Wine Tasting at Woodhall Wood Cellars
I have a confession: I love wine. But, that's not the confession part. My secret shame is that I sometimes have the palette of a 19-year-old, who wants to appear grown up by sneaking sips, but doesn't really know how to properly handle an adult beverage. That is to say, I likes 'em sweet.
When I'm in my friendly neighborhood spirits distributor and purchasing purely for my own, in-home enjoyment, I usually go for a Moscato, a Riesling or a sweet red (this is, of course, when I'm not drinking champagne which is my absolute favorite spirit--and the champs does
not
have to be sweet. I know. Stay with me, though).
So even though I prefer a sweeter wine, I can still appreciate a really good (and not so sweet) one as well, and even use adjectives to describe it like "
dry
" "
full-bodied
" or "
smoky
"; and make appropriate conjectures like "
it has notes of...
" and be accurate about all of this. It
can definitely be fun to step out of my comfort zone and engage with vino in a mature and tasteful fashion. Wine tastings are the
perfect
medium for this (
I even hosted one for my birthday
a few years ago).
Now that I have aptly confessed, allow me to bring you to the point of these ramblings: last Saturday's wine tasting at
in celebration of ma girl LE's birthday. Woodhall is a 33-year-old boutique family winery, nestled in the rolling hills of northern Maryland (close to the Pennsylvania line). It's a quaint little place that presented us with excellent flights of both whites and reds, accompanied by a spread of cheeses, crackers, fruit and bruschetta. With lots of girl talk and giggling to boot, this was such a delightful way to spend a Saturday afternoon! The staff was friendly and kind as well!
Of the selections we tasted, I ended up bringing home two bottles to enjoy later: Gunpowder Falls White and Party Garnet.
Gunpowder Falls White 2013
satisfies my adult palette, with a "c
itrus aroma that leads to flavors of white grapefruit, with a little orange". It's a crisp, unoaked dry white wine.
Party Garnet
, touted by Woodhall as "the original party in a bottle", works for my ultra sweet cravings. It's one of those that's made for summer sipping, but I doubt it will last that long (let's be honest).
Looking forward to uncorking the fun on both bottles soon and, if you're local, I'd totally recommend you try them too.
p.s. There are a few other times I gushed about good wine. If you're interested, you can go
,
or
for deets.