My husband and I were enjoying a date night not too long ago and decided to drop by the hotel bar at a Hyatt near us. As it turned out, it was happy hour. (Yippeee!) The bartender encouraged us to try the Hyatt house wines, Canvas, which are crafted by the Michael Mondavi family.
He was so down to earth in suggesting that, at $5 a glass, we should really at least consider the Canvas wines before spending more on another glass.
“These are completely serviceable wines…” he said.
When a bartender can be so straight-forward, he definitely gets my trust. I do believe that different wines serve different purposes at different times, unlike some people I come across who think you must always spend a ridiculous amount on wine to get good wine. I disagree. And so I had to try the Canvas wine.
We started with a glass of Pinot Grigio to counter the hot afternoon. (I am in Houtston, y’all. It is still hot here, even at 5 p.m. In October.)
Gary and I both really enjoyed the Canvas Pinot Grigio– it was light in body and still quite flavorful with great balance. This was the kind of wine we could sip on all afternoon alone, or enjoy it with the crabmeat and avocado appetizer that was served with zesty tortilla chips.
After awhile, our bartender asked if we would like to try the rest of the Canvas line. (He had no idea I am a wine writer. He was just being delightful in suggesting we give the wines a try.) He pulled out all of the bottles and put a taste in rocks glasses for us, and down the line we went, tasting each one.
We tried the Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Nor and Cabernet Sauvignon. I tasted a lot of oak on the Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, and my husband enjoyed the Merlot, asking for a full glass. My favorite of the bunch was right where we started: the Pinot Grigio.
I am so glad our bartender was as kind as he was and suggested we give the wines a try. We need more bartenders like this in the wine world!
The next time I am at a Hyatt, if it is warm, there is a pretty good chance you’ll find that Pinot Grigio in my glass. (Hmmm. I’m actually checking into a Hyatt later this weekend….)
Have you tried the Canvas wines yet? Do you typically go for the house wine or order something different when you’re out?
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