The F.A.M.S.B.T.T.

My sister is the first to point out that my memory sucks.* Buuuuuut I will not forget (or at least have not yet forgotten) discovering the wonderful Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand, which for about a year now has been my white wine of choice. I first tasted a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc last May at a big family dinner. I certainly didn't order it and probably even grumbled at its being ordered, but once I tasted it I made sure the bottle stayed on my end of the table. That MSB was by Kim Crawford, and it was the first wine in which I was accurately and unmistakably able to identify an actual organic flavor in wine. (It was passion fruit, which gave this wine an edge given my weakness for tropical fruit.) I subsequently not only committed to memory the name Kim Crawford, but I also went out and told my friends about it.

This weekend I've planned the First Annual MSB Taste Test. While it's obviously an excuse to consume a lot of wine, I'd like to consider it a learning experience too. Who knows when wine flavor-identifying skills will come in handy? I intend to hone mine now (especially with unemployment on the horizon).

We'll be pitting Kim Crawford against two or three other contenders. Full details -- and of course, results -- to follow.

*(She's right. In fact I very nearly recounted my discovery of Kim Crawford as having happened at her high school graduation dinner when in fact it was at my stepmom's grad school graduation dinner.)