Okay. I’ve been a very bad blogger. I haven’t been updating, but I have a good excuse! I haven’t been drinking anything worth blogging about. Out of desperation, I was very near posting my recipe for a Bloody Mary which—while excellent—is not exactly the stuff of exciting cocktails. But a few weeks ago, something new happened: wine.

My boyfriend got a job at a certain purveyor of beverages that entails not only a very handy discount, but a number of opportunities to taste wine. As a result, we’ve been hitting the grapes pretty hard, and having a grand time with it.

We’ve been drinking a lot of white wine, as both the weather and our meals have been on the hot side. There was a fun episode with some gerwürztraminer and riesling, but so far the real standouts have been sauvignon blanc and a quirky, delicious sparkling shiraz.

The first bout of deliciousness came by way of a lovely Marlborough, Wild Rock The Infamous Goose. It veered on the herbal, grassy side with just a little bit of fruit (the gooseberry to which the name refers). Excellent, and a bargain!

The following day, we went a little crazy with a sauv blanc and a red, but it was Memorial Day, so why not? First up was a Kim Crawford 2006 Sauv Blanc, another lovely Marlborough style. I think the Kiwis really know what they’re doing with this style. Smoother with more fruit and citrus flavors than the Infamous Goose, this was a fabulous wine all on its own pre-dinner. We followed that up with a bottle of The Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz. We picked this up on impulse, having no idea what a sparkling shiraz would taste like. Come to find out it’s something of a phenomenon in the States and hard to get ahold of, we felt very fortunate to taste this rich, tangy wine. It goes very nicely with burgers and sweet corn, but is pretty fantastic with fresh blackberries.