Alas Niagara

This past week Larry (of this group) and I toured the Niagara Wine Trail and visited and tasted our way through a dozen or so of the area's better wineries. Being the pilot, I spit, being the pbuttenger, Larry did not! We tasted wines fair, mediocre, wonderful and in one case truly awful.

This is the third time in Niagara that I have been offered a GREAT deal with some wines on sale! In this case the Pinot Noire I was offered was a deep brick red, obviously spoiled on the nose and not in the least worthy of a tasting. The offerings from the other two offenders were no less terrible. These were not lower level sleaze wineries; One of them would surely be recognized internationally and the other two have had very good press in the past

The question I posed to the counter person was the obvious one..... Why would you jeopardise your reputation by selling swill like this even at a steep discount? Are your financial straights so desperate? Of course all I got in response was the stony blank stare. Poor bastard doesn't own the joint, he needs the job!

For so many in a newly emerging vinicultural area to have their hard work undermined by that greedy, unprincipled few is truly sickening. Makes me almost as mad as the ones who get a decent little review and immediately double their prices.

Did Dante have a level exclusive to these people?

I'm sure the foregoing is a common experience world-wide but I just had to get it off my chest. Thanks for your patience,

End of Rant.

-- Regards Chuck So much wine; So little time!

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