Introduction

I just finished an eight-week course that covered different wine regions of the world and popular varietals within each region. (Let's just say, there was a lot of information to take in and I still feel like I have so much more to learn.) Each class was divided into a lecture and then we tasted about 12 wines. Of course, I enjoyed tasting wines from all over the world, but I also learned that it's challenging to come up with creative tasting notes. Therefore, I am creating this blog to talk about wine in fun and familiar ways. Let's just say it's my approach to bring a little more life into the wine I am drinking.

So to get started, I thought it would be fun to see what I already have popped open. I am am pretty sure this wine is past it's life expectancy, since I got it from class a week ago, but why not? Let's see if there is any life left I can suck out this this 2006 Barbera:

My initial smell is dishwasher detergent. Note to self, it's a good idea to buff the glass first. Anyhoo, my second whiff after a few good swirls I get floral bouquet with a hint of light spice. I think it's giving off the floral nose because it has been in contact with to much oxygen. After tasting the wine, I can definitely tell it's been open for too long. It's a little watery and has a soft finish of over-riped huckleberrys. Unfortunately, I can't get much else out of this wine. Looking back at my notes from a week ago, I described this Barbera as "Posh Spice", spicy but the dry finish and notes of berries that made it kinda sexy and naughty. Also, I wrote that I wanted to pair it with the red pepper chicken curry from Pakwan. Obviously, this wine was much more fun and enjoyable the first time around.