We recorded this last week, and as I type this post it is 5 days until exam day. It’s all cram sessions and luck of the draw in terms of getting wines and theory questions that are easier vs. harder for me at this point.
But the DRINKS! I finally got to choose what I drank vs. drinking only from a curriculum this week, so we put our money where our mouthy mouths were a couple weeks back and went to our first non-alcoholic tasting event!
A new place opened in South Pasadena, Burden of Proof, and on their 3rd day of business (!) they hosted a free tasting event. They brought in certified sommelier, Emily the Somm, who poured a pretty impressive non-alcoholic sparkling white from Kolonne Null made from Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Blanc. In was surprsingly rich in flavor, golden fruits and brioche notes, great “mousse” texture. Though lacking the body and length of an alcoholic wine, of course. Still, as a cremant-style sparkler, the flavor profile was spot on.
They also poured two sparkling teas from Copenhagen Tea Company - they were not trying to be non-alcoholic versions of anything, they were just straight up teas, but sparkling and meant to be food-freindly. We tried an Ooling and Hibiscus “Rose” style sparkler, plus an Earl Green Sencha, Darjeeling, and orange peel version. Both were excellent, though neither Dallas nor myself are tea men.
Dallas wound up buying THE PATHFINDER, a fermented and distilled then de-alcoholized hemp-based botanical spirit that was a cornucopia of flavor! I wound up buying an Oddbird Sparkling Rose, Stuido Null Prickley Red, and the Kolonne Null Rouge No. 2 which the staff left a note saying “What it would taste like if you could bottle Javier Bardem.” SOLD.
Additional shout outs to:
-2015 Domaine Rolet Arbois Vin de Paille (aka “straw wine” from the Jura)
-2022 La Ferme Rouge, Terre Rouge, Zaer, Morocco
Also:
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