"WHO is wearing perfume in the tasting room?"
That kind of tone and question might make you want to abandon your wine glass and slink out surreptitiously. What? Abandon your wine glass?
Not for Kelly Jones, who grabbed the bouquet challenge and ran with it.
You see, wearing perfume at a wine tasting is taboo. Nothing must interfere with the bouquet of the wine in the glass. Perfume confuses the notes till they come out "sounding" like Philip Glass instead of a symphony of scents in your stemmed goblet.
Wine Rebel
Which is why Ms. Jones became a wine rebel, developing a line of fragrances to enhance the wine tasting experience — so the bouquet of the perfume and the bouquet of the wine are a mutually satisfying experience.
This sounded like a challenge to me — and a great reason to get together with girlfriends. Hey Hoda & Kathie Lee! Why aren't you doing this? Especially now that they've reinstated Wine Wednesdays.
Nosy Girl Posse
The first night Denise, Yolanda and I gathered to try Recession Red (Cabernet) and a Sauvignon Blanc with their companion Kelly & Jones perfumes, straightforwardly named Notes of Cabernet (pink peppercorn, black cherry and vintage leather), and Notes of Sauvignon Blanc — a starfruit, camellia and citrus blend.
I'm not usually Cabernet fan but the scent actually did make the taste more enjoyable, and I would wear Notes of Sauvignon even if I weren't drinking the wine!
Another night I took a Reisling to my friend Sherry's — a deep inhale of the companion scent of peach, pear and bergamot wafted us to a fresh summer picnic — while it was snowing outside.
My final experiment (I'm a dedicated researcher) was with Notes of Merlot and Notes of Chardonnay, the appropriately paired wines, and two friends named Anna. The Merlot perfume's notes of fig, rhubarb, and violet swept away all the objections the movie Sideways instilled in us against the red wine. Chardonnay was the only disappointment — the vanilla note didn't mesh with my experience of the wine's bouquet — maybe because it's my favorite wine and I prefer it straight up. Sniff!
But all the women agreed it was teh perfect way to celebrate a girls night out — or in!
Valentine's Day
This experiment could work with a man too; get a flight and have him smell the nape of your neck or wrist after each application and sip. Mmm.
But if your single and sour, this is a sweet way to celebrate the holiday with your girlfriends. (Check out the wine with chocolate* pairing, too.)
Headache Prevention
To be honest though, my tolerance for wine has gone way down, but I was determined to do the tasting so I found my bottle of Party Relief from Sprayology and spritzed it in my mouth all day before the girl gatherings. Voila! absolutely no headache or hangover whatever. The stuff is amazing.
Kelly & Jones Notes of Wine collection: $25 for each roll-on perfume, or all 5 for $100. You can get a Flight sampler for just $15!
Hey Hoday &
May the bouquets be with you.
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