The Worst Wine...Ever

Look closely after you read the post.

Having both spent time in Argentina, Paul and I love good red wine.  This is a pretty common thing for people who stay there an extended period of time in Argentina.  The great meat goes so well with the great wine.  I think it is safe to say my cousin Sara, who spent time there too, understands this. 

So Israel supposedly has this up and coming wine industry.  Much like real estate "Up and Coming" is code for "currently in shambles, but some people are working really hard and sinking money into this area - someday we hope it will be good!"  :)  It isn't the vinegar it used to be known as. (What is the difference between Israeli wine and Israeli vinegar?  The label.) Israeli wine-makers are trying - but they are not Argentinians.

A few weeks ago at the duty free store (one of the perks of Paul's job) we found an escape from Israeli wine, a bottle of Argentine Malbec (A dry red wine from a grape that is really only grown there - yet somehow there is an Israeli Malbec. We haven't tried it.). The label looked good, it is from a specific region in Argentina we know, looks legit.  A little over our price range but we decide to try it.  So last night Paul makes steak (Oh, he is getting good at that!) and we opened this bottle. 

The bottle was very difficult to open and when the cork finally came out it felt like recycled tires.  We poured the wine and let it breathe a few minutes before trying it.  I was not impressed.  The aroma was off, the mouth was weak and there was almost no finish.  This is why at restuarants they have you try the wine before you buy the bottle - in case you have a bad bottle like this one. 

Giving the wine the benefit of the doubt (and because I had already paid for it), I let it breathe for 20 more minutes (wine tastes very different when it is exposed to air. That is why you sometimes spin the glass before you drink).  Still no good.  This did not taste like a Malbec and was definitely not the quality I have come to expect from Argentine wines.  Two glasses into the bottle we agreed that this wine was not worth buying again. 

As we poured out the last glass Paul noticed half a cork and lots of sediment in the bottle (tiny solid particles).  He made fun of my corking skills for having broken the cork...until I showed him the cork, still in tact.  The recycled black rubber cork was in my hand.  The half cork in the bottle was clearly not ours. 

In addition to the horrific half of a rubber cork and the sediment in the bottle, this wine tasted like crap.  Easily the worst I have ever had.  (For the record, we didn't drink those last glasses.) This was worse than Two-Buck-Chuck.  You don't need to be a wine expert to recognize that this was a bad bottle.  I'm telling you a.) because I'm shocked!, b.) because I don't want you to buy this wine, and c.) because it is funny!  I'm glad we didn't intend on sharing this bottle with friends!