The Little Wine Bus on the Hudson River

"Is this the Little Wine Bus?"

"Yes, but I am not done decorating. We will be boarding in a few minutes."

And so we were introduced to our weekend adventure. Looking for something fun to do with our Memorial Day weekend, we stumbled across The Little Wine Bus. We've had mixed luck with wine buses in the past, but we hoped that the promise of "little" tour would help ensure a good time. So we dragged ourselves to Times Square early on a Saturday morning to try to find our bus among the long line of tour buses coming and going. We got there a few minutes early. After disturbing our tour guide Tania, as she was putting up last minute decorations, we waited off to the side, watching the crowds wander by, and our fellow tour-mates slowly gather. It was a fun mix; a bachelor-ette party, several groups of friends, a handful of couples, and even some families entertaining out of town visitors. Tania directed us to our seats, ensuring that the large groups got a seat together, and then we settled in for the not-so-long ride through the strip malls of New Jersey to the rolling hills of the Catskills, and the wineries of the Hudson Valley.

Pinot Noir Tasting, the Results

On Monday we told you about our test, to see how well we could compare three different Pinot Noir wines. Now to see how we did!

Nate's reveal. Uh oh!

Quick Review: Mark West Pinot Noir

CA, Napa, California, Mark West, Pinot Noir, 2009

+ // Fruity // Dried Cherry // Dark Cherry, Stone, Spice // Light Bodied

Did You Know?... Pinot Noir of the Finger Lakes

We are strong proponents of Finger Lakes wines. Every chance we get, we order whatever is on offer from there. Despite that, we have very seldom had Pinot Noir that comes from New York. According to our tour guide at Brooklyn Winery, Pinot Noir is a difficult grape to grow and requires the focus of a grape grower's effort to make sure it grows correctly. As the current demand for Pinot Noir far exceeds the supply, it is worthwhile for growers to make the effort. If the terrior of the Finger Lakes is allowed to show through in the wine, it will never be mistaken for Oregon Pinot Noir. The Finger Lakes region has a similar climate to the areas renowned for the wine, so the quality could be comparable. Keep an eye out, because you may be able to get some excellent wine at a good price as New York wine makers learn to work with the grape.

Quick Review: Bloomer Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir

NY, Finger Lakes, Bloomer Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2007

+ // Fruity // Cherry, Petrol // Cherry, Smoke, Plum // Light

Do We Know What We Are Talking About?

Although we spend a lot of time learning about wine, and talking about what we learn, we seldom actually test our new-found knowledge. So we recently decided to put ourselves (and our taste buds) to the test.

Which wine is it? A blind taste test.

How-To: Pair Wine and Fried Chicken

Like many quintessential American foods, wine with Fried Chicken isn't most people's first thought. But a well crafted leg of fried chicken presents a challenging opportunity to find the perfect wine to complement it.

Most chicken dishes tend to be light. Chicken by itself is a simple flavor, augmented in a wide variety of ways with spices and sauces. The common recommendation is a lighter white wine, to avoid overpowering a simple chicken dish. With a richer sauce, some lighter red wines wine work well.

Fried chicken adds a different sort of flavor to the dish. With the oil used to fry the chicken, it always ends up greasy and rich, and the best fried chicken adds a funky flavor from the history of past chicken fried in the same grease. A heavier white wine, with a crisp edge to cut through the grease, and a funk of its own to stand up to the flavor is what we would recommend, like a Sauvignon Blanc, or a Rose of Montepulciano (Montepulciano seems to us to be a "funky" grape). Other good options might include a rich, oaky Chardonnay, to add some smokiness and add butter to complement the chicken's fattiness, or even a light red Syrah to play with the chicken's spiciness.


As you can see, there are a lot of options and choices, even with everyday food.