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GOLD SEAL MOUNTAIN LAKEAug 28 '00 Write an essay on this topic.The never ending quest for the perfect wine with a screw off cap continues. My latest acquisition which, of course, never made it to a wine cellar, was Gold Seal Mountain Lake, Catawba Pink, American Pink Wine. (This memorable wine hasn't made it to the Epinions database either, so must find a home here) The most memorable thing about this wine was, it was best described by a friends wife as moonshine. I will wholeheartedly agree with "Binky." I am also happy to have gotten what was referred to as moonshine, because as a youngster growing up, I always wanted to grow up and "run shine" just like Uncle Jesse did in The Dukes of Hazzard. Lofty career aspirations, I know. Anyway, the Catawba Pink is a nice pink color as you can guess from the name, complete with a pink label showing what must be Gold Seal Vineyards, which appears to be located on some body of water. The location of the vineyard (or probably just the really big still) is Batavia, NY. The labels on the bottle look like they were made with a decent color printer. Nothing fancy at all. The pathetic label adds to the ambiance of this vintage. Alcohol That's what this is all about after all. Classified as a depressant, this American Pink Wine contains 12% Alcohol by Volume. Which means it is 24 proof. This is higher than the revered Boone's Farm. (moment of silence) Therefore when comparison shopping in "specialty markets" you can calculate, the 1.5 liter bottle of Catawba Pink, for $7.49 is a better buy than 3 bottles of Boone's Farm, in the alcohol volume to cost ratio. This is important for winos in general. The Tradition This wine has been around for a long time. It must have a wonderful market segment. The label states: Made and bottled by Gold Seal Vineyards since 1865. That's sometime around the Civil War. The taste and presentation Of course the screw top is a fine golden color. Don't bother sniffing it, or swirling around the wine in a glass. Sadly, I was forced to use a good wine glass for the tasting. It was interesting that the glass did not reject such a vintage. I tasted it. It is OK, not biter, not to sweet. It had a sugary sweet taste to it, but not so sweet as to cause one to pucker. The best description would be to say it tasted like a slightly sweet white zinfandel, with definite full body. Epinions member eviljeff described it as tasting very much like a Catawba grape. This description I found to be entirely useless, as I have never seen, let alone tasted a Catawba Grape. But he says they are around here, so I'll take his word for it. What is this wine made from? The native Catawba Grape, some alcohol, and I don't know what else. The label says it contains not less than 51% Catawba. So, not more than 49% of other stuff is the rest. How to serve. This wine is best served very cold. I first tried it at room temperature, as the liquor store did not see Gold Seal Catawba Pink to be worthy of placing in the cooler. Sure, they'll put 40s of Schaffer in there, but not this one. Doesn't seem right, does it? The wine becomes far more enjoyable at cold temperatures. The label suggests serving chilled with ice, or with soda. I would have to recommend making 7 Up yours, if you were to mix this with a soda. Carbonated beverages also speed alcohol getting into your blood stream, so for faster effects, enjoy Gold Seal Catawba Pink with soda. If you were to hold a wine and cheese party, serving Gold Seal Mountain Lake Catawba Pink, American Pink Wine, the best cheese to match with this wine would be government cheese. Apparently the good folks at Gold Seal Vineyards have perhaps imbibed a bit to much on their product, as they cannot make correct sentences. The Government Warning reads in part: Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems. The word "or" implies either the car driving ability will be impaired, or your ability to operate machinery will be, but not both. The correct wording should be "drive a car and operate machinery." If it was the Governments' fault, my apologies to the good folks at Gold Seal Vineyards. Lastly, the thought of the day, if you took this to a restaurant which allowed you to, which charged a corking fee, would you need to pay a corking fee for a wine with a screw top?  |
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