Yes, it’s true! Wino Rioters have stormed the gates and had a major victory against snooty and pretentious wine snobs everywhere. Over the weekend at Boston’s very cool Cyclorama fellow winos made a stand against traditional, boring wine events. Between the creative tattoos to show your support and hilarious photo booth documentation everyone attending could see that this was not the normal wine tasting. No-sir-e-bob, taking our Crash Courses to the next level, Wine Riot turned out to be something beyond the normal wine tasting – it was a true wine event where revolutionaries met unpretentious trained professions and not only had a kick ass time but got their learn on too.
Minutes after the doors opened Winos were getting their pictures snapped by the awesome Mike Ritter from Ritter Bin Photography with silly outfits like our money boa, captain hats and even fake swords! Oh, and the signs were hilarious – people posed with sayings like “I like ‘em big & juicy!”, “I only drink BALLER wine” and the favorite pair: “I Spit” and “I Swallow”. The documentated fun didn’t stop there though – people sported our rockin’ tattoos all over their bodies to showing off their own Wino Love. People had them everywhere – arms, backs, legs, chests, necks and even one dude put it on his forehead – if that’s not loyalty I don’t know what is!
In the spirit of education Wine Riot created a laid-back and exciting atmosphere that was fun beyond explanation. It was like the time when you were 10 and your parents let you have friends over on a Friday night to play Jenga, watch TGIF and drink rootbeer floats, except ten times better. Picture this: over 250 different bottles of wine at 36 different booths paired up with awesome wine experts that can tell you all about each bottle. And yes, to answer your question, it was a bit overwhelming but absolutely brilliant.
As a first timer it was a lot of wine and tell you the truth I barely skimmed the surface. Me and my group of merry men had a plan of attack though so that we could try and sip as many wines as possible (and yes, spitting is encouraged): try every single wine. First we started with one aisle and literally sipped every type of wine in the lineup and asked LOTS of questions. This worked for the first hour or so but we soon realized that there was no possible way to sample every single wine – even though we desperately wanted to. So, new plan: eat (to replenish so we could continue – definitely crucial) and only try the wines that we had never had or thought sounded interesting. This strategy seemed to work as it allowed us enough time to make it around the whole room and try lots of different wine.
One of the best things about Wine Riot is that the 36 booths were a great representation of all the different types of varietals, regions and styles of wine Mother Earth and wine makers have given us. For this reason, Wine Riot was a great way to try wines and grapes that you don’t normally buy, have disliked in the past and simply have never tried before. For me that was Chardonnay and Rose. Truthfully, I’ve never really given either a chance, I always thought they weren’t my type but lo and behold they are! So after learning about what makes each wine unique and trying lots of different wines I found a few that I’ve never heard of before but definitely want to drink again!
M’Hudi Pinotage & Seven Sisters Rose
Maybe it’s because it was the very first wines we tried, or quite possibly because they’re just that good, but the absolute favorites of the night was Heritage Brand Link Booth (#20) with a phenomenal mix of South African wines that had bodies rivaling Marilyn Monroe and simply overflowing with flavor.
First, M’Hudi’s deep purple Pinotage is a perfectly balanced wine with a delicate oak spiciness matched with hints of vanilla and plums. Made completely of the distinctive Pinotage grape, unique to South Africa, the wine isn’t forceful and would be superbly paired with barbeque spare ribs, corn on the cob and potato salad.
The other wine that completely made me change my mind about Rose was Seven Sisters Twena (Rose) from South Africa. Similar to M’Hudi’s Pinotage, this sweet and deliciously light wine is made completely of Pinotage grapes. With a very soft scarlet color the wine goes down so easily and has a wonderful raspberry and strawberry flavor. This is the perfect wine for a warm summer evening savored either alone or with a slice of lemon custard tart.
Jonathan Edwards Winery 2007 Estate Connecticut Cabernet Franc
Did you know that Connecticut is the original birth place of the chocolate chip cookie? Or that it has the country’s only T-ball manufacturer? And did you know that it makes some really amazing wine? Yup, the folks at Jonathan Edwards Winery brought wine from both their Stonington Connecticut and Napa Valley vineyards and both were quite delicious. While Napa Valley is known for its amazing grape varieties, we were a bit suspicious of the crimson bottle from Connecticut.
But, this soft and medium-bodied wine shocked us and become a favorite amongst the group as it was quite smooth and had a wonderful full taste of fruits and cherries. With a slight hint of vanilla and a velvety mouth feel it definitely made us rethink our position on Connecticut wines. Stonington, CT is a quaint town with rolling green pastures and only a hop and skip away from our beloved Boston and as we now know a great place to grow grapes.
Seaglass Sauvignon Blanc
If you’ve seen the movie Spanglish starring Adam Sandler and Paz Vega you know that Seaglass, also called Mermaid’s Tears, is very difficult to find but if you look you’ll surprise yourself with how beautiful and earthy it really is. Appropriately named, this Santa Barbara wine is brimming with intense tropical fruit and citrus flavors that is wonderfully refreshing. It’s light and crisp and even reminds me of the tumbled, smoothed and frosted glass that’s found on beaches. Definitely a wine that’s great for the Spring and Summer, I would pair it with a mandarin chicken salad or grilled swordfish.
Still River Winery Apfel Eis
Okay – so we saved this one for the very end and boy, were we right. This wine was everything we expected: full-bodied with an amazing apple/ cider taste and not sugary at all. When you take a sip the slightly syrupy liquid cools your entire mouth and throat. It also has a slight bite but with a phenomenal after taste. Taking one sip it brought me back to late September when the leaves are falling and the air is crisp – but don’t be fooled, this wine would be perfect year round. I can picture myself now in my flip flops at a picnic table sipping this chilled wine paired with an assortment of cheese, jellies and crackers. Ah, the splendor of apples brought to us in the perfect form – wine.
As a Wino in the making I want to thank all of the awesome, friendly and knowledgeable wine professionals pouring taste after taste of exceptional wine. I could go on for pages and pages about all the great and unique wines at Wine Riot but alas time and space do not allow it.
I know that many of you wanted to be there Saturday night but couldn’t because we Sold Out! Yes, that’s right – we hated it, but we even had to send away fellow winos because we literally sold out of room. So, if you’re feeling out of the loop because you missed out on 250 different and extraordinary wine don’t fret your pretty little head – because we offer exciting Crash Courses every couple of weeks with different themes to let you get your learn on. And what’s even better, is that… drum roll please… there is going to be another Wine Riot on September 25 and 26!! So keep a look out for upcoming news and info so you don’t miss out again.
