Three couples of friends have a fun Christmas tradition: one afternoon between family celebrations, they meet at the home of one of them -they take turns from year to year- and each couple brings a bottle of wine. They prepare a tasty snack and organize a blind tasting of the three wines. The objective is to choose the wine that best harmonizes with the tapas on the table. The couple that has brought the winning bottle gets the prize: the other two couples invite them to dinner at a restaurant of their choice.
Last year something unprecedented happened: the three wines tied in preferences! This has never happened before, as tastes normally converge in such a way that the winning wine usually obtains a high consensus. But this time the opposite happened and the election produced an irresolvable result. Between laughter and exclamations, they started removing the aluminum foil from the bottles and uncovering the brands.
Double surprise
When it was revealed which wines had caused the absolute tie, the situation became even more surprising: they were not three different wines, but the same one! The three couples had agreed on Viña Muriel Blanco Reserva and with that decision they opened the door to one of the most enjoyable and original evenings since they started celebrating their wine encounters.
Viña Muriel Blanco had attracted them for different reasons. For some, it had been thanks to the recommendation of a winelover friend who was always on the hunt for what he called "green hearts", wines that were true gems yet to be discovered and marveled at. For others, it had been a chance find in a restaurant; they had loved the wine, it went wonderfully with both the first and second courses and they thought that this versatile wine had everything to surprise... and win. For their part, the hosts had chosen it because of their preference for Rioja whites, with that unique combination of classic depth and the lively, fresh presence of the citrus fruit character that is so pleasant.
-It is a pure delight.
-And how good it is with the Iberian ¨paleta¨, I was very surprised by its cleanliness.
-What about the foie?
- That finish between savory, herbaceous, refreshing…
- It is very enveloping, I love it.
- With oysters, it's like touching heaven. Very good idea!
- Give me another glass!
Between small evaluations and great pleasures, those special hours dedicated to the wine game passed. Nobody won and everybody won, so a few weeks later, they all gathered up and had a pleasant dinner.
The six of them have already set a date for a new wine meeting this coming holiday season. Laughing, they commented the other day that when they meet again with a wine from Muriel, Conde de los Andes or Pazo Cilleiro, they will all go on a trip to visit the wineries of Muriel Wines. And we will be looking forward to it.
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