All right, so we all know that wines come from places like Italy, Australia, France, California and South Africa. But did you know that wines come from other places too? For example, were you aware that Cyprus produces a very lovely white wine that's perfect for Turkish food? How about southeastern Massachusetts, did you know that there were vineyards there? Well in the interest of seeming more globally aware, this week for your reading and tasting pleasure I present wines from weird places.
1. Inniskillin 2002 Pinot Noir
This wine comes from the Niagara region of Ontario. Now, as I recall, I read an article that said that the Niagara region of Canada had growing conditions comparable to those in some part of France?where exactly I can't remember, but it was somewhere good. However, I doubt that any vineyard in France would bottle this wine. I found it very cool tasting and uninteresting, but that could have been the ridiculous amount of garlic in my dinner masking the flavor. My dinner partner agreed, saying that the wine was flat and bland. When I got home, I made my roommate taste the wine and her opinion was: "It's sort of like drinking sweetened paint thinner." We ended up pouring the rest of the bottle down the drain; it worked wonders on the clog. It's as effective as Drano and a third the price. $15 Canadian at Prince Edward Island liquor stores.
2. Boutari Retsina Wine
Retsina, from Greece, is a wine to which is added pine tree resin. According to my sources, this is a time-honored tradition since the days of Dionysus. Now you could, like me, go out, buy a bottle, and try to drink it. However, I say save the $6.50, go out to the famous Bowdoin Pines and lick the trunks of a couple trees. It'll taste exactly the same, but possibly less strange. At first, I thought that the wine tasted like dirt and grass, but it slowly developed into eau de pine tree. I didn't pour it out; I'm wondering if it will make my plants grow better. $6.13 at Tess's Market.
3. Vampire 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
Just in time for Halloween comes this product from the Transylvania area of Romania. Unsurprisingly, it's a beautiful blood purple red and the taste is very good. It has a thick earthy flavor that gets less intense over time. Although most of my tasters were more excited about the cool label than the wine at first, and were more interested in discussing prurient matters in bad eastern European accents, all my tasters enjoyed drinking Vampire; they found it to be easy to drink all by itself. If you're planning on having a Halloween party, I would recommend skipping the "Witch's Brew" and spending the money on some Vampire. I bought my wine in Canada for the bargain price of $11.45. However, if you can't find it locally, you can order it at their snazzy website, www.vampire.com, for $8.99 a bottle plus shipping.