I'm a huge NFL fan. Washington Redskins football is like church to me. I grew up a fan, have been through the good times and the bad times and will stay a diehard Redskins fan my entire life no matter what the circumstances. I bleed burgandy and gold.
With that said, when my Skins are not in the post season, I still watch the playoffs. I LOVE football. This year we had a small Super Bowl party at my parents house. My mom was feeling better and so she wanted to prepare everything - brats on the grill, meatballs in the crockpot, my grandfather's famous dip that is at every party along with chips and fritos, amazing cheese and crackers, macaroni salad, deviled eggs. The only thing she left to me, naturally, was the wine selection.
I was researching for a week ahead of time trying to find something that would go with "all of that" and my findings brought me to two wines. Both were found at Giant, under $20 and so I decided we would do a tasting and see which fared better.
Prior to the tasting, just like prior to the game starting, I thought both wines/teams would pair up well and put up a tough fight for the title of "best". However, just as the Seahawks stomped the Broncos, the Chardonnay stomped the Old Vine Zinfandel - by a landslide. We're talking no comparision whatsoever!
AFC - Denver Broncos - 2011 Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel from Lodi, California
VS
NFC - Seattle Seahawks - 2009 Wente "Morning Fog" Chardonnay from Livermore Valley, California
The Chardonnay smelled of pineapple and coconut - very light and refreshing. Delightful lemon cream with a hint of toasted coconut were found on the palette. With a slight tangy aftertaste that didn't linger, this wine made me long for the next sip. It paired wonderfully with the grilled bratwurst and stone ground mustard with macaroni salad and deviled eggs on the side. I was pleased with this purchase - so far so good! It was an unseasonably warm day for the second of February and it even paired nicely with the sunshine and wooden deck out back. 
How can you not have hot dogs or sausages while watching football? I mean if you can't go to NYC for the Super Bowl, then you should bring the Super Bowl and the tailgate party to where you are, which is what we did!
To my dismay, the Chardonnay, unfortunately, didn't last forever and as I shook the last drop of beautiful juice out of the bottle, along came a tear. Little did I know that it would be much worse than I imagined once I opened the Old Vine Zin.
When I first opened the Zin and poured it into my glass, I was optimistic. It was pretty and it had nice legs. With much anticipation (because homemade chocolate brownies with chocolate icing were for dessert!), I took a sniff. Now I say, like what you like and don't judge others, but this wine was horrendous. I didn't smell the plum, or spice or tobacco like the label misleadingly read. No, what did I smell? Vomit. Yes, boys and girls, you read that correctly...... VOMIT. Good ole should be in the trash can or porcelain throne after a night of college binge drinking.
Now, I have smelled some funky wines in my day and actually the funkier they are (in a red) the more I tend to like them. But when I refer to funk I mean earth, soil, dirt, forest floor, farm. I have smelled wines, gotten past the wretched smell and then tasted it and the taste has been fabulous. However, not this time. My stomach truly was churning with every whiff of this wine. I thought I'd try to get past the smell and take a sip. It was no better. In fact, I couldn't even get past the smell to try a taste for a good 10 minutes. Every time my nose got anywhere near that glass I was sickened. I couldn't do it.
I put the glass aside and two hours later I tried it again. Such a glutton for punishment. It still smelled bad but not as strong. I tasted it and it wasn't vomit-infused anymore but it was my next worst smell in the world - beets. That was it. Goodbye Old Vine Zinfandel - I hope we never cross paths ever again. I'm sure someone likes you - God help them.
So as lopsided as the Super Bowl was, so was my wine selection. Thank you good ole California Chardonnay!! You, my friend, saved the day!
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