So ever since my wife became pregnant, I've lost my usual drinking partner. This made it difficult to open up a nice new bottle of wine without wondering if half would go to waste. I have been know, on occassion, to polish one off by myself. However, that's not the usual occurance. Then it hit me. Half bottles!
My journey into the world of half bottles started last night, when I opened a nice bottle of E Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape 2001. Right away, I knew this was a good choice. One of the guys at Cellar 72 sort of recommended it to me (actually, I asked him what he thought of it, and he said it was good), and I'm glad I bought it. Initially, I could detect some scents of wood and leather. On the taste side, there was lots of black pepper and some fruity elements as well (plum I would think) and it finished off with more of that leather quality. All in all, I thought it was great, and am now going to go out there and find a nice full bottle to share with my wife in about 5 months or so.
NP: Now Is The Time, Damone
2 comments:
I didn't even know that wine was sold by the half bottles... I'm a lifelong learner...
Here's a better tactic, actually:
1) Buy some wine in half bottles. Drink the wine. Wash out and save the bottles (and the corks, as long as the wines weren't tainted).
2) Open your full bottles. Immediately pour half the newly-opened wine into a half bottle, recork, and put it in the fridge.
3) Enjoy the rest of the full bottle.
You've got to do it right away to minimize oxidation, and putting it in the fridge slows down all the reactions that will eventually damage the wine.
If you end up drinking a little more than a half-bottle, then get some of those decorative marbles they're always putting in glass bowls in furniture stores, and put them in the half bottle to get the wine just up to the cork. Minimizing oxygen again.
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