wine testing

The "Cheap Wine Project" Overview

Let's be honest, few of us will ever achieve the rank of sommelier, yet few of us prefer boxed wine to its bottled counterpart. Few of us order the 40-year-old scotch, yet few of us prefer a well-drink over a top-shelf selection.

We here at AiBP know how hard it is to avoid an overpriced bottle now and then. We also know how easy it is to just grab the cheapest thing on the shelf.

That's why we're here to test, rate, and suggest various wines and alcohols for the budget-conscious. Whether you want to wow a friend, or simply enjoy a glass of wine after work, this guide will help you on your way.

Hide that "$2.99" price-tag and get out your mis-matched stemware. It's time to drink.

Have a nice glass of red wine.  I love Pinot Noir & Merlot the best.

Greek Festival

So, I hit the Greek Festival this weekend. I believe I was rather smart about it, and went on Friday night to avoid the humidity during the day. . . .HOWEVER- It was still PACKED! The food line was ATROCIOUS! Fortunately, the wine line was not so bad. . .

After hitting the soulvaki line (instead of the LONG a la carte line) and the kalamari line (for GeeGee), we found a seat under a tent. GeeGee's friends from C'Ville joined us, and we managed to polish off FIVE bottles of wine (letting GeeGee stay the DD of course!) before we stumbled to the fan. . .


If you missed the Greek Festival. . SHAME ON YOU! However, I do believe GeeGee IS giving dance lessons. . .. If you are interested, you can contact me, and I will set you up with a private Greek dance lesson.. . ."step, step, kick, kick, step, step, kick, kick. . .

As a former bartender, I have to admit, there are times I wonder why people love alcohol so much. Aside from the fact that it looks colorful and sparkly, but alcohol taste bitter and acidic. It makes you feel crappy the next day, aka: hang over and vulnerable during a good buzz. And don't get me started about wine, I see rich folks crowding in Napa valley sipping their sauvignon cabernet or blancs, swirling their drink clockwise, and capturing every aroma that escape through the air. I did the exact same thing to every wine that they presented me and they all taste and smell the same. How in the world do these folks come up with these abstract description for each wine they tasted. Wine is so bitter to the point where I have to mix a good amount of my own saliva to block out the bitter taste.

I always hear these pretentious folks blabbering about how wine is an acquired taste. "Bull shiet!!" even I make the same arrogant comment to make myself appear well-informed and dignified, when in fact I want to puke. I know what the real purpose of wine tasting is for and I'm not afraid to blurt it out. Rich folks use wine tasting as an event to get to know other rich folks. I guess this could be advantageous, wine tasting allows you to start a conversation and slowly lead to somewhere profitable. The thing that confuses me the most are folks my age. I see people in their twenties pretending to be "high class" or well-informed about the drinking scene. Why do they need to be ostentatious, I can clearly see their Rolex and Louie V is fake as hell. There is no way any rich business officials would do business with them with or without the knowledge of wine. I guess that is also advantageous, it help boost young individual's confident about their lack of everything in life.

So here I am, the person who use to mix alcohol, served the wine, and provides the best bull shiet introduction to each exquisite drink, is still wondering the meaning behind alcohol. I'm going to flat out admit this: I don't know anything about wine, drinks, cocktails, etc I just memorized what they want me to say or do, so I sound legit, that is how I got paid. How in the world can one truly appreciate alcohol, when it taste so strange and bitter? I realize that for me, wine is truly appreciated when food is present. If you take a bite out of some lamb chops and gulp down some red wine, it takes the flavor to another level. For some strange reason, red wine goes extremely well with red meat. It accentuates the flavor of the meat and loses it's bitterness at the same time.

White wine brings out the flavor in lobsters, shrimp, and fish. I guess in some ways I do appreciate wine, but that's only if the right food is present. So the main question is, "is wine tasting for the birds?" I would not say anything about birds, but I think wine tasting is for someone with a motive. My motive is to find the wine that can bring out the flavor in whatever I'm munching on :), what is yours?