To catch you up quickly, I joined a wine guild, got the wine, and discovered it really needs to be cellared to be enjoyed properly… the earliest in the next two  years! So I have 24 bottles of wine that can’t be drunk. Visualize a frownie face emoticon here.

The whole reason to join the guild was to have new wine to try without needing to make the effort to go to a wine shop and stand in front of rows and rows of bottles and make a selection. But yesterday, being Friday, the end of a great week, and having two back-to-back episodes of Coronation Street to watch, decided to do a Maeve Binchy and relax in front of Coronation Street with a glass of wine. But what wine? What wine would go well with, essentially nothing, but yet might be the starter to a pizza Michael promised to bring home for supper?

After work I walked into deVine Wines on 104th Street and Jasper Ave. The clerks there had their heads down in their computers and clipboards and my thought of them assisting me finding a bottle flew out the window. But just before despair and anxiety took over, a nice man in tweed coat approached me and said these magical words: “Would you like to try some wine?”. Hello my new BFF. My man in tweed is a seasoned wine rep who has been in Edmonton for a year. Prior to that he lived in Philadelphia. Imagine! My new favourite city! We had something in common so were able to chat about things more than wine for a few minutes.

First up was a 2009 Attems Pinot Grigio hailing from Venezia Giulia in Northeastern Italy. I’m not a fan of a pinot grigio, but hell, it was a free sample, so I gave it a try. It was delicious. Really. Not just because it was free. I won’t toss tasting notes at you, because I haven’t quite figured out how to distinguish different flavour notes in wine yet. But it was smooth, refreshing and I liked it. That’s all that matters really.

Second up was 2008 Goats do Roam 2008 Red from South Africa. It’s a blend of Shiraz, Cinsaut, Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Carignan. Risking to start sound like a picky-pants, I don’t normally like blends either, but this one was absolutely delicious. It smelled good. It tasted great. Not heavy, and perfect for red-wine-served-with-nothing-while-watching-Coronation Street. It’s a beautiful red and pretty to swirl in one’s glass.

Last up was an amazing bottle of Zuccardi Q 2008 Malbec from Argentina. I have tried Malbec before, and remembering feeling a sense of peace and love, and that all came back to me with this specimen. It’s rich and substantial and definitely needs to be served with a grand supper when trying to impress friends and family.

Listen up wine shopkeepers, I’m easy prey. Have a nice man in a tweed coat spend a few minutes with me, give me free samples, and I’m a friend for life and will happily dislodge the debit card and buy buy buy. I left with one each of the three bottles. The Goats do Roam was earmarked for Friday night, the others for future reference. I’m so in love with the Goats do Roam, primarily for its flexibility in taste, my love of the word goat, and the wine makers play on Côtes du Rhône, I’m prepared to purchase a case of the stuff.

Thank you deVine Wines for hosting a great tasting, and my man-in-tweed for your helpfulness.

As a postscript, the wine was perfect to get through the drama of the last two episodes of Coronation Street. It’s Christmas Day 2009 on the Street, and as with most Christmases, not without its fair share of delectable drama. My feet pulled up off the floor a few times in excitement.