Wines for Valentines #2

Here is the second wine that I think will work nicely for Valentines Day, and this time, I decide to choose a wine closer to home, a New York wine: Martha Clara Vineyards 2002 Ciel.

I picked up this wine, composed of 40% Chardonnay and 60% Viognier, after tasting it last fall in my trip to the Long Island wineries. I choose this wine because of the memorable sensation the wine left both on my palate and also the images that the wine evokes. Drinking this wine is like experiencing two different sensations. First, the wine attacks your palate like a tidal wave of intense nectar sweetness, tastes like apricot. However, the sensation quickly retreats after a couple of minutes, and turns into a more mellow, calmer, round and smooth caramel flavor. The transition is seamless, and the mellow flavor of caramel is pleasant and leaves a lingering memory of the initial intense sweet sensation that makes you want to go back for more. Drinking this wine often makes me think of scenes from romantic movies. Scenes such as when the guy picked up the girls from her house, where the girl, beautifully dressed, walked down the stair for the first time. The guy cannot help but stare and become mesmerized by the beauty, the elegance that radiates from the beautiful girl in her gorgeous gown. This is like the first sensation of intense sweet nectar that you experience when you first drank the wine. Then, as the date between the couple progresses, the guy is falling in love with the sweet, mellow nature and personality of the girl. The girl does not try to be too flashy, but instead, is just being her fun loving self. This is like the second wave of sensation you feel when you drank the wine, the mellow, round, smooth and elegant flavor of caramel. The guy is enjoying spending time with the girl and remembers how fun their date was, but, can never forget that first moment he saw the girl walking down the stair, and that moment plays again and again in the guy’s memory, causing the guy to think about the girl constantly, wanting to experience the entire sensation again, or something to that effect, hahaha.

In any event, a good dessert wine is always a pretty good choice. It is easy to drink, the flavor are usually more palatable for the average individuals, as it reminds people of juice or sorbet or those cider sparklers. Of course, drinking sweet wine will also leave some sugar on your lips, which perhaps makes the kiss that much sweeter.

A good place to try to pick up this wine is from Vintage New York, where they have a store down in Soho. The store concentrates on wines made in New York state only, and you can go down there for tastings for only a couple of dollars. It is quite an experience to try different New York wines. I think the wine offers good value, roughly $30 (for half-bottle), so it is light on your pocket.

On another note, don't know if the 2002 Ciel is still around (can probably still find it), as the winery now released the 2003 Ciel. But I know you can still buy the 2002 online from the winery's online store. Not sure how many you have to order though. Haven't had the chance to taste the 2003 yet, so don't know how good that is, but I definately would want to give it a try.