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Call me a wino
Apr. 6th, 2008 03:07 pmI just returned from the Midwest Wine Expo, a large tasting in Oak Brook sponsored by Binny's Beverage Depot. They had over a hundred tables, all with at least five different wines to taste, plus food from various restaurants. It was a nice time, and I've ordered my usual six-month supply of wine from them.
I'm not a vintage / appellation snob - I drink what I like. I do like sweet and semi-sweet wines, especially with summer grilled food. At this event, I found out about Fox Valley Winery, a local wine-making and grape-raising operation here in the Chicago area (Oswego). Now, even in Southern Illinois, the winters are too hard for your typical grapes, like Cabernets, so the winery grows various hybrids. Having said that, they make a selection of wines from sweet to dry, including a white Cin (White Zinfandel clone) and a very nice red blended wine which is a Cabernet clone. About the only "name" type of grape that will grow this far north is Riesling, so of course he's got that. I ordered several bottles from his selection.
One of the things I like about the wine expo is that I get to try various wines I wouldn't otherwise. So, at this outing I got to sample Amontillado, which is a sweet wine similar to port. At $25/bottle, I'm not buying it, but I could see why somebody would go into a cellar to sample a cask. The lady manning the table smiled gamely when I mentioned that, but I wonder how many times she's heard that line.
I'm not a vintage / appellation snob - I drink what I like. I do like sweet and semi-sweet wines, especially with summer grilled food. At this event, I found out about Fox Valley Winery, a local wine-making and grape-raising operation here in the Chicago area (Oswego). Now, even in Southern Illinois, the winters are too hard for your typical grapes, like Cabernets, so the winery grows various hybrids. Having said that, they make a selection of wines from sweet to dry, including a white Cin (White Zinfandel clone) and a very nice red blended wine which is a Cabernet clone. About the only "name" type of grape that will grow this far north is Riesling, so of course he's got that. I ordered several bottles from his selection.
One of the things I like about the wine expo is that I get to try various wines I wouldn't otherwise. So, at this outing I got to sample Amontillado, which is a sweet wine similar to port. At $25/bottle, I'm not buying it, but I could see why somebody would go into a cellar to sample a cask. The lady manning the table smiled gamely when I mentioned that, but I wonder how many times she's heard that line.