Alright ye beautiful wine goblins, Garrett Seamus O’Sullivan here again, sittin’ in fer the Grocery Outlet Wino and performin’ important scientific research one cheap bottle at a time. This week’s contestant was the 2022 Flying Arrow Pinot Noir from the North Coast, and the back label nearly put me to sleep standin’ upright in the aisle. Absolute generic nonsense about craftsmanship, passion, and vineyards kissed by destiny or whatever the hell. Not one useful word about what the wine actually tastes like. Boo indeed. I’ve read more informative fortune cookies.
But then came the first sip, and I nearly fell off me chair. This wasn’t one o’ those weak little Pinot Noirs that tastes like someone whispered “grape” into a bottle o’ water. Nah, this lad came out swingin’. Good puckeryishness, lovely jammy flavor, and a sneaky little bit o’ spice and fruit on the finish. Strong fer a Pinot Noir too. If this wine were in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, it’d be the Black Knight after losin’ both arms yellin’, “Come back here! I’ll bite yer legs off!” Tough little bastard.
Now here’s where things got weird. I paired it with me own homemade spicy Mexican-style sloppy joe disaster creation, which honestly looked like something the villagers would catapult over the castle walls during a siege. Yet somehow… somehow… this Pinot handled it beautifully. I was stunned. Didn’t disappear, didn’t turn bitter, didn’t cry fer mercy. The wine held up to the spice, the meat, and whatever questionable seasoning decisions I’d made after the third glass. At $7.99, this is the kind o’ bottle ye buy by the armful. And trust me, I’ll absolutely be back fer more bottles before the rest o’ ye lunatics catch on.
