Maybe I'm just in an agreeable mood this week but I have been less critical of the wines I've been tasting lately although not bowled over by any of them. At Harris Teeter grocery store the free Thursday tasting was of Barefoot wines! a company that doesn't take itself very seriously. I skipped the white and tried the pink and the red they were pouring. The pink was Barefoot Refresh Perfectly Pink made from Grenache and Moscato grapes. One man said it reminded him of high school and Thunderbird, but I kind of enjoyed it and bought a bottle to open later this summer. Will post a note at that time.
Fayetteville, NC has a downtown celebration on Fourth Fridays, so I went to a free wine tasting at the downtown location of The Wine Cafe and then to the Market House for a book signing (the author and historian, Rodney Barfield, is the brother of a good friend of one of our church members and she persuaded me to attend the book signing.) The new book is "America's Forgotten Caste: Free Blacks in Antebellum Virginia and North Carolina." Then I stopped for a salad at Lido's and ordered a takeout dessert. A bagpipe player was performing on the balcony of the Market House and further down Hay Street were other musicians and Turkish dancers.
At the free wine tasting, the first wine was Y&B (Yellow and Blue) Chardonnay from Lodi, CA in a tetra pak. I actually thought it was pretty good as did the wine shop owner. The next white was Sommer Palais Riesling from Von Kesselstatt, a dry white wine. Grapes are from the Mosel/Saar/Ruwer district. I wasn't very impressed with it.
The pink wine was an interesting Spanish Garnacha Rosado with some herby elements. The red wine was a Ken Forrrester blended red with Grenache, Shiraz and maybe some Mourvedre. I didn't care for it but others liked it better than I did. I have liked Ken Forrester Chenin Blancs.
After the free tasting I had time to try two half glasses of red wines from the wine dispenser with a smart card. I tried a 2011 The Seeker Pinot Noir from Auvergne, France. It had fruity, somewhat candied cherries. From high-altitude vineyard. At $15.99 a bottle this is priced for casual consumption. Then I tried the 2012 P.J. Valckenberg Dornfelder from Rheinhessen. It was a vivid scarlet color. In the mouth it reminded me a little of raspberry-flavored hard candies. Second red in a row that seemed a bit candied.