Cool Places, Cool Wines
Here are the Mike Check✔ Wines For This Week
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Mike Check✔️ Wines! I know you’re thinking, Who is Mike, what is this, what are we doing here, why am I reading this, what am I having for lunch?
Answers:
Who is Mike?
I found myself in a job where I taste a lot of wines. I’ve always loved wine, starting when I was six years old. Just kidding. But in the last few years, I turned a hobby into a job. I buy wines for the best wine shop in Jersey City and that means I’m constantly tasting.
What is this?
This is where I share the BEST wines (in my humble opinion), that I tried recently, with YOU.
What are we doing here?
Here on earth, you mean? We’re here to love well, to realize and work towards our best intentions, and to contribute our own special music.
Why am I reading this?
You also love wine.
What am I having for lunch?
Don’t forget about sandwiches, it was Joey from Friends’s favorite food.
“Cool Places” in the title of this post doesn’t refer to places with a cool climate, but cool like...I don’t know, Ethan Hawke. That’s about as cool as it gets for middle-aged dudes like me so that’s what I’m going with. This week, I tried a handful of wines.
Here are four wines that got the Mike Check✔️
✔️ Strekov 1075, Strekovsky Pinot Noir 2021 (Slovakia)
From the border of Slovakia and Hungary, this winery is totally natural, but this wasn’t natty in an inaccessible way. Has a great balance of fruit, earth, and finish, which is a sure way to get a ✔️ from me!
✔️ Christian Tschida Felsen II 2022 (Austria)
I’ve tried a few wines from Tschida, another natural winemaker, from nearby Austria. All of them terrific. This one, 100% Syrah, is my favorite yet. Not sure if you’re a fan of Syrah? I’d say these wines are beautiful and transcend grape variety.
✔️Jose Antonio Garcia Unculin Blanco 2020 (Spain)
From Bierzo, a wine region in Spain that people may associate with reds and the grape Mencia (and JAG here makes a great one). But this white wine was excellent. Mostly Godello with 15% skin-contact Doña Blanca.
✔️Mesquida Mora Trispol 2019 (Mallorca, Spain)
Minimal intervention, tiny winery, amazing wines from what I imagine is an amazing place (Mallorca trip, anyone?). Old vines; native grapes Callet and Mantonegro as well as Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. “Straight fire,” as people who may not have Ethan Hawke as their north star for cool might say.
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And that’s it! Those are the wines I’m excited about right now. Stay tuned for more editions of Mike Check✔️ Wines!