>PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE>>

So I am off today.

I'm waiting to go have lunch at Fatty Crab with my good friend, Hiroko, who's in town for the weekend from Michigan for a piano lesson.

For once, my schedule is free and clear this morning (although I should have done some laundry), so with not much else to do, I sat down to finish reading my February issue of Vanity Fair.

I found Anthony Hopkins' Proust Questionnaire to be both good and inspiring.

I figured I'd give myself one as well.

What is your current state of mind?

Go forward.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

My partner, David.

What is your most marked characteristic?

My reservedness. Someone once told me that I don't say much, but when I do it's very on point. I took it as a compliment.

What do you most value in your friends?

That we don't have to see each other every day, or can go for months without talking and still remain friends.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Eating out and designer clothing.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

A co-worker recently pointed out to me that I say, "ugh" a lot, sometimes followed by, "terrible."

When and where were you happiest?

Right here, right now.

Which talent would you most like to have?

The ability to make small talk with people I'd rather not talk to.

What is it that you most dislike?

Bad food.

Who are your heroes in real life?

My ambitious and inspiring friends.

Who are your favorite writers?

Julia Glass, Richard Sherman and Heidi Pitlor. They're all great at capturing the essence of everyday relationships.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Impatience.

Where would you like to live?

I wouldn't mind living in Paris, for a short period.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

The relationships I have with my family and friends.

What is your motto?

Deal with it.

>Contraband Pâté>>

So I just got back from back-to-back Lure/Woo Lae Oak happy hour and I'm going to write about it all while it's still fresh in my Kahlúa-scented mind...

My day started off with my fake Blackberry (or Greyberry/Ghettoberry as my friend, and other maître d' from work, Fabiana, calls it) waking me up at 10am to which I opened my laptop and began my day. After "checking the internet," I remembered that today was the day that I was going to register for my next 2 wine classes.

Wine Etiquette for the 21st Century (my first pick) was cancelled so I opted for my 2nd pick (and probably a better one anyway) The Celebrated Wines and Wine Regions of France. I also registered for How to Enjoy Navigating a Restaurant Wine List, another initial pick of mine.

Next on the day's agenda was the "hospitality meeting" we were to have at work. It was 15-somewhat minutes of common sense material which would have only been useful to the worst employee--and only if he had no common sense to begin with. At least I got to meet up with "M.G.E." and Fabiana for some impromptu happy hour drinks and appetizers...

We ended up going to the happy hour at Lure since it was still a few minutes before their 5 o'clock rush and started off with some nice glasses of wine while we waited for Fabiana to finish her shift.

As much as I love and adore Blue Ribbon, I must say that Lure's Wines by the Glass are much better than Blue Ribbon's. I was having a little trouble deciding between the Sancerre, Dry Riesling, or the Malbec, so I asked the bartender for a little discernment and help to which he nicely responded with some taste samplings.

I told him I liked heavier, less dry wines. He poured out a sample of the Dry Riesling for me to taste which I liked and ultimately ended up with. ($14 if I recall--but very much worth it if you just want 1 glass of nice wine.) Cynthia, whom we had met with there, opted for their Malbec which had some nice spiciness to it.

Finally, Fabiana showed up and we moved ourselves over from the bar to the "lounge area" to cozy up for some drinks and appetizers...

Since it was now 5 o'clock, we opted for a 2nd round of drinks (at the reduced happy hour prices) and M.G. and I both ordered their Rosé wine of the day, which wasn't bad. Another hostess from our restaurant, Merideth, joined us a few minutes later and wanted to try Lure's oysters, so we went ahead and ordered a round for the table. I didn't want any because I only order Malpeques, but the server (whom I believe to be a recent addition at Lure) informed me that:

"Malpeques aren't in season."

"--Hm. I just had them the other day. Oh well."

I had one (Blue Point, I believe) and it wasn't that bad...

But what I really wanted to taste was Fabiana's home made Foie Gras/Chicken Liver Pâté which she made and brought in to work especially for me to try.

After a few minutes of thought, I asked our server for some crostinis or crispbreads. Merideth seemed to be pooh-poohing what was about to take place, but I casually replied to her, "If they had it on the menu, we wouldn't have to do this."

She conceded and I proceeded to discreetly ration out a portion of pâté onto a small plate for us to enjoy on our crostinis. Was it divine? I don't know...

--But it was perfect!

After finishing off most of the pâté (I saved some to take home for David, but he refused to eat it because of the Foie Gras in it) we decided to head over to Woo Lae Oak to meet with our regular bartender, Warren.

We arrived at "Woo" with just enough time to order 3 Proseccos, 1 Sake Martini and a few nibbly bits before their happy hour menu closed at 7. I don't recall the name of the first appetizer I had, but it was some kind of "mini rib" atop some bread which were both, in my opinion, rather good. The second appetizer I had was one that I was curious to try the last time I was there: Sea Bass-stuffed Jalapeños. That too, was rather good.

In short, my opinion is: both the cocktails and the appetizers they offer at Woo Lae Oak's happy hour are far better (and a dollar or two cheaper) than the ones they offer at Lure's happy hour.

--But who am I to make a judgment? I eat pâté under the table...

>m, for monday + dame judi dench>>

I was so tired last night I hallucinated while watching As Time Goes By...

I also dreamt that I was walking through some store and for Fashion Week there were photo shoots going on all over the place with ordinary looking white guys, but when they posed they somehow turned into Japanese looking girls with big lips (must've been all that dark chocolate fondue I had before bed...)

So yea, we did BR (Blue Ribbon) Saturday night for Cynthia's going away dinner. I was thinking I'd try the Sweetbreads, but David had made Chorizo burritos for dinner so I wasn't even hungry... Instead, I opted for the Pupu Platter and Cynthia picked the octopus special. I've always wanted to try their Pupu platter, mainly because it looks so fancy (and a little cheeky) sitting on the table. But I was saving it for when I could share it with someone because on the menu it says "for 2." But instead, my waiter brought me one for 1 and it was so teeny tiny... :( So, I wasn't thrilled with it, I'd like it better for 2, or 3, or 4. (I'm a sucker for packaging.)

Cynthia got the octopus special which we agreed to share and that was o.k.. I'd like it better if they had charred it a little like they do at Mia Dona (UES). They have, hands down, the best grilled octopus I've ever had.

I also got to try someone's hummus which, with endives in addition to pitas for dipping, was pretty good (better with the endives).

And of course, Cynthia ended her meal like all her meals at BR with a banana split--which we all split. Sooner or later, 4:30 rolled around and I just had to go home for work the next day....

>i have parties>>>

So I finally got my hands on the latest, photography, issue of Gazelland Magazine--it's quite impressive! I'm so glad to be a part of the upcoming issue and I can't wait for it to come out, sometime next month...

Tonight is the going away party for a very dear friend and favorite co-worker of mine, Cynthia, at Blue Ribbon. (Well, it's more like a quitting party then going away, she's not really going anywhere, just away from us...) But believe it or not, I think I may be having an issue of Blue Ribbon fatigue! --I don't know what I'll get tonight! It's either going to be the burger with goat cheese (a recent recommendation by one of their servers), or I may just opt for some Malpeques if we stay at the bar... I'm on a budget this weekend.

And then tomorrow night, David and I (mostly David) are cooking dinner for 2 very dear friends of mine coming in from New Jersey. David already has the dinner planned out, I just have to pick up groceries. Luckily, I managed to snag 1 last bottle of champagne from the photo shoot, which we'll have tomorrow night--I just have to pick up one more bottle. Actually, I was thinking of getting a bottle of sherry instead; I'll have to refer to my wine notes to see what would pair best with our fare...

Well, it's time for me to head off to the farmers market before they close. I am off today! I don't really know what I'm going to do for the rest of the day except for try not to get fat. I had the Lure Burger for dinner the past two nights in a row and am feeling a little paunchy. I'll just eat some Fage today, that always seems to do the slimming trick!

>COLD DUCK + FASHION WEEK>>

So, the shoot is over and done with and so are my Wine Essentials classes. I was photographed yesterday by Phillip McClain, the best photographer I've ever had the pleasure of working with. He also photographed David for the magazine who is writing his usual Politics column.

The shoot was way more fun than I had anticipated--I got lots of practice in making a bottle of champagne really pop!

I'm really happy with the way my photo turned out. I love having someone else show me what's outside my own thinking box; both the look and the concept are not something I would have come up with myself, but nevertheless, I am completely satisfied...

Alas, our final Wine Essentials class was bittersweet. But I'm very happy to say that I came back with 4 favorite wines from the class. (I'm still thinking about that sparkling Shiraz...)

But first, I'd like to share some of my wine notes with you:

From the cuvée (the vat) comes five different kinds of wine.

1. NV - non vintage. Meaning they combine the wines from year to

year in order to come up with a very consistent-tasting product.

2. Vintage - from a particular year alone. (You may need to know

whether that year was a good year or a bad year.)

3. Tête de Cuvée - the best wine! (Dom Pérignon and Cristal are tête de cuvées.)

4. Rosé - rosé wine.

5. Sweetness

The last one is where they add the "dosage" (doe-sahzj). That's where they top off the bottle with wine and a certain amount of sugar (or none at all) after its final fermentation.

There are five different dosages.

1. Brut (dry) - a little sugar

2. Extra Brut (extra dry) - no sugar

3. Sec - sweeter than Brut

4. Demi Sec - sweeter than Sec

5. Doux - very sweet

Moving on, let's start with my first favorite wine, Champagne, Brut, Nicolas Feuillatte, NV. After my initial smell (yes, champagne can and should be smelled), I wrote in my notes: yum :). It had a smell of light fruit and light yeast; and you could taste the wood in it. Nicolas Feuillatte is a very standard champagne that you'll find in most fine restaurants--a very sturdy wine. Pair it with veal, pork, or lobster in a heavy cream sauce, or with a heavy fish. $29.

The second wine on my favorites list is Champagne, Brut, 'Special Cuvée', Bollinger NV. This was a very heavy smelling wine with a sweet, sticky smell--yet, a smoky taste. It went well with our aged goat cheese. --Smoke with smoke! A little steep though, at $50.

Another very nice wine we had was the Moscato d'Asti (asti means sparkling), Saracco 2008. --A very fruity dessert wine, but with acidity as well. Good with a salty cheese, or alone. And at just $17 a bottle, I'd definitely go for it.

And my last, yet most memorable wine is the Sparkling Shiraz, Paringa, 2008 - South Australia (also, $17). When it was first poured out for us I thought to myself, "Oh boy, a sparkling red." And after my initial smell I thought, "Ihck--Merlot..." But when I tasted it, I was pleasantly surprised!

In the 70's, sparkling red was actually quite en vogue, and they called it: Cold Duck.

--QUACK!!!!

Anyway.... Tastewise, it's a very heavy red--and after the

initial smell, surprisingly sweet! Yet, the tannins are present too.

Pair it with a chicken cooked in soy sauce or maybe even a sake chicken--I have a magnum of it that I've been trying to use up for 2 years.

So that, my friends, is my final entry for "Wine Essentials." Hopefully I'll have something to tell you about over the next few weeks until my next classes begin.

Things should be getting quite busy at the restaurant though with both restaurant and fashion week coming up. I love Fashion Week at my place! It really does get quite bustling, and upstairs, it turns into a hangout for the motley crew of celebrities in town for the shows.

Last year I met (enter confidentiality agreement) D.A. and he told me he loved my outfit and wanted to design a look based on it for his upcoming fashion line. Hopefully I'll run into him again this year and parlay an invitation for myself to his show...

>this & that>>>

So, I'm a bit stressed...

Not only do I get a blemish 2 days before my Gazelland photo shoot, but Gazelle told me that I can't wear what I had planned on wearing. But really, it's my own fault that I'm in such a tizzy, I didn't think that I'd have to adhere 100% to the "all shades of red" dressing theme--red never was my color.

But anyways, after much emailing back and forth with Gazelle, I think we finally came up with a solution... (But I still want to go downtown for one more prop.)

Anyway, I'm off today - joy of joys! - I just have to help David return a toy piano he borrowed from a friend on the Upper East Side. --Oh, and last night I came up with the idea:

>> coming soon!!

>wine notes + sands casino + br>>

So, after 24 hours, I am finally home, in the comfort of my comfortable bed. I began Friday night with a pit stop at Blue Ribbon with my good friend and soon to be French tutor "Vil" for a taste of our much anticipated Beef Marrow/Foie Gras combo (+ cava); then 4 subway transfers later, home for 1.75 hours of sleep; up at 6am to catch the Transbridge bus from Port Authority to go to the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where a shuttle bus picked us up to go to a wedding at Hotel Bethlehem; then back to the Sands Casino to gamble off the $30 they gave us when we got off the bus when we arrived that morning; then back on the bus while I ate an entirely regrettable "5th Avenue Pie" from Sands Casino's "Carnegie Deli" (they also gave us all $5 food vouchers which I couldn't let go to waste); then back on the 1 train, and home again.

I was so tired last night I dreamt about it.

Anyway, I had two quite tasty sparkling wines this week. The first one was a Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde, Branco from Portugal. David bought it the other day and for $7, it wasn't bad at all. A nice champagne alternative, even better than a lot of cavas I've tried.

The second one I had was a Verdi Spumante, Bosca. Even though it was a little on the sweet side, I thought that it actually was a champagne and a rather good one at that. But when I asked the bartender what it was that I was drinking, he showed me the bottle and to my surprise, it was a malt beverage, not even wine at all! David said that if I thought it was champagne, and at good one at that, my palate has a long way to go. But I disagree, I thought it tasted perfectly quite nice. It's not something I'd want to drink on a regular basis, but perfectly suitable as a "toasting champagne." $8.

(But I did have 2 Biancos and one Gin martini prior to it, so maybe my palate was a bit dulled...)

But anyway: All in all, as tiring as it may have been on me, it was a very good 24 hours. And this, my friends, makes for a very happy, sea otter.

>sparkling wines + photo shoot>>

So, our next and last session is going to be sparkling wines (yay!). Is it a coincidence or what that the same week I have a class on sparkling wines, I have a photo shoot for an article I wrote about champagne? Oh yes, next week, Gazelle is going to have me shot for the Love issue of Gazelland magazine. I have to wear shades of red since it's the love issue and I already have a look more or less planned out (expect Marc, Muicca & Salvatore)...

And our final session of Wine Essentials is going to be sparkling wines! I hope we get to taste some real champagne; so far all I know is that we'll be tasting one or two cavas. Actually, I think there will be champagne because when I asked my professor if there were any cavas as good as champagne he said I could judge for myself in session six--which reminds me, I have to find some pink champagne for the shoot!>>>>

>LURE BURGER HEALS ANGRY SEA OTTER!>>

So once again I am going to attest to the healing qualities of the Lure Burger. As you know, I was feeling a little under the weather this week and last night when I got off work I was in need of something healthy and healing. Luckily, I got off work early enough to go to Lure before their kitchen closed at 11.

I propped myself up at the bar and Kelly, one of my usual bartenders, saddled me up for a tasty and satisfying Lure Burger! (It was hard not to order a nice glass of wine to go with my burger though; but I didn't want a repeat of what happened the other day at Woo...)

The Lure Burger arrived happily on the place mat laid out before me and even though I usually take home the second half of the fries to share with David, I finished nearly all of them, in an attempt to quicken my recovery back to health.

About 3/4 of the way in (maybe even earlier than that), I was beginning to feel back to my normal self again. I am convinced that they must really use the choicest ingredients for the Lure Burger! (Even David liked it when I took him there for New Year's Eve--and he is a hard sell.)

So the moral of this story is: The Lure Burger has the power to change the Angry Sea Otter back into the Happy Sea Otter. (One of my hostesses told me that if I were an animal, I'd be a sea otter.)

No, your table is not ready!

>jalapeño daiquiris, phylloxera + house-sets>>

So, I am sick. It started yesterday morning with a sore throat and being a little nose-runny and sneezy, but I am feeling a little bit better today thanks to a really long night's sleep.

Yesterday, while I was at work with another one of my favorite co-workers, we more or less spent the afternoon looking at menus online (must go to Blue Ribbon Bakery!) and trying to figure out where to go for happy hour. I didn't want to veer too far away from the N/R train which I needed to go to class, so pretty much the only options for us were, Bar 89, Lure or Woo Lae Oak.

Now although Lure's dollar oysters (from 5-7 on weekdays) are pretty tempting, I tend to like their non-happy hour menu items better; so we scratched that. And Bar 89--well... I just didn't want to go there. So that left us with Woo Lae Oak.

I only recently started going there because the bar area at Lure tends to fill up pretty quickly during happy hour. You pretty much have to get there right at 5 to secure a seat for yourself, otherwise it's standing room only. Hence, Woo Lae Oak became the usual place for my after work/before class cocktail.

I actually like it there. It's quiet. I'm sometimes the only one there the entire time and the bartender makes a better white chocolate martini than they do at Lure. Anyway, I went there with Cynthia and had two of their Jalapeño Daiquiris.

Really, I was thinking I shouldn't drink at all since I was feeling a little under the weather, but I thought that maybe a little alcohol would kill any throat-lingering germs and bacteria I had hangin' out down there and that the spiciness of the jalapeño would clear up my congestion.

Anyway, even with my intention of only having one, one daiquiri turned into two. --Bad Cynthia! After that, I had to hop into a cab which got me to class with just enough time to grab some bread and cheese to try to soak up some of the daiquiris before class began...

Anyway, lesson five last night was Wines of California. (Insert whomp whomp sound here.) I didn't really have any favorites, but I did learn a tad bit about Phylloxera, Prohibition and the Paris Wine Tasting of 1974. (And that there's a movie about it called Bottle Shock.)

The only wine I will mention is an Oregon Pinot Gris - Willamette Valley / Benton Lane 2008. Nicer (it smells older) than your typical Pinot Grigio (which I don't care for anyway), but strictly as an aperitif. And at $14, why not?

And I almost forgot: For Christmas I got a navy Perry Ellis pajama set from my sister and a grey Cherokee wool sweater from my mom. (She actually got every male in the family the same exact sweater--except David got a navy one, which I switched out with him for my grey one.)

Since I was feeling a little under the weather last night, I slipped on my (now matching) Perry Ellis flannel pajama bottoms with my navy Cherokee sweater and I christened the duo as my winter house-set. David said that I made that term up and I did. But clearly that's what it is: a set that you wear in the house; a house-set!

>blue ribbon beef marrow + foie gras terrine>>

So, first and foremost I want to credit my latest blog entry to the best restaurant co-worker I've ever had the pleasure of working with and all-around great gal, "M.G.E."

Last night as we were chatting each other up from behind the open table she was telling me the story of how, when she was a student at CIA (Culinary Institute of America), she and her other classmates would drive down, late at night, from upstate New York to go to Blue Ribbon and have the Beef Marrow and Foie Gras Terrine. She said they would order the Beef Marrow and the Foie Gras, together, and spread them both on crostinis and eat them.

That's both the Beef Marrow and the Foie Gras--together, on single crostinis.

A heart attack waiting to happen.

I christen that, along with a glass of champagne, THE power lunch of 2010!

--Take that Oak Room!

NEW YORK TIMES WINE CLUB

So as I was sipping my cup of black coffee at La Sala 78 and skimming over the Thursday Styles, I came across this advertisement for the New York Times wine club. It seemed to be a pretty good deal and I just thought I'd share it with you.

NYT Wine Club

>sherry--when it sizzles!>>

So David and I just finished watching Paris When It Sizzles, one of our Ms. Hepburn's less famous films. It was... well, it didn't sizzle; and if our Audrey wasn't in it, it probably would have petered out. Anyway, it was supposed to have some good costuming in it and it did contain a couple of quite nice marcjacobsesque looking numbers (one in white, one in pink)...

Last night was session four of my Wine Essentials class and session four was: Wines of Spain. At first I thought to myself, "Oh drab, it's going to be a repeat of Italy." But to my pleasant surprise the first (and last) tasting was of a sherry!

Now after my old fashioned cocktail and before my Scotch kick, I went through a period of I'm going to try everything I've never had kick. This included everything from Campari to Pernod to (both yellow and green) Chartreuse. (Bartenders must really have loved me during this period... I would sit at the bar and ask them to tell me about every and any liquor I was curious about and how it was normally served.)

Anyway, to get to my point: I got around to trying almost everything I wanted to try and learn about (although I think I never did get around to trying Fernet Branca) except for brandy, cognac and sherry. So, you can imagine my pleasant surprise last night when I learned our first tasting was going to be of a sherry.

First of all, I didn't even know that sherry was a type of wine. All I knew was that ladies always offered it to their guests in old fashioned movies. The first sherry we tasted was a Manzanilla Jerez (Jerez, pronounced herr-eth, is the appropriate name for sherry), La Gitana, Bodegas Hidalgo NV from southern Spain ($22).

The La Gitana offered to be a bit perplexing at first. It looked young, yet it smelled old. It had a nice bouquet of old fruit and wood, yet it was light in your mouth. After our initial swirl, smell and a taste, I have to say that I didn't like it.

But after a nibble of some freshly toasted and salted almonds, the La Gitana seemed not only completely appropriate, but elegant as well. Next, we tried it with some anchovies, which also turned out to be a lovely match.

In short, this Jerez is very good for foods that usually don't pair well with wine.

The second sherry we had was a Matusalem Oloroso Dulce Muy Viejo, G. Byass ($60). This sherry is made using Pedro Ximénez grapes and it has a very deep, dark color and a wonderfully rich smell. It's pretty intense on the palate, hence some may want to treat it as a "sipping wine."

It went nicely with the Manchego cheese we had in class, but I think any hard cheese with a little salt in it would do. (You'd want to shy away from serving it with any super sweet desserts though. If you're going to go that route, something like a fig or nut tart would would be best.)

So that's my sherry/jerez summary for you. I'd like to have a little cocktail party with the La Gitana and some almonds & anchovies, and then the Matusalem and cheese for dessert. But it's probably best I wait until I have a second course figured out (I'm thinking something along with champagne...).

And some >add'l notes:>> If you're a steak eater, try Ribera del Duero, Condado de Haza 2006 as a pairing. Aggressive tannins and a moldy, papery smell. If the tannins are too much for you, some Gorgonzola crumblings on your steak would remove them. Cafeteria (7th & 17th) serves a nice one for $20.

>this sh*t is bananas>>

So the parables of tonight’s lessons are 1. Don’t play Bananagrams in a chair hunched over the coffee table. And 2. Don’t return to a wine seller that sells you a bottle which he claims to be “wonderful” when it in fact, isn’t. –Well at least, I won’t.

My poor back is aching because d grabbed the couch seat as we set up to play Banangrams, a game which he brought home from visiting his folks in Louisiana for the holidays. I really like this game a lot, it’s the only one we play where David doesn’t have what seems like an automatic winning advantage over me.

Anyway, tonight was the (long awaited) night when we opened the other bottle of wine (Henri Darnat Meursault) I bought David for Christmas. I even stopped at Dean & Deluca on my way home from work to pick up a little extra camembert cheese to go along with it and some really nice 70% cocoa “Madeline” truffles for dessert.

When I opened the bottle I immediately was a little disappointed because the cork didn’t pull out with the same resonant pop that the bottle of Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes had. And secondly, when I sniffed the cork I could immediately tell the wine was going to be much lighter than I had anticipated.

I poured a tasting portion for David and I and was not able to come to any taste conclusion after my initial sniff–I had to just go ahead and taste it. I was immediately disappointed, then angered. Sadly, this Meursault was nothing like, not even close to, the Meursault Perrieres I had tasted in class. Really, I should never have bought this bottle from this seller, but I had already walked from 94th St to 108^th St (in December temperatures) in hopes of finding a bottle of Meursault Perrieres and I didn't feel like turning around and walking all the way back to the other wine store now...

From the beginning, the guy seemed like he had no desire or intention of assisting me in any way, shape or form. Alas, I was on a gift purchasing mission, so I had no choice but to ask him for assistance.

I pulled out my handy little list of the three bottles I was in search of that day and asked him if he had any of them–or anything comparable.

“No, I don’t have these.”

“Well do you have anything comparable??”

He proceeded to bring me over to his section of Meursault wines and showed me a few different bottles. He gestured to three bottles in particular and said, “Don’t look at the prices.”

(Why I bought something from him after that, I do not know.)

He then propped one up, the Henri Darnat Meursault, and said, “This one is wonderful.”

Now I don’t know all of the techniques salesmen employ when selling a product (I was never a good salesman myself), but out of the three bottles he showed me, the one I went for ($52.99) was the mid-range priced bottle–the highest one being in the hundred dollar range and the other being about $20 less. In retrospect, I think I probably fell for his bait, thinking I was making the “prudent decision.”

But, in my opinion, this bottle was not worth its $53 price tag. I think $7 or $7.98 would have been a more suitable price point.

First of all, it was very light--feather light. And if my wine knowledge, as green as it may be, serves me correctly, the grapes in this wine were not very ripe. The water line, when tilted, seemed pretty significant (which implies age), yet the color of the wine was still very green and clear. (Which is what lead me to believe that the grapes were not very ripe to begin with.) And the wine carried no bouquet either, just an aroma of green apple.

Now if you like this kind of wine, fine. I can certainly think of suitable occasions and pairings for it. However, I would never pay $53 for it. I would much rather purchase a Barton & Guestier Vouvray, at its usual selling price of $7.98.

What I was looking for, and what would have been comparable to Louis Jadot's Meursault Perrieres, would have been something heavy, full-bodied, with thick, woodsy bouquets of old and ripened fruit. Something like that, I would have paid $53 for.

So, the moral of this story is to 1. Buy your wine from a seller that has sold you something you like before. And 2. Don't return to a seller that has mislead you into buying a bad bottle of wine.

Being in New York City, there are so many options for us when it comes to purchasing wine and spirits. Instead of hopping from one wine store to another, stick to one that you like and get to know the sellers there and what they carry. Over time, you'll have a good repertoire of wines that you do and don't enjoy.

Time is too short to waste your money on bad wine.