Wine review: Wyoming “gold”

I did it. I bought a bottle of Wyoming wine, finished a glass and lived to tell about it.

I found wines by Table Mountain Vineyards in Huntley, Wyo. at the Liquor Shed a few weeks ago. The label: Experience a taste of Wyoming from Table Mountain Vineyards. Wyoming Gold is full of grape and citrus notes. Enjoy this semi-sweet white for any occasion. This wine reflects Wyoming’s growing conditions, climate and is full of “Wyoming Character.”

I was intrigued. I thought the only thing that grew in this state was sagebrush. I had to try it, but I could not drink it alone. So I waited until I could bring it to a party where there would be people willing to drink anything.

My review:

Wyoming Gold, White Table Wine, 2007
Price: $16.80 at the Liquor Barn
My Rating (bottle): 89/100
My Rating (wine): 68/100, or as Wine Spectator would say: “Below average; drinkable but not recommended”

The bottle is cool — it has a pretty label and a bucking horse sticker. However, the bottle lacks any information about how much alcohol, if any, is in the wine.

Before opening the bottle, we noticed medium-sized flakes of stuff floating around. Gold? Bits of dirt shaken off a pair of cowboy boots? We weren’t scared.

note the floating flake

Upon first open, the wine smelled sweet and grapey. The first sip — also sweet and grapey. I’ve done wine tours in western New York, where they grow the concord grape, so I’ve had sweet wines before. But none ever tasted so much like sparkling grape juice — the generic store brand — as this stuff.

It went down as smooth as aforementioned sparkling grape juice. There was a warning for pregnant women, so we assumed there was alcohol in it. None of us could drink enough to prove that true.

After we had our fun, we put the cork back in the bottle and never took it out. The bottle said “best served chilled.” I forgot to put it in the fridge, oops. I guess I can cook with it?

Final word: fruity, but clearly more a wine than Boone’s Farm. I’d purchase again if it dropped in price by about $10 or as a gag gift for someone I really like.