Online - May 17, 2004

Quit Your Wine-ing

WineSmith

So you and your friends have decided to break out of your cocktails-and-catch-up routine and have a proper meal. With a cheese course. Linen napkins. Like, er, more than one fork. Impressive wine.

Ah. Now you remember why you avoid these things. You know about as much about wine as you do about the mating habits of the tsetse fly.

Time to discover a clever faux chablis, a cabernet sauvignon, or a syrah from artisanal winemaker WineSmith. Most wines today are mass-produced like Gap T-shirts, but WineSmith’s limited-production runs are meticulously crafted with the skill of a bespoke tailor. (We’ll talk in metaphors you definitely understand.) Not your ordinary dip in the bottle, WineSmith’s offerings are great with food or by themselves, moderately priced, and quite tasty.

Just remember to spare everyone the irksome chatter about the wine’s legs and the international cork crisis. Shut up and drink.

Available online at winesmithwines.com.