Had an office function tonight. I chose the wines for the evening. I think I picked a good crowd friendly selection. I do take pride in picking wines for these events.

So the spouse of one of the staff comes in with a bottle of homemade wine labelled "Sicilian Syrah." Uh-oh, I'm thinking.

So to be polite, I set aside the Marquis Phillips Sarah's Blend and try a sip of this homemade concoction. And wow, it's actually really good. Not quite varietally correct, mind you, but very much drinkable with nice balance of fruit, tannin, acidity, and a subtle oak finish. Made from a kit, no less. Huh.

===============================================

quote:

I set aside the Marquis Phillips Sarah's Blend

Sounds like he did you a favor and saved the evening.

mit, did she tell where the grapes came from?

Apparently the wine was made from a higher-priced winemaking kit. The juice presumably came from Italy, but who knows? The wine was aged for several months with oak chips then bottled and at this point was about a year out from fermentation. I was truly impressed. Never had a homemade wine before that I wanted a second sip of.