The Wine Bin in Ellicott City
regularly offers tastings of their wines for customers. Usually the pours are
handled by the staff but yesterday they had a celebrity bartender. Rick Moshin,
owner of Moshin Vineyards, was on hand to pour samples and answer questions
about his wines. He also shared a few stories that you won’t see on the labels
or his website like the fact that his 2009 Pinot Noir, Lost Ranch is named for
the grapes from a ranch that a friend lost in a divorce. For me, a good story
often makes a good wine taste even better. I bought a bottle of Lost Ranch.
The Wine Bin was also rolling out its new growler service
and like the wines, they were offering tastes of their growler beers too.
Though I've become a fan of the craft beer movement, I’m not certain the growler thing will work for me. The smallest size is 32 ounces and once you open it,
you better plan on finishing it. I enjoy having a glass or two of beer at home
but with the higher alcohol craft beers, I tend to drink them much slower than the lighter brews. I am
concerned that the beer in the growler will have become flat by the time I get
to that second or third glass.
But I am the adventurous sort, particularly when it comes to
adult libations, so I purchased a 32 ounce growler for six bucks and filled it
with the Lagunitas IPA. Right now it is awaiting its debut in my naturally cooled
garage.
Stay tuned.
