As a kid I loved going to our local Japanese hibachi restaurant and watching the chef make fried rice on the cook top in front of us. I loved
watching him juggle the cooking utensils, flip the egg and crack it, and fling rice into a chef hat. My other favorite thing to do was drink the soy sauce when my parents weren't looking. Apparently that is weird. I have been told more times than I can count that drinking soy sauce is gross. By gross, I am assuming they mean delicious!
Why am I talking about soy sauce on a blog about wine? Because I recently tried a wine that smelled exactly like soy sauce. Seriously. I was so surprised that I asked for confirmation from my friends at the table. They confirmed it. Soy Sauce! It only mildly tasted like soy sauce, and really only when first poured. The longer it sat in the glass, the less it tasted like that most delicious of sauces. However, the smell remained. It was such a strange thing to drink a wine that smelled like soy sauce and tasted like cherry/cherry jam, chocolate, and cigars (tobacco)! What is this magical wine? Sargent Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon (2014). A Central Coast California wine purchased at Aldi for around $7. Just to be clear, the liquid in the wine glass shown is actually soy sauce. Sargent Canyon Cabernet looks like red wine. That would be amazing if it actually looked like soy sauce. I realize that most people would probably be pretty put off by that.
This is a great example of why some people love wine so much. It is a drink made from grapes, but it smells like soy sauce and tastes like cherry jam, chocolate and tobacco. That is really crazy when you think about it (don't think about it too hard, it is much more impressive that way). Anyone who read my post on orange wine has heard something like this from me before. To me it is amazing what you can get out of wine. In the case of the La Stoppa wine, I really felt like I was inhaling magnolia or gardenia blossoms when I smelled it. That may not be pleasant to everyone, but it made for a unique drink.
Okay, so this wine is interesting because it smells like soy sauce, does that mean everyone should go out and buy a bottle? Well, maybe not. It is hard for me to firmly recommend this wine because of the bizarre combination of smells and tastes. If you are looking for something different that won't break the bank, then this is your wine. It is certainly fun to try with friends because of the friendly price tag and unusual qualities, and will likely pair well with sushi.
I would love to hear from you! Have you ever had a wine that smelled or tasted like something unexpected?
