By Lois Crockett
Three “Moscatoteers” and a Beer Drinker walked into the brightly lit, clean Crown Fine Wine & Spirits store in Ft. Lauderdale (1030 NE 15 Ave.) to attend a wine tasting and have some fun.
Upon first walking in, the two gents at the cash registers were there to sign you in, give you a wine list and tiny golf pencil along with a wine glass and send you on your way to explore the wonderful world of wines.
Crown wine tastings are set up with several numbered stations throughout the store. On Friday night, Sept. 28, there were six. Each station has several wines and the sommeliers are knowledgeable and generous pourers.
Wines are discounted 15 percent, which can be quite a windfall if you’re considering a $79.99 bottle of wine. Being the Three “Muscatoteers” (Wine for All and All for Wine), the first thing we did was scope out the priciest bottle and make a beeline for a taste of Rodney Strong’s Crown Cabernet Sauvignon. There aren’t enough oh’s in smooth to describe the taste.
We clicked with the sommelier, Keith Hill at Station No. 2. We enjoyed the Etude Pinot Noir and a couple of other samples. Treated to small slices of bread to cleanse our palate (and glass, if you’re that picky), we were treated to cheeses, jams and myriad treats carried by the store for gift items or go-togethers for get-togethers.
The Three “Moscatoteers” and the Beer Drinker tripped lightly onto the station featuring Moscato wines …. light, fizzy, exceptionally pleasant and refreshing; we enjoyed imbibing such delightfully lovely wines. Across the way was “The Big Gun:” the $79.99 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cab is the preferred choice for sophisticates, although blends merit a taste and can be interesting as well. We learned red wines can and should be aged, white wines new, within a year or two for best taste.
Finally, we tried the Frosé, think 7-11 slurpy tricked out as a rose wine. Sweet, light, and bracing — this was the highlight of my pink night and even my red wine loving companions were encouraged to take a taste — and loved it!
In all, we sipped, swilled, shrilled and thrilled our way through the tasting and brought home delicious delights to be enjoyed at home. The Beer Drinker is starting to love wine. See you next time!
[To find a Crown Wine Tasting near you, see ad below.]
