Allow me to introduce myself...

First things first...

Call me Pen.  I'm a hip (HA!) twenty-something living a stone's throw away from the nation's capital.  

(Tasting at Barboursville Vineyards, Barboursville, VA)

  

My taste in wines is varied, but sometimes I'm just afraid to grab a bottle of the shelf.  I sometimes put a lot of my trust in snooth and cellar tracker reviews, but sometimes there’s just no information out there.  

My main problem is, once I find a wine I like, I have a tendency to stick to it and not wander from the beaten path.  How boring.

Another problem:  I’m poor.  Sure, I used to be able to drop $40 on a bottle of wine like it was nothing, but those weren't made to be chugged with Steakums on a Tuesday night.  I see a pretty label with a tantalizing description, but my fear of wasting money on a wine I'm not sure I'll even like holds me back.  This blog is to get me over that fear.


Upon moving to this area, with a plethora of great restaurants within walking distance, I promised myself that I wouldn't try the same thing off the menu twice.  Every time I went somewhere, I couldn't order something I'd had there before.  So why not apply that same rule for wine?

I had my first experience with wine tasting at the Montpelier Wine Festival, here in Virginia.  Every year, 24 wineries are chosen by lottery to bring out their best for people to try on the beautiful grounds of James Madison’s home turf.  Before this, my wine experience was Beringer and whatever was on special at BJ’s that my parents picked up.

After going through my first official tasting at Democracy Vineyard's tent - The heavens opened and a flight of angels descended with a flourish of trumpets and I suddenly realized that I didn’t know shit anything about wine.  I still don't.  I don't know how to pick out the finer notes of peaches, minerals, tobacco, wet dogs, etc., in a wine, but I think I'm getting better at it.

So the point of this blog is to document my journey through the world that is wine.  I've tried hundreds, but did not do a thorough job documenting it.  In fact, all I have are winery pamphlets covered in unrecognizable scribbles with arrows pointing up or down.

If you would like me to try a wine, let me know.  I’m up for anything and I crave suggestions.  Even if it's something you've never tried personally, but have been curious.  I'll try it for you.  Go on, dare me.

THERE IS ONLY ONE RULE:

All wine must be under $15 a bottle

I live in the Northern Virginia area and I have access to Harris Teeter, Total Wine, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Costco, Target, Walmart, not to mention some smaller wine 'boutiques' within walking distance such as The Curious Grape and Cheesetique.  I have a myriad of wine vendor choices, so don't hesitate to throw an idea my way.  

So, why "Wine of the Evening"?  

One of my favorite things to do is to open a bottle of wine after a hard day of work and just enjoy it.  I would post a micro review on Twitter with a picture to show my followers what particular wine I was partaking in.  I always start those tweets with "Wine of the Evening" so the name stuck.  This blog was created with the intent of fleshing out those Twitter micro-reviews.

Bottoms up! :)