Johnny America

 

Re­view: Ver­dan­ge Cal­i­for­nia Shi­raz (2003)

by

Big Macs have their place — so does foie gras. I grav­i­tate to­ward the mid­dle-ground of stewed car­rots and roast­ed chick­en, but when it comes to liquor I’m less par­tic­u­lar. Boone’s, Glen­livet, MD 20/20: all have their time and lo­cale. The 2003 Shi­raz by Ver­dan­ge seems like a bril­liant idea: pack­ing 500 ml of a his­tor­i­cal­ly (cheap, but) de­cent ta­ble wine in­to a col­or­ful wa­ter­proof “juice­box” that holds “3+” serv­ings of Cal­i­for­nia good­ness with­in its waxy cas­ing. Just the right size to stash in a purse along­side a plas­tic bag­gy of Jalapeño Havar­ti (cheese) and a hand­ful of crack­ers; the per­fect con­tain­er for an af­ter­noon of am­bling about the park, I thought. It had such promise. Un­for­tu­nate­ly, the Ver­dan­ge is dis­gust­ing and un­fit for con­sump­tion. I don’t know why the im­age popped in­to my brain, but on tak­ing my first sip I won­dered what an­thrax tastes like, whether it would taste less “chem­i­cal” and more re­fresh­ing. I still wonder.

Filed under Drinking on October 9th, 2006

Care to Share?

Consider posting a note of comment on this item:

—§—

Previous Post

«

Next Post

»

Join our Irregular Mailing List

For very occasional ramblings, word about new print ephemera, and of course exciting investment opportunities.