About a week ago, I was in Michigan (Ann Arbor to be specific) to attend a wedding. We were invited to join the rehearsal dinner, which was held at a reasonably nice Italian restaurant. The food was excellent—I enjoyed a chicken in cream sauce dish—but the wine was somewhat less good. I know I shouldn't complain about anything I got for free, but I did think it was a little strange that the house red wine of an Italian restaurant (and not a hole-in-the-wall one either) should be from Argentina.

Enough of the whining. The wine, considered in a vacuum, was not bad, especially since (as I understand) it retails for $5-6 a bottle. I have had many more expensive wines that were terrible. The 1997 Chateau la Cardonne Medoc leaps readily to mind. But the Vinterra's aroma was unimpressive, and the taste (while quite fruity) left a bitter aftertaste that had little to do with tannin. In the end, it was a simple wine without any real character, but probably good enough if you're going to drink it in bulk.

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