Pinot Nakkali (Part 2)

Today, we decided to stay in Nepal, but we headed north up into the Himalayas. We wanted to see what Pinot Nakkali would taste like at 14,000 feet instead of 4,000 and maybe up as high as 20,000 feet. In order to do this, we have found ourselves a Nepali sherpa -- a guide to take us high up into the mountains as not everyone experiements with alcohol at levels like this.

One of the problems that we have found we are encountering as we start our trip is that our sherpa's command of the English language is quite poor. I don't know how we would have handled this in days gone by, but thankfully, even without ready wifi at our beck and call, we do have translation apps that we downloaded earlier on our trip. We're all set.

I bet you're curious. Why, of all grapes, are we repeating Pinot Nakkali? Are you familiar with it? Most of the grapes of which we have done multiple days have been name-brand grapes, so to speak.

Actually, I wrote about this grape on the advice of one of my frequent readers. And, I fear that she may be about to revolt.

You see, I explained yesterday that Pinot Nakkali , fermented in special mud barrels, was bred from a marriage of Pinot Noir and Sthaniya Nakkali. And, I stand by that, I guess, although I promise I won't do this to you again.

Looking in our translation app, Sthaniya means local and Nakkali means fake. That's right; I made up a wine, a local fake.

But, I did it for a reason. 

You see, so much of the information that we get today is online, in particular wine and food reviews. They're not exactly fact-checked and we often find rave reviews of some pretty horrible products. But, if they are written in a way that engenders enough credibility, people believe them.

So, Pinot Nakkali was a bit of a warning especially about wine. I can find online reviews of some really bad wine that make those wines sound like the second coming of first growth Bordeaux or Burgundy. 

Be careful. Read reputable information. Ask friends whose tastes are similar to yours. Find wine drinkers who know more than you. And, don't buy any Pinot Nakkali futures.


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