiving dishes, as well as allowing me to sample many different wines and pairings all under the guise of one meal. One wine with 27 dishes would have been boring.

Anyway, thank God for leftover stuffing - and leftover wine.

Snooth for Wine Students

posted by Annie in Snooth, Wine

Hello all. I’m Annie, the newest member of the Snooth team. I’ll be managing Sales and Marketing. It’s nice to meet you!

I am currently finishing up the Advanced WSET Certificate course at the International Wine Center here in New York City. My favorite thing about the class has been tasting the wide variety of wines. I’ve also enjoyed the history and viticulture classes.

I recently started to fret when I realized my last three months of tasting notes were a little on the disorganized side – some may have even fallen out of bags or become victims of thieving gnomes. Luckily, the internet has swooped in and taken control of my unfortunate tasting note situation! Now I am able to digitally organize my thoughts, ratings, and opinions by entering them into our growing database.

Having all the info in one place has helped me get a better sense of my wine palate. My pile of folded and crumpled pieces of paper made it hard to sort by varietals or regions. So now when I come home from class, I enter my notes into Snooth. That way I can find out what others think of my wines and even buy the ones I like. Snooth is like my electronic teacher’s assistant.

So, if you’re taking wine classes and are afraid of losing your tasting notes, I recommend opening a Snooth account. Not only will you save trees, but you’ll also learn about your wine taste. Before I fleshed out my Snooth profile, I’d have never guessed I preferred full bodied red wine. What will your Snooth profile reveal about you?