DC, March, temps in the 30s, rain and snow.  Ugh.  Call for wine.  I introduced a friend to a local wine shop — The Tasting Room Wine Bar & Shop, owned by Boxwood Estate Winery.

It’s one of those great wine bars where you buy a card, put money on it and then you can sample 1, 3 or 5 oz. pours of wine.  So many ways to explore the vino!  Let the sipping begin.

I always try to go with something new so my first taste was the Monga Zin Old Vine Zinfandel by Carol Shelton from California  Very nice!  A bit fruity, very aromatic with spices and smooth.  Would recommend it.

Next I opted for a taste of Vinaceous’ 2011 Snake Charmer Shiraz.  Nice.  Definitely a traditional Shiraz from Australia, can’t go wrong.

Oddly, I wrapped up the day with a quick sip of white (vs. starting with that).  Went with 2011 Malma Sauvignon Blanc from Argentina.  Light body, not much taste/flavor to it.  Not worth writing home about it.  But, I’ll blog about it, right?

So many wines to pick from there, will be interested to see what I opt for next sampling time around.