April Wine Tasting ~ Chardonnay

I had my April Wine Tasting Party scheduled for the 10th, but I was sick. So I canceled it. I was thinking of rescheduling it for the 18th. But I wasn't entirely sure that I had rescheduled since I was pretty sick that week, plus there were two birthdays, multiple ER visits and doctor appointments, I had 3 kids home on Spring Break, plus Easter. But Friday night (4/17) Ericka asked if wine tasting was Saturday. We were texting, so I couldn't really tell if I had mentioned it in passing or if I had actually scheduled it. I told her I'd rather not, but asked if we were still on for coffee. She said, "yes"! YAY!! We try to go out for coffee every Saturday morning. It's nice break from life, just having coffee with a friend, ya know? I really look forward to it.

We often browse through Sur La Table on our way back from coffee. While we were in there, Whitney called. Uh oh!! I did actually reschedule. I begged off and offered to host cards at my house next Saturday night and that maybe we could sample a Chardonnay then. We play Euchre with Jeff & Whitney. It's so much fun!!

Anyway... I think the whole structured Wine Tasting thing was getting to be a bit too much for me. I'm still NOT a wine drinker. The parties kept growing and growing until we had more wine than we could taste in one night. So April will be a month of mini-tastings. I can taste a wine or two (and by taste, I mean taste) then finish off the night with tequila drinks, fruity rum drinks, Hard Arnold Palmers, Mike's Hard Cranberry... or some other kinds of drinks that I actually really like and enjoy!

So anyway!! No big wine tasting this month. But there will still be wine!

I was making Garlic Soup the other night, (I'll post that recipe soon!) and it called for dry white wine. I usually pick up Chardonnay for that. Since I only needed 1/2 a cup, I decided to get one of those little four packs of wine. That way it would be fresh for the next time I need white wine. Which actually is pretty often, but still, fresh little bottles will be nice.

So I picked up a four pack of Glen Ellen.

Name: Glen Ellen

Price: $5.99 for 4/187ml bottles

Year: there's no year on it

PHOTO of bottle: Isn't the little bottle cute?


Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
From the website: Our Chardonnay is medium-bodied, brimming with crisp apples and pears. It's crafted in a way to enhance the typical fruit flavors of the Chardonnay grape.

From the Box: This medium-bodied Chardonnay is made from grapes that are perfectly ripened and harvested at the peak of their flavor. Glen Ellen Chardonnay has pear and butterscotch flavors and a clean, crisp finish.

Review:
Just me today!

Pale yellow.
Smells fruity... apple maybe?
Tastes like wine... alcohol-y... warming sensation after the first swallow
It is crisp. I don't taste pear or butterscotch... maybe apple-y... pineapple-y.
The couple of sips left in the bottle after what I used for my garlic soup made my tongue puckery.

Would you buy again?: Definitely, for cooking.

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: I don't know about 'pairing' but it went into my garlic soup... I definitely use it to steam mussels or clams or to put into sauces or gravies.

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