On Conviviality And Its Exception

I've decided to every so often host simple island wine taste-offs for my fancy friends. No detailed scoring sheets. No spit buckets. No glass switching between wines, maybe just a light rinse and a quick dry if you are anal-retentive like me. No concern for how well the menu matches the evening's selection. The mission is to pick a winning wine based solely on the level of enjoyment it offers you. Fact is, part of wine's magnificence lies in its ability to bring people together for a laugh and color life at least for a few hours brimful of conviviality.

In this spirit, we invited Mo Money, Mo Problems—The Wife, Ph.D.'s childhood friend and her husband—for a battle between one of The Rock's finest Maratheftiko's and a recommended Cretan Cabernet Sauvignon. By the end of the night, we declared The Rock the winner and celebrated our precious island's victory by polishing off a bottle of Santa Teresa Rhum Orange Liqueur, a fantastic Venezuelan rum that tickles your insides and makes you want to excitedly scream like a horny stalker who's just stolen his celebrity victim's sheer pink negligee. 

Now I hope this blog eventually rakes in enough cash to cover the purchase of a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée Conti and a First Growth Bordeaux to host the ultimate battle for wine supremacy. Sorry to say but, if that ever happens, screw conviviality. Alone, I will drink away my profits and wake up the next morning—hungover but happy to know I partook in the selfish consumption of "greatness"—to deal with the usual doctoral problem.

2008 Zambartas Maratheftiko (Cyprus) - Fresh-cut flowers, some funky earth, dark forest berries on the nose. Vanilla, licorice and a sour cherries finish on a medium-bodied wine that has good grip and is drinking quite nicely. 88/100.

2007 Douloufakis Aspros Lagos Cabernet Sauvignon (Crete, Greece) - Aromas of cinnamon, celery, green vegetables, dark fruit, baked apples, dry apricots and loads of wood. Smooth yet kind of flabby and empty. Some caramel and a very sour finish. Too much new oak for my palate. 85/100.