Hello!

Welcome to The Epic! I am launching this blog as a manifesto for and a guide to living well. The title and motto of the blog are taken from the Epicureans, at least some of whom believed in the notion that not one minute of the future was guaranteed to them and that as a result they had the duty to live life to its fullest every moment.

I believe in discovering fun and pleasurable things wherever I find myself each day and I am told I have a knack for unearthing them. My hope is that by sharing in my pleasures and some of my ways of finding them you will begin to collect all the riches that lie in the moments of your life. They are there. Take them! All our lives should be.....Epic.

Friday, December 16, 2011

The Epic Cellar: More Great Wine Under $15

From the Epic Cellar, I am very pleased to report on two wines I have recently enjoyed.  Both can be had for under $15.00 [USA] on a regular basis and I occasionally snag a bottle or two for under $10.00.  I do not think these are good wines.  I think they are great wines. I heartily recommend them, particularly with cold, damp weather upon us that just begs for a crackling fire and a big glass of red wine.

The Aquinas Pino Noir was recommended to me by a pally who happened to be my waiter one night out at dinner a long way from home.  I was very impressed with it as I have also been with the Cabernet and Merlot produced by the same house.

Just last week, I was having dinner in a favorite place in Kansas City.  A cool jazz club in the basement of an old speakeasy.  I asked the waiter about the Guenoc I saw on the menu and he was not familiar with it.  It should come as no surprise to the return reader that I have an Edwardian romantic attraction to any wine that describes itself these days as a "claret".  Particularly one with Lillie Langtree on the label.  As I was pondering my choice, the waiter returned and said he had made inquiry of a young lady co-worker who highly recommended the Guenoc.  As I am loathe to ignore the recommendation of a lady when it comes to Claret, I procured a bottle. I adored it. 

Both of these wines taste great right out of the bottle but sidle their way smoothly toward lovely after a little while in contact with the air.  Both bottles have a snuggly close flavor while managing at the same time a certain far off distance from the palate.  The highly trained sipper such as myself will detect that both wines have a distinct underlying fruit flavor which is subtly reminiscent of grapes.  One of my favorite flavors for wine. 

My best recommendation is that I would bring either bottle to a friend's home as a dinner party gift.  It is in the same spirit that I submit them, humbly, for your approval.  Cheers!

Sponsorship Note:  Neither vintner mentioned in this post is compensating me for my opinions. If they choose to send me a case or two, however, I wouldn't refuse the shipments.

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