Hello everybody. I would like to share a little bit of my experience at Astor Wine and Spirits located at 399 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003. They have many wine selections and it can be very overwhelming, however, it is a very nice place for wine enthusiasts and for people like myself that are new to wine. I do not want to give away too much because there is a good chance I will choose to write about this place for the retail shop assignment but I would recommend it to anyone. I went to two different wine tastings. I went on Tuesday, February 20 and yesterday. On February 20, they had two red wines from the Rhone Valley in France and yesterday they had one white wine and three red wines from Umbria which is located in the center of Italy and borders Tuscany. The white wine was light and fresh while the red wines were rich. The red wines were also full of tannin especially one that literally felt like I had a mouth full of cotton balls (very dry).

Wines from Rhone Valley 2/20/18

red wine

grape varieties: (GSM blend) Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre

vintage: 2015

red wine

grape variety: Syrah

vintage: 2014

Wines from Umbria 3/3/18

white wine

grape variety:Trebbiano

Vintage: 2016

red wine

grape varieties: 60% Sangiovese, 30% Barbera and 10% Sagrantino

vintage: 2014

red wine (very tannic)

grape variety: Sagrantino

vintage: 2013

red dessert wine (Very similar label to the wine above. Only difference is that this label says “passito” which is an Italian term used to describe wines that are made from dry grapes.)

grape variety: Sagrantino

vintage: 2012

I also had the opportunity to taste coffee liqueur from New South Wales, Australia.

So this IS a beverage course, so let’s explore another beverage…coffee. Share what you like about coffee. Here is a post by EATer on NYC coffee. My favorite, Brooklyn Roasting Company (just down the street at 25 Jay Street), is not on the list but I still respect what they wrote about: Best Cafe Coffee http://ny.eater.com/maps/best-cafe-coffee-shop-new-york-city-brooklyn-queens

What is your favorite coffee shop? Is it on the list?

Let me know of you try any of the shops on here.

Please share your thoughts about this article.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/10/27/451950106/in-soda-politics-big-soda-at-crossroads-of-profit-and-public-health?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20151028&utm_campaign=npr_email_a_friend&utm_term=storyshare

I came across a great app if you want to test your knowledge of wine. It is produced by the Society of Wine Educators so just search “Society of Wine Educators” in the app store you use and down-load it. It starts off easy and gets hard but also provides resources to explore the topics presented deeper. Let me know if you use it.