We have to admit; sometimes, we get lulled into a wine’s desire because of it’s price tag.  You have probably gazed up and down the wine racks at your favorite emporium. . .we have several including Grape Juice, Twin Liquors, The Main, Gabriel’s, Spec’s and of course, HEB!  But, you’re eye is drawn to a bottle of wine that just LOOKS like it must be good.  You take the bottle out of the rack and turn it over to check the price–hmmmmm, kind of more than I wanted to spend today.  Right?  So,  you put the wine back in the rack and go about your searching.  Depending on your retailer, there is a lot more to look at or not so much, but you keep looking, and in the back of your mind is that little light blinking on and off, “try me” “try me” “try me”!  You go back to the wine rack and pick up the EXACT same bottle and stare at its label intently.  You look at the price again, and you put the wine back in the rack.  Now don’t try to snow us, because we’ve done this, we’ve seen others do this, and unless you’ve won the lottery recently, you do this.

Tonight’s wine fits the above description.  Quite honestly, if we hadn’t gotten such a sweet deal at Twin Liquors, we probably would have left it in the rack.  Girard’s 2009 Artistry is an interesting blend.  First, the nose of this wine is huge. . .we’re talking anise, pepper, hints of cinnamon, leather and plums.  It’s got all the good things we like in a big, bold wine–on the nose.  It’s one of those wines that you just want to keep on smelling the glass (kind of reminds us of a really good friend who occasionally spends more time sniffing the glass than drinking the wine — hmmm, who could that be?  Deb?) because either you’re afraid it’s going to taste blah or you’re afraid it’s going to taste so good, you’ll be ‘forced’ to buy more!  We have differing opinions on this; Brian thought the wine tasted fine on the front of the palate but essentially evaporated on the back of the palate with virtually no finish.  Jean thought the wine tasted good on the front of the palate but absolutely loved the long, cherry fruit bomb finish on the back of the palate.  This is kind of cool if you think about it – – wine is a great equalizer whether you’re with your spouse or with family and friends.  What you smell; what you taste; what you experience is different depending on the wine, the food and the company.

From the Girard website comes this description of the 2009 Artistry, “Our 2009 Artistry has aromas of toasted hazelnuts and festive Christmas spices. Boysenberries and currants saturate the palate aside flavors of exotic bing cherries. Well-structured tannins round out this vintage with a beautiful, tobacco and spice finish. Enjoy this wine with your favorite cut of meat or a tasty spaghetti with marinara. It is an ideal wine selection for making an impact on your family and friends!”  The wine retails at the winery for a mere $40 a bottle (we didn’t pay close to that) and to be very honest, we’ve had lower priced wines that were bigger, better and bolder.  Conversely we’ve had more costly varietals that weren’t as good as this wine.

What it really comes down to is personal preference.  Which is part of the reason we’ve started this blog.  You don’t have to try every wine we try, but if you do, and you don’t like it. . .we understand.  Sometimes our tastes and your tastes aren’t going to mesh.  However, because we’re regular folks working days, some nights and some weekends, we like to try different wines and the Girard 2009 Artistry is just that. . .a different wine.  So, if you’re looking for a change of pace wine, give it a try.  If you’re looking to be ‘WOWED’, then keep checking the wine racks at your favorite wine shop.  And when you find that bottle that you pull out of the rack, turn it over and see the price, and read the label and then put it back–keep looking, you’re bound to find your wine of the day!  Thanks for reading our ‘middle of the week’ edition of Casa del vino, join us again tomorrow night –  same bat time, same bat channel (after Thursday Night Football!) for another  wine and another review.

Please remember to enjoy responsibly and recycle whenever possible.