Il Vino

How to taste wine:

1. Look at the wine, especially around the edges. Tilting the glass a bit can make it easier to see the way the color changes from the center to the edges. Holding the glass in front of a white background, such as a napkin, tablecloth, or sheet of paper, is another good way to make out the wine's true color. Look for the color of the wine and the clarity. White wineswine so you can compare its fragrance after swirling. become darker as they age while time causes red wines to lose their color turning more brownish, often with a small amount of harmless, dark red sediment in the bottom of the bottle or glass. This is also a good time to catch a preliminary sniff of the
2. Swirl the wine in your glass. This is to mix oxygen in with the wine, which will soften the tannins of a young wine. It also spreads the liquid over the surface of the glass so that more of the wine can evaporate.
3. Sniff the wine. Initially you should hold the glass a few inches from your nose. Then let your nose go into the glass. What do you smell?
4. Take a sip of wine, but do not swallow yet. Roll the wine around in your mouth exposing it to all of your taste buds. Do this for at least a few seconds before swallowing, taking time to think about the flavors you are experiencing.
5. Take another sip of the wine, but this time (especially if you are drinking a red wine) introduce air with it. In other words, slurp the wine (without making a loud slurping noise, of course). Note the subtle differences in flavor and texture.
6. Note the aftertaste when you swallow. How long does the finish last? Do you like the taste?

Weekend with a twist

We haven't had a weekend like this for ages. It's nice being in a group but it's awesome if once in a while you go out alone as a couple...bringing on memories of those first few dates :) Well, that's what happened to baksu and me last weekend. Our friends were engaged in a family meal. This left baksu and me to ponder what to do for the weekend. Normally, in cases like this we just go and eat somewhere. No, don't rush now...we still went to that continental mid-budget restaurant to satisfy our appetite. Coming to think of it, that spinach and mushroom tagliatelle was finger-licking good.

Anyways, the twist came afterwards. Instead of going back home or to a quiet little place, baksu and me hit the dancefloor!!! Oh my god! I can't remember the last time we did this, really. I was on cloud nine. Another unexpected twist took place on our way back home. Outside, it was raining cats and dogs (already not a very common occurence on this boiling piece of earth). It was raining so much that we were having trouble passing through the drowned streets. We made a deviation hoping for the better, but the water situation turned out worse. We stopped the car, not knowing what to do next...just praying not to be pushed away with the water current. Our prayers were heard, coz after a few moments the rain got to a halt and the amount of water on the roads was reduced considerably. After more than 1.5hrs we arrived home...a journey that normally takes us not more than 20mins.