Daddy Winebucks

Was I facing a tough pitcher or was I just rusty from last stepping up to the plate for the Seaford Little League Yankees in 1976?  Either way it was not a good start.

The wine, a Spanish red called, Slow Paseo, was I realized upon pulling the cork, what we in the biz call a “shiner.”  At least I think it was.  A shiner is basically someone elses bulk wine that has already been bottled but no label has been affixed yet.  Companies, often importers, buy this wine and then add their own label to the “shiny” but unadorned bottle.

There is nothing wrong with this very common practice and many solid wines begin their lives meant to be something else.

As such I poured the wine undeterred and took my first sniff.  I’ll admit here from the outset that I’m no Gary Vaynerchuk when it comes to being able to quickly (and probably accurately) tell someone what I smell.  In fact I always tend to go the opposite way when someone asks *me* what *they* should be smelling.

What may smell to you like Albany, NY after two days of rain, a nearby road newly paved, while grass is cut with a hand mower by a sweaty postal worker on his day off, may to me smell like Anise, that flowering Mediterranean plant used to make the liquor Anisette, which is what the Slow Paseo wine reminded me of.

The first taste did not have much fruit, but was mild on the mid-palette before dropping off a cliff on the finish.  Not impressive.  I tried it again two hours later and got some black cherry on the nose and a hint of fruit but again nothing dramatic in the mouth.

I had contemplated scoring this first wine as a walk but to be fair it’s the first one I’ve tried so for those scoring at home lets call this one a:  SINGLE.

$5.99

The streak begins…