Pacific Northwest Wines in Oslo

Was invited to a ladies' wine-tasting session themed 'Pacific Northwest'. I grinned. How very nice. On the menu were seven bottles of whites and reds from Washington State. Did you know that Ballard in Seattle has fairly strong Nordic influences in its buildings and food mainly because of its early Nordic settlers who came for the salmon?

I don't know wines. Unfortunately, they're just fermented grape juice to me. New world wines and grand cru are all the same to my tastebuds. Neither am I all that fond of them. Yeah, I know my tea, coffee, whisky and beer. But not wine. So the usual easy merlot of the Pacific Northwest are great. Not keen on their pinot noir. I prefer Australian pinot noir for easier drinking. Contemplated wearing a Pearl Jam tee (I brought it here!) to the host's home, and in the end, settled for a plaid shirt to look less grunge. Heh.

Grinned even wider when I spotted Charles Smith Wines' 'The Velvet Devil'. I drank loads of that just this spring in Seattle. Kinda miss it. Had two glasses of that. Yummy. Avoided the whites. Didn't quite feel like the acidity. Not very fond of the lighter flavors that more or less end up tasting sour on the tastebuds. Whites are often wasted on me.

The tasting session was hosted by one of the ladies at her home. The host took loads of effort to prep the table, lit candles, sorted out table linen and all. Another collated tasting notes and printed out the information for all who attended. Couldn't believe how hospitable they were. Dinner was done potluck style with everyone contributing a dish, and the host coordinated the menu. It was quite a lovely party. Surprisingly, I found many common topics with majority. If I'm not just a visitor to Oslo, but a new resident beginning to reach out, it's a wonderful way to meet new people, hear their stories and get a feel of the city. After all, I crashed this intimate party and was made to feel welcomed.

Reds for the evening. The whites were still in the fridge.