I have been trying to do some wine tasting recently. For the welcoming of the SO, I bought:

2001 Clos de tournons Macon Charnay (France).

An acquaintance suggested that if I want to drink wine alone, I should probably obtain more expensive wine in the $20 range. But since I am beginning my road to the sultanate, I have been starting on the $10 range.

I finally tried to use the wine bottle opener that I bought last time. This time, I did it correctly. It turns out the darned thing is hinged. Well with hinged bottle openers, you gotta make sure that the metal is against the lip so that you can get leverage. Suffice it to say that after five minutes of looking at the mechanics, I finally figured the darned thing out. Whew! It is worth the $6 price once you figure out what you have.

At any rate, the French wine was a disappointment. It was too bitter for me. I had to start eating some bread and cheese in order for the taste to be bearable. Of course, I had to sample it several times. The SO and I finished about half of it. Meanwhile, I did a comparison with some of the St. Marie wine from Easter. Boy, that one is ready to be used for cooking at home. Maybe in a white sauce or something.

The only saving grace of the wine experience was the Holland aged Gouda and the Aged Monterey Jack which were both nutty and very yummy! I wish I had some of the pears that I left at home. Then, I could have been civilized like heck and eaten fruits with cheese and wine. Next thing you know, HermitQueen will be invitig herself to my cave for my little soirees into the wine dreamland.