“guys, we’re this much closer to being legal age to drink wine!!!”
So last night Louisville won, and we are done with the Madness and all its squeaky sneakers. If we were doing this according to grapes, we all probably would’ve been rooting for Michigan, whose wine is a little better than Kentucky’s, at least according to the Wine Spectator who did a Final Four taste off with wines from the states of their respective schools:
- Brooks, Ky.’s Brooks Hill Winery, just 5 miles from Louisville, fills in for the Cardinals
- Prairie Fire Winery from Paxico, Kan., represents the Wichita State Shockers
- L. Mawby Vineyards in Suttons Bay, Mich., comes to the line for the Wolverines
- Anthony Road Wine Company, rooted in Penn Yan, N.Y., is rooting for the Syracuse Orange
The Mawby (a Blanc de Noir bubbly) emerged the champion, handily beating the Brooks Hill Lemberger (a rustic red that I’ve only had from the Finger Lakes) which didn’t even make it to the Finals. To be honest, if we’re talking about Kentucky I would’ve just gone bourbon but good to know there’s some decent wine coming out of there too!
But Louisville won, so we should all seek out some Lemberger. Wine Spectator described it as having “aromas of plum, cranberry and cherry … along with savory cherry and berry pie, sanguine and tobacco leaf flavors.”
I could’ve just awarded the grape to Kevin Ware alone, maybe a bone-dry Riesling (too soon, I know, I know) but he’s underage. Still floored the guy is up and walking around, so he really does deserve something. But the team grape is obviously just for the over-21’s on the team. Obviously.
