Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/105989
A taste-test of For this tasting of seven Kentucky wines, we recruited three experts: John Johnson, owner of the Wine Rack; Joy Perrine, Jack's Lounge bartender; and Patrick Mayhew, Liquor Barn's Louisville wine manager. We wanted to get an idea of each person's palate, and while each does have some preferences — Johnson likes "Old World reds and whites from all over" and Perrine enjoys fruit wines — all three, at one point during our late-afternoon tasting, had the exact same quote: "I pretty much like everything." We'll see about that. (Oh, and one tasting note: We also had our experts blindly sample a Syrah from the state of Washington's Columbia Winery and something named Kong's Thong, a Norton from Horseshoe Bend Vineyards in Willisburg, Ky. Though each admitted the styles were different, all three preferred the one from Washington and said it was a better wine. It costs $12 for a bottle, a dollar cheaper than Kong's Thong.) — Josh Moss Whites Chrisman Mill Vineyards (Nicholasville): Vidal Blanc ($13.99) Johnson: "I think it has a little oxidation. That's when air gets into the wine and basically starts to slowly turn it to vinegar. A little oxidation is not a big problem; a lot and your wine is bad. This, to me, it smells oxidized, kind of like a burnt smell. Based on the other aromas and navors I'm getting outside the oxidation — pear and peach notes, good noral notes — I think it could be a very good Vidal. But it's not really doing it justice to judge it as is." Mayhew: "Wine is like an apple in terms of oxidation. If you bite into an apple and set it on the counter, it'll turn brown. But the Vidal Blanc is 32 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 2.13 one of the grapes that grows really well in Kentucky." Perrine: "A little bit of honeysuckle on the nose. After a taste, a little bit of vinegar there. We're not getting a true taste of what it's supposed to taste like. It should be crisp and clean, a little fruity. I'd use it for cooking; it'd be a great addition to my onion soup." Wight-Meyer Vineyard and Winery (Shepherdsville): Vignoles ($11.99) Perrine: "Well, it tastes better than it smells. Little bit of almond in there. I almost get like a musky — not like moldy but earthy — smell. Like clay smells when it's wet. Does that sound really strange? Very citrusy. It'd be nice to sit down with a bottle of this in the afternoon."