8. Try 25 new wines (2/25)

Saturday of Patriots Day weekend, we headed up to the historic Old Bryan Inn in Saratoga for a relaxing dinner. Established in 1773, this place is an absolute institution. We decided to do an earlier dinner so we got to the Inn a little before 5pm and boy, am I glad we did. When we arrived, they told us the wait would be about ten minutes and we could wait at the bar until the table was ready.

The bar..

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So looking beyond the painting of the topless woman with the swan above the fireplace, the bar area is that rich mahogany, warm cozy old school look that I adore. S and I pulled up a pair of adjacent bar stools and I was immediately drawn to the wine menu while he instinctively ordered a Coors Light as soon as the bartender came over. I , however, definitely wanted to take my time and embrace the experience.

I decided to order something light and from a local winery so I selected a glass of the 2007 Glenora Riesling from Finger Lakes, NY. Little did I know, Glenora Wine Cellars were named the 2009 Winery of the Year by Tasters Guild International.

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Rating system:

**** Nectar of the gods
*** Liked it
** Just so-so...
* Never again

I liked this wine and gave it a three star rating. It was relatively sweet (which I'm not a huge fan of my rieslings being especially if it's my first drink), light and finished clean. About two sips into my glass, I realized that the bar was completely butt-to-gutt and overheard the wait for a table was now at over an hour. We got there just in time!

We were approached by the hostess not even a minute later and we were lead to our cozy but adorable table. I mean this place was just so charming.

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My dining companion decided that it was appropriate and necessary to order a bottle of wine for our meal and who was I to argue! He really only likes white wine that's not bitter or overly sweet so my selection was limited. I pushed through like a champ and opted for a bottle of the 2008 Bollini Pinot Grigio.

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Again, the rating system:

**** Nectar of the gods
*** Liked it
** Just so-so...
* Never again

I also really enjoyed this wine and gave it three stars. It was brought out in a chilled marble carafe so it didn't sweat all over the table (genius idea, btw). I would definitely recommend that the colder, the better - it was dry but refreshing and S was quoted as saying it was "super yummy". Needless to say, it was finished without issue.

Do YOU have a wine that you think I should try? Just let me know! :)

8. Try 25 new wines (0/25)

Bad jobs, crappy relationships, boring routines, horrible living situations.. we all get in ruts. Well my dear comrades, I've fallen into quite the rut throughout the last few years and with bffl wine no less. Wine, some would classify it as the nectar of gods (those individuals are probably not that religious but what can I say, they have great taste) and I cannot even believe I allowed this to happen. I know, forgive me dear wine gods for I have neglected you and allowed myself to get into a monotonous theme of ordering and drinking the same wine over and over again.

I got inspired to get out of this rut immediately after receiving a "food & fun" journal from my mom (hi mom!) for Christmas. Behold, my journal:

In the journal, there are three sections labeled "wine", "restaurants" and "bars". How perfect right? Here's what the inside of the wine section looks like:

So, this will serve as my guide to making sure that I a) try new wines and b) document it appropriately. I'll detail and "label" (blog lingo, look at me) each wine in a different blog entry but you'll be able to read all about the 25 wines together just by selecting the Task 8 label.

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Cheers!