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Went to a new smoke shop in Wichita. Box a third of a box of Acid cigars, the 6x60 size. DAMN. Wife allowed purchase because she wanted the box. Those of you not familiar with the Acid brand, it shows the silhouette of a Rastafarian adjacent a Ninja motorcycle with a cigar in his mouth against a physchodelic rainbow backdrop. Nice. I also purchased some humidifier solution for my humidor, and nice, dual-sided guillotine cutter. I'm going to smoke one on my way home.
Then it was onto the wine shop. A new Kansas-wine shop. You heard me, Kansas grapes. I sneered at the bottle of spatelese and was outright disgusted when I saw an icewein. My wife was busy tasting wines and I asked, "So how is it you sell an icewein?" She explained they followed the German recipe (I sneered at this as well, but was impressed they followed the tradition). At any rate, I followed this up with, "And how is it you can sell a spatelese?" She admitted that at the end of this year, they would no longer be allowed to use the name (no shit) but asked, "Would you like to try some?"
"Sure." Then, my entire demeanor changed. It was fantastic. I was beyond words. I asked, "How..." but it was clear I could not finish. The wine maker had spent time in Germany, and used the same 4 grapes the Germans use to blend theirs. I felt like I was back on the Rhine. I bought two bottles. She said, "Would you like to try the icewein?" I admitted that I would have never asked. You see, icewein is only made when the grapes are left on the vine in hopes of an early frost before they turn bad. In Germany, you could only get icewein about once every three or four years. As it turns out, this crop was a 2002 edition, the last time they were able to get a frost on the grapes. On the day of the frost, you have to pick the grapes that day, and press them immediately. It's a lot of work, and icewein is usually sold only in .375 litre bottles at three times the price. Its...well, thicker than most wines. She poured a tasting sample in the glass. I swirled it and brought it to my nose. The bouquet alone told me this was going to be good. I sipped it, swished it, swallowed it. IT BLEW MY MIND! Despite the cost. I bought a bottle, letting her know that she had exceeded any expectations I had of Kansas wine. I left with tears in my eyes thanking her profusely. "Thank you for your comments. It's customers like you that make our day." She said as I left. Perhaps it was the amount of money I spent that really made her day. Regardless, I have my icewein now.
