Palate Fatigue!

So, I attended a wine tasting this evening and “it” happened.  “IT” is what I call Palate Fatigue.  Yes, it is a real thing, at least in my mind!! I walked up to register and was handed a list of the wines I would be tasting. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! There are 16, you read that right, 16 wines on the list ((thank goodness I had that corn dog at Ormsby (www.ormsbysatlanta.com) before I walked to the wine store)).  I was excited and a little concerned as I had not tasted that much in one sitting since my last trip to Napa.  The only option I had was to put my big girl panties on and TASTE. All of the wines were Chenin Blanc’s (versatile white wine grape cultivated in France, can be lusciously sweet or bone dry and many things in between – Fun Fact – South Africa now produces more Chenin Blanc than France), from France, the US and South Africa.  Here’s the issue, by wine number 8 you could have poured me some Boones Farm (don’t judge me, you know you all drank Boones Farm, Mad Dog, and Hunch Punch in college!!) and I probably would have told you I tasted apricots and soft flower petals and a little crisp finish.  My palate was tired as HELL.  I was trying so hard to focus on what I was smelling and tasting that I lost some of the experience.  It did not help that there were TONS of people there, so there was no real space and time to speak to the folks doing the pouring, who by the way were tasting right along with us (which made for some hilarious comments). After wine number 8 I began to “pour out”, that’s right, “pour out”. I never do this, but there was no other way I was going to get through the last 8 wines.  By wine number 9, I was swirling, smelling and tasting all in about 15 seconds, which for a novice like me, is way too fast. So here I am rushing through the last batch of wines and realizing, as I am moving on, that I have figured out what I like and don’t like about Chenin Blanc.  I do like the apricot flavor.  It was like eating a warm buttered biscuit with Aunt June’s homemade apricot jam. The finish was slightly dry, but not so dry that you get the feeling right in the back of your jaw, that makes us hiss like a cat.  Here is my favorite from the night and yes, it was one the first 8 glasses I tasted, before my palate got the “itis”.

NV Vodanis – Sparkling – $19.99 – Great for that Tuesday evening when you don’t feel like cooking, so you stop by your local Publix or Popeye’s for some fried chicken, or you completely “Olivia Pope” it and have some popcorn with sea salt and butter.  Yes, bubbles go perfectly with this type of yummy goodness, surprising I know.  So you get home are exhausted and ready to wind down.  Turn on some Avery Sunshine, Jill Scott, Robert Glasper or Cecile McLorin Salvant while enjoying bubbles.  Their voices are smooth with just the right amount of soul to keep you interested, just like this Vodanis.  The richness and the bubbles keep you wanting more.

Enjoy!