I’ve noted that this is not a real wine blog. I feel free to categorize wines as “yummy” rather than “a piquant vintage with hints of blackberry and plum and a smooth oaky finish.” That said, please enjoy the following about a wine tasting at Ilion Wine and Spirits which I attended with my friend Diane Engell on Thursday.
I’d been to numerous tastings at Ilion Wine and Spirits, but this was Diane’s first. I felt a little proud of myself for bringing a friend. Usually the store does its tastings on a Friday. This one, however, was in conjunction with Ilion Days and on Thursday so as not to compete with Friday’s Doodah Parade (I love that title).
The tasting was run by Scott, one of the owners. I’ve seen Scott at different tastings, and once at a fundraiser for the County Historical Society. He made a generous donation to Ilion Little Theatre for a gift basket we were raffling in conjunction with a show. A very community-minded business.
“Are you going to tell us all about these wines?” Diane asked, after I handed her the list of wines being sampled. He did not intend any such thing.
“Bronson at Vintage spirits does that,” I told her.
“Oh, Bronson.” Turns out Scott knows Bronson. They grew up together. I told Scott I considered Bronson a cousin, since his grandfather was a Quackenbush (we are in fact no relation). Having hashed out that subject, we got on with the tasting.
I started with a Ministry Edict Russian River Chardonnay 2009 from California. Scott did not know if it was aged in oak or stainless steel. This is one of my few bits of wine wisdom: I like stainless steel aged Chardonnay. The oak aged, to me, tastes buttery. This must have been steel, because I liked it.
I went on to the reds after this, because Scott said the remaining whites were all sweet. Diane continued on the whites for that same reason. I often end up drinking wine with the sweet girls.
I tried a Barbera 2007 from Italy and a Yalumba Shiraz Viognier 2008 from South Australia. Both were pretty good. I tried a few other reds; all were good, none reached my highest praise of “yummy.”
A number of people were at the tasting by now. We were all chatting and comparing notes. One lady borrowed my pen to mark wines she like or didn’t. It was cooler in the main store, where the munchies were laid out, so we made a few trips to the food table. Ilion Wine and Spirits is known for the elegant munchies they serve at their tastings. Unfortunately, Thursday was too hot for them to offer their fanciest. I enjoyed some cheese and crackers and chips and dip, though.
Diane purchased a bottle of Adesso Cagnina Di Romagna 2010 (Italy), the one red I did not taste because it was sweet. I found a bottle of Vinho Verde and one of Pinot Grigio that had not been in the tasting, but are two white wines I like very much (although Vinho Verde literally means green whine. Go figure). Diane was very pleased that I had introduced her to the tastings at Ilion Wine and Spirits. She plans to watch for them in the future. Of course I will too. Another fun time to be had in the Mohawk Valley.
Ilion Wine and Spirits is located at 10 E. Main St., Ilion, NY. Phone number is 315-894-8142.
Mohawk Valley Girl 