After our fourth course, the sommelier stopped by to talk about wines. His name was Curtis, and he is usually the sommelier at Citricos. I guess he was filling in for someone that night. Anyway, he talked about the kinds of wines that would pair well with our entree (we both ordered the same thing, which made pairing simpler). Curtis also told us some general information about the wines and liquors at V&A. It was really interesting. He told us about certain bottles they had, of which there were only ten or so in the world. He talked about why he likes working with vintage wines. He told a story about one bottle in particular they had that was over one hundred years old and French. He said he always likes to think about what that bottle went through to reach Orlando in 2011. Did it get misplaced in a cellar for several years? Where was it during WWII? I had never thought about wine like that before. I could have listened to Curtis for hours; his expertise was truly fascinating.
Brandon selected a red Bordeaux. Our wine was not cheap (to us), but was not even close to the most expensive on the list. They had bottles of wine that were several thousand dollars each! Wowzer!
Curtis brought our wine to the table. Then he went through this very ritual-like process of pouring the wine to sample. First he lit a tall taper candle. Then, over the flame, he very slowly poured all of the wine into a decanter.
Next, he poured a small bit of wine into a glass. He swirled the wine gently around in the glass. Then, again over the flame, he transfered that wine from the first glass to a second glass. He emptied both glasses, then poured wine from the decanter into each glass.
This was so interesting to watch, I asked Curtis what the purpose was. He said the slight heat from the candle helps to draw minor notes out of the wine. The reason he poured the wine into the glasses, then discarded that wine, was to "prime" the glasses. He said glasses can carry residue (from detergents or polish) that impurify the taste of fine wines. By coating the glasses with a bit of wine, you are sure to taste only the wine, in its exact state. We learned so much from Curtis, we absolutely loved talking to him!
The wine was fantastic! I really enjoy having a good glass of wine, but I have no talent for picking a good wine. Brandon did a great job!
(After dinner, V&A packaged the empty bottle for us to take with us!) I would love to buy the same wine for our anniversary, I bet it wouldn't be as expensive outside of Disney World.
Aww, that's a bummer that Chris wouldn't like V&A. It is sooooo good! (And it seems very you 
) I don't know how picky he is, but V&A will accommodate preferences, like we don't eat duck products of any kind, so none of our options included duck. They also have a vegetarian menu. Obviously it wouldn't help if he's a strictly burger and fries type of guy!
A week in Aruba sounds amazing!! I think I can talk Brandon into a beach week one of these days...
