Tiny Oasis of Civilization

The conveyor belt driven existence of the frequent traveller can be offset by little gems of humanity along the way.

On the last couple of connections through Charlottle NC (Thanks US Scareways for providing inconvenient and luggage losing connections through C-list American cities at low cost and with full Aeroplan Status Miles through the magic of Star Alliance!) Sheena has taken a breather and a sniffer at the Yadkin Valley Wine Boutique. I suspect this little venture was inspired by the lovely Rose City Wine Bar at the Portland Oregon airport.

Had a nice chat with the guy behind the counter, shared stories about obscure emerging wine regions whereby Sheena completely devastated him with her brilliant treatise on the emerging trends in New Mexico wines. Spent $10 on a tasting of four premium wines - 2 Chardonnays and 2 Meritage (Bordeaux style blends à la Murricanese). Sheena is not a big Chardonnay fan, but these were sippable. Maybe a tad heavy on the oak for my liking. North Carolina should not try to be California. One of the reds, to my great surprise, kicked ass. The 2004 Vinter's Signature was a beautiful bricky red colour, just about right for drinking now. Bought a bottle - $30 US which works about to about $16 CDN these days...