I am a lover of Red Wine. I would say it was an acquired taste and now I salivate at the mere mention of the flavourful liquid. My first revelation came after a wine tasting lesson at a Niagara winery. They paired one of their Merlot’s with chocolate covered strawberries. They taught me to swirl the wine, sniff it and tip it to see the “legs”. Then we sipped it and sucked in air to get the full body flavour. We did it again after we took a bite of our strawberry. I had never before experienced either wine or strawberries like that before. It was devine.

For years after that, I was a devoted merlot sipper. I tried anything labelled as such, ignoring all other varieties. I wasn’t sure I could like anything as much as “my” merlot. But I was wrong. A friend recommended I try a Valpolicella once. Reluctantly, I obliged and to my pleasant surprise, I LOVED it!!! It opened me up to trying other varieties. Now I add Shiraz and Cabernet-Savignon to my list of “Likes”.

My most recent red wine adventure had me trying a South African Red called “Porcupine Ridge”. It went down like smooth velvet. Rich, aromatic and delicious. Next to Masi, Valpolicella, it was my new favourite. If you are a red wine drinker who favours merlots and valpols, check this out. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.