The Deets

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gary this disappointed with 3 wines before (jump to 10:15 for the highlights):

Find episodes where Gary has a better experience at Wine Library TV.

StarTribune wine blogger, Bill Ward, spills the beans on the coolness of the Riverview Wine Bar (and Spill the Wine on Washington Ave downtown) in his column today.

Pair of wine bars deftly nail a fine-fitting vibe

RIVERVIEW WINE BAR AND CAFE

The wines: The broadest, most eclectic by-the-glass list in town, offering up to a dozen cleverly matched four-wine flights and 73 wines by the glass. The pours are generous, but those who like to swirl their wine are out of luck with the squat glasses. On Wednesdays and Sundays, customers can create their own flights, perhaps the most alluring wine deal in town.

The grub: In keeping with an eatery across the street from the Mother Earth Gardens store, the menu is veggie-heavy and ensconced in the fresh-local-seasonal-organic mode. The über-thin-crusted pizzas are yumminess incarnate, the daily soup-and-sandwich combo always worth checking out.

I like this line from Bill’s blog this past Saturday:

If someone is making you feel dumb about wine, that’s their problem, not yours.

I’ll drink to that.

Via Winecast & Lifehacker, WikiHow - a wikipedia style site that specializes in how-to articles - has a great writeup on how to taste wine.

This is my favorite tip:

When you go wine tasting, you will encounter “wine snobs.” These individuals sniff out newcomers like bloodhounds and mercilessly force their opinions on them. Avoid wine snobs if you can.

The biggest oversight is in pouring. They don’t explain the best way to pour wine from a box. Should you take the box out of the refrigerator, or just pour it while the fridge door is open? Which is a better environmental choice? I need answers.

Kweichow Moutai “Wine”, originally uploaded by edkohler.

They called it wine at Manderin Kitchen, but it’s 106 proof. Mandarin Kitchen on Lyndale South of 494 has some amazing seafood.

Bagged Boxed Wine, originally uploaded by edkohler.

This picture doesn’t do it justice, but what you’re looking at here is a brown bag containing a single service sized box of wine. That’s correct. It’s kind of a cheapo, wine-o, hobo hybrid drink served at Psycho Suzis in Northeast Minneapolis. Kind of like an adult drink box for people with no taste. That’s probably why I liked it so much.

Rather than thinking outside the box, this drink forces you to think both inside the box and bag. It was down to either this of a French beer from the drink menu. Will my head hurt in the morning?