I was killing time today in between meetings and found a nice wine shop near one appointment. The Vineyard Wine Market is a nicely decorated wine shop with a decent selection. The old world meets new world decor was pleasant, especially the dog sleeping on his little bed near a leather couch in the middle of the store. Anthony, the owner, was very nice and answered all my questions.

Although the selection of cheap wines is nearly non-existent (I didn’t see any under $10 selections), there were several under $15. I decided to pick up a bottle of Coopers Creek Glamour Puss Pinot Noir 2005 to try as I almost finished my Shiraz from last night. One nice touch is that Anthony wraps all the bottles in colored tissue paper and then puts it in a nice paper sack with handles and the company’s name and logo.

Anthony had told me this was a very fruit forward wine with not much of a finish. I would say he knows his stuff. It is a decent, easy drinking wine. Lots of fruit up front, not a whole lot at the end, but overall pleasant. For sitting in the hotel room watching TV and warming up, it works just fine.

As a little extra – I did go to The Grape tonight for their wine tasting. Here is what I had:

• Yering Station Pinot Noir 2004
• Four Sisters Shiraz 2004
• Oriel Altezza Brunello di Montalcino 2000

Honestly, the first two left something to be desired. Both seemed too tart, but were better with food. The Shiraz actually had citrus hints, which really took me off guard. The Brunello was great. It was balanced and the flavor fell over my tongue like a waterfall. If it were less than $80 a bottle, I would drink more of it, but alas I can’t expense that one.