Wine is like a box of chocolates...

... and you really never know what you are going to get. This holds especially true when you are a Vino-Verde like myself who often chooses their libations based upon the price of the bottle or the intrigue of the label. And that is precisely what led me to my most recent bottle-o-grapey-goodness (& the first that I get to share with you!)

My road to this particular bottle of Chocolate Box 2007 Shiraz began like most of my adventures. It was Saturday night, all 4 of my roommates were downing [insert any and every light beer here] in the living room of our lake house watching football, and the supply was dwindling. So I happily agreed to head down the street to the local liquor store to pick up some run-of-the-mill Hefeweizens for the boys, knowing full well that I secretly couldn't wait to scope out the surprisingly large selection of wines at this rinky dink, we sell 1/5s of vodka by the boatload, neighborhood liquor store.

So we snag the beer and start perusing the dark wood shelves that seem so out of place in this run down store. Then it happens: A bottle with a sexy pin-up girl on the vibrant red label is right at my eye line and it was love at first sight as I walk towards the shelves. To add to this romance, the bottle had the words "dark chocolate" on it and had a moderate price tag of $14.99! Now, I am no advertising guru, but kudos to the people who made this label. I mean, chocolate and red wine... what else could a girl ask for?

Fast forward 15 minutes and I am back in the living room of the lake house, surrounded by football banter, empty beer cans, and a lot of testosterone. Not my ideal tasting environment, but a girl's got to work with what she's got. I read over the label once again, reminding myself that while I know I love Shiraz, I need to start honing my palate and picking out the specifics of each wine that make each one an individual masterpiece, much more than just a category.

I also want to note my feelings on twist-top or plastic corks v. the real deal. A few years ago when I first started drinking wine, I was under the impression that in order to get a good bottle you needed a cork and a hefty price tag. As an undergrad, this didn't bode well for my bank account so I always ended up buying $8-$10 bottles of whatever red I could find & settling that I would have a wait a few years to enjoy a good glass. But as I left the many pleasures (& many cheap wine hangovers) of undergrad behind and started the law school adventure I am currently on, I learned something about myself and my wine: expensive does not always equal good... and I was a bitch for thinking that way. Furthermore, a cork, while still a nicety, is not necessary. I have actually found that I now prefer twist-tops so that I can taste a vino, reflect on what I liked and did not like about it, and try it again in a few days to see if my opinion has changed and the bottle will stay fresh longer.

I digress. Back to this slice of chocolate heaven that I had just purchased... I twist off the bright red cap, pour a taste into my favorite wide mouthed glass, and immediately note something different. While I am [clearly] not a connoisseur, hence the purpose of this blog, I really don't know what an Australian Shiraz is supposed to present (check out the vineyard's tasting report here for an "official review": http://tinyurl.com/yf76wwf) But hey, that's part of the appeal for me isn't it! I did know that something was different about this Shiraz's initial flavors than the ones I normally favor, and it was something that I liked. A lot.

While expectantly oaky, it had a distinct chocolate layer that hit you almost as hard as the oak tones. And believe me, this was good. I mean, really really ridiculously good. One of the reasons I started favoring Shiraz in the first place is because they have such strong smells that materialize into strong tastes that aren't overpowering or lingering. And this was no exception. The first taste, even when left in the mouth for about 10 seconds, was delicious and full-bodied, but it left the mouth as fast as it came (go ahead, I know you want to say it. "That's what she said."). And this made for an almost perfect glass for me.

So my rating you ask? For a surprisingly solid Shiraz at a price that won't break the bank (but a little bit more than my ideal price point), I give it 8 fab-points out of 10 on the Vino-Verde scale. Not a bad start, eh.

Moral of the story? Everyone is taught that you can't judge a book by its cover, or a wine by its label, but this little nugget was a gem. Er... a chocolatey nugget if you will. And if you would like to try this bottle on your own, you can purchase it at most package stores on online at http://tinyurl.com/y8wa4c9.

Until my next bottle,

Nic