Having been an artist for the last two decades, my taste of the arts is ever-changing. I like bold loud flaunting designs these days. Why be subtle? When you view a Picasso painting and thinking to yourself, Wow that guy was pretty far out-there and head of his time. Really? Or was it his vision to provoke a deeper thought? Or maybe it was too much wine that day with a paintbrush in his hand? Doesn’t matter to me. Art tells a story, usually an untold story. My taste in wines is the same. So much to explore.

I was at one of my local grocery stores that I normally do not patronize. Only because I don’t like their parking lot. But I needed to pick something up the other two didn’t have. On my way out, I slipped through the wine section to see what they had as I needed something to pair with a salmon dish I would be having for dinner.

As I watch others grab the cheap wine down on the bottom shelf…which makes me cringe by the way. When I see someone pick up a bottle of “B” as I’ll call it, I literally go into an anxiety attack. Thinking to myself … really? Can’t you broaden your horizons a little bit and move up the grocery shelf to something in the $10 area or above? The expensive wines are at eye level, not the $4 crap. I usually stay around the $12-$16 area most of the time.

As I was scanning the long rows of whites and being a chardonnay fan, I wanted something I haven’t tried before. I came across a Chardonnay by Vintage Ink from 2009. Yes, yes the label caught my eye. Like I said, I love art. Even tattoo art. An expression of oneself.  Instead of seeing glossy cartoonish labels, or a drawing of the winery mansion, Vintage Ink delivers with a bold black tattoo’d logo covering most of the label on a very nice linen paper stock. A pop of dark reds finishes off the design very nicely. As I stood there holding the bottle, I felt I should be looking at a Cabernet from the label I see. I was intrigued.

I chilled the wine for the evening dinner I was preparing. I cut the top and pulled the cork. The Chardonnay has a very nice aroma, tropically floral with a bit of vanilla but not overpowering.  I’m not a pear fan when it comes to fruit. The blending of the pear with hints of citrus, pineapple gives a smooth balanced crisp taste and not falling flat on the end. This is not a sweet wine, more of a medium dry variety. I like a wine that can hold its own from start to finish. This one does. With the salmon I had prepared for the evening using spicy herbs, oregano, garlic and lime. The chardonnay was a nice compliment to my meal. I love spicy so with the Vintage Ink Chardonnay, all the flavors worked well together.

You can find this Vintage Ink for around the $12-$15 price point. It is worth it.

So the next time you find yourself bending over to grab the “B” wine, stand up for once and be bold in your selection.

This is your “Rite of Passage” so Flaunt it. She just might dig that.

Enjoy!