Haley's Fellowship of the Wine

Hooray! This Saturday evening I had the chance to do a wine experiment with my friend Evan and my bf CJ (sorry if you're tired of hearing about these people, I have like 5 friends total). First, we had to pick out some aromatic wines. I let Evan take the lead on the red because I still haven't gotten used to it, and I set off for the white. I wasn't sure just how aromatic riesling was (since that's honestly what I wanted to go for) so I asked the staff and they told me they recommended a pinot grigio for something really smelly (sigh..... I had a bad time with pinot last time, but okay). They led me to a fairly inexpensive half bottle since I let them in on what the experiment was. Evan was directed to the zinfandels, and he went ahead and bought a whole bottle since he figured he'd finish it off. (Side note: I live in a sorority house, so I can't do ANY of these things at home, I have to go to friends' places and also store any leftovers there. That...

On Saturday, CJ and I went to Louie's for lunch because I'm still pescatarian and was craving their blackened shrimp tacos! While I was there, I decided to try some wine with my dinner :) I explained to the waitress the kind of wine I enjoyed and what food I was ordering, so she recommended something not TOO sweet, but light and white so I could enjoy my shrimp. She recommended the Flip Flop moscato. She said it was lightly sweet, and had a bubbly aspect to it. The glass costed about $4.50. It came out in a HUGE glass, so I decided to try sniffing it. I swirled it around and sniffed, and got quite a bit of clues! I could immediately smell the green apple and the peaches, and could tell it would be sweet. After I got to taste it, I could get the acidity of it, and it had a syrupy quality to it.  It had a hint of strawberry to me, and was also possibly oily (unless that's the same thing as syrupy). When my shrimp tacos came out, I tried them with my drink. It defin...

On Friday after OU's Rah Rally for homecoming, I traveled to my boyfriend's apartment again. He had already gone to the store to purchase some wine to try with me! He picked out Wildhorse Canyon pinot grigio, something the workers recommended he try an Oklahoma wine! Apparently the whites are better, so he had to choose between riesling and pinot grigio. As much as I enjoy rieslings, he does not like sweet wines so he compromised with the pinot. At first glance, the wine was nearly orange. It had a nice golden hue! It is a 2016 pinot grigio from Luthor, Oklahoma! It was about $14. Was very excited to try a home state wine. The excitement did not last long, however. The taste was alright, but it had a sharpie twang to it. I could taste a lot of orange, and some apple and pear. It was definitely acidic, but I could especially taste the alcohol in it and I'm not sure why. It was definitely sharp, but it wasn't pleasant like the stomach acid taste I l...

I hope y'all are ready for a good time. (Pictured: Mowgli. Feline on table. 2018.) Just yesterday I recruited my OG group of friends to a wine dinner!!!!! We all voted pasta because that's simple and pasta and wine are like Sonic and Tails, they just go together. (CJ and Liz have an intense discussion about W-4s and other things adults with jobs talk about) First, we met up at Evan and Liz's apartment, gathered into one vehicle, and set off to the liquor store. My sister was sent into Walgreen's and Sprouts to get dinner items, as she is just a baby freshman. And before you accuse me of enabling an underage individual, I got her plenty of Dr. Pepper to drink during dinner! ANYWAYS. I headed straight for the rieslings (leave me alone), CJ picked out a cabernet, and then Evan got a rosé just for fun. Did we go in completely blind? You betcha. Part of the fun is being terrified of what you're about to taste. I picked a 2017 Barefoot riesling, refreshingl...

My boyfriend sent me a picture of sweet riesling and Flamin' Hot Cheetos on his counter and was surprised that I told him I was coming over immediately. This past week was a long-ass week and ya girl was ready for some more wine and her favorite junk food. I had leftover Chinese from Happy Garden so I shoved that into my steamer mug and headed his way. He got me Pacific Rim sweet riesling, a 2017 wine from Columbia Valley. I know you're already sick of hearing me talk about rieslings but I've fallen in love and you can't take that away from me. He told me it was about $10 (not bad for a bottle that I practically CHUGGED). ((Spoiler alert: I REALLY LIKED IT)). It smelled and tasted like green apples (tart and crisp, yummmm), pineapple, grapes, golden delicious apples, and a little bit of grass. It was acidic, somewhat sour, and had a warmth to it. I made myself a glass to take with me to the bathtub so I could feel like a fancy rich woman. (Photo very much c...

This past week, one of my roommates had her 21st birthday!!! Of course I used this as an excuse to drink on a weeknight (as if I needed one). We met up at The Mont where we bought her a bunch of inappropriately named shots and ate a lot of chips and queso. I immediately looked to the drink menu to see what my options were. I saw the word "riesling" and stopped my search immediately. When my glass came, I got a lot of crap from my friends ("this is a party, Haley, not a concert reception") but once I told them it was for a class they all shifted from haughty to extremely jealous. It's not my fault they're terrible at searching for interesting courses. This brand of riesling comes from Germany, specifically Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. The glass costed about $6, but a bottle normally goes for about $11 from what I've found. Again, I couldn't figure out a year, but from I can tell this particular brand is a bulk wine. I also found out from one of the film...

On Thursday, I was invited over for a movie night by the girls I roomed with in Austria, as we have remained very close friends after that trip. They were having a big group over to drink and watch Army of Darkness (spoiler alert: I didn't pay a lick of attention to the movie). When I arrived, there were a whole bunch of Mike's Hards and quite a bit of tequila, but what interested me was a large bottle of red wine sitting on the bar. This was the perfect chance to add to my tastings! The wine was a 2016 Apothic Crush red blend from California. Miranda, one of my Austria roomies and the one who purchased the alcohol, said it was about $10. It had a strong sweet/spicy smell to it that seemed to me like cinnamon. When I tasted it, it was fairly tannic and dry, and had floral hints to it that I really don't know how to place (I'm not sure what certain flowers smell like). I know I've said this before but I really don't like red wines, as I can never get past the a...

On Tuesday, I went to visit my boyfriend and at around 11pm I turned to him and said "I'm actually in the mood for some wine." After the shock of hearing me state this, he said he'd be up for a spontaneous trip to Crest (hooray for the new liquor laws!) to get some even though he had to be at work at 8 the next day. I didn't have class until 1:30 so I didn't care. So off we went to Crest to pick out something. I've learned that I really like acidic white wines with any amount of sweetness. From the lectures and notes, it sounded like Rieslings would be right up my alley, so I went in search of one. On the shelf, there were evidently supposed to be two Rieslings, the one I picked out and one called Relax Riesling, but they were out of the Relax. Evidently I picked up the other one! After acquiring the beverage, we headed home and I immediately opened the bottle. It had already been chilled, so it was ready to go! The wine was a 2016 Chateau Ste Michell...