Ringing out the old...

It's cold and rainy here in the northeast United States, but we're still going to try to go out a bit this evening to ring in the new year.  But first I wanted to wish everyone who glances at this blog now and then a healthy and prosperous 2019.

And please continue to stop by.  Despite the lack of reader comments this blog usually experiences, the "intelligence" provided to me by Google's Blogger program indicates that more than a small handful of people check out Kindle Taproom now and again.  If you're one of them, thanks!  This thing wouldn't be any fun without actual readers.

During January, I hope to step up the number of book, audiobook, and film opinions that I share with you, and maybe I'll do another post or two about wine, too.  We'll see how that New Year's resolution works out, as a predisposition to procrastination is a hard thing to overcome.

But for now, Happy New Year, everyone!

Time for some wine

It's been a while since I've paid much attention to the Taproom part of Kindle Taproom, meaning it's been a while since I've written about beer, wine, and spirits.  As we approach the end of another year, let me try to correct that oversight a bit.

Pictured are two terrific white wines I recently discovered.  On the left is a bottle of Kepe Chardonnay, from Spain. Fruity, but with a definite tart and bite, this crisp Chard actually walks right up to doing a skilled impression of a decent Pinot Grigio, but after a few sips it's clear that this Spanish export is indeed a Chardonnay, and a good one. Not all good Chards need to be buttery or oaky.

On the right is Bertoli's broadly-labeled Bianco Italia, a white blend from, yes, Italy.  I usually don't expect much from a wine with the general designation Bianco, certainly not much complexity.  Just give me something clean and refreshing and I'm happy with these usually simple white table wines.  But this particular Bianco had a little surprise: a nice smokiness that makes the mouth water in anticipation of each sip.  Yet it's still clean and refreshing.

I discovered these wines upon purchasing a case of twelve random white wines from a bar acquaintance who recently bought more than he needed from an online wine site, and wanted to move along a case or two to others.  I paid $90.00 for a case of twelve, which averages out to $7.50 a bottle.  So I'm guessing it's safe to say that, even without a full-case discount, these two wines can be found individually for less than $10.00 per bottle.  Both wines are definitely worth paying eight to ten bucks for, and even a little more.

Stay tuned. As I work my way through my case of wine, I'll try to report back on any other pleasant discoveries.