Full Bodied With Aromas of Tutti-Frutti and Buttered Popcorn

In a past life, I must have been a vintner. When I first sip a new wine, I love rolling the stuff around in my mouth and picking out as many flavor notes as I can. My husband thinks my talent for this is a little freakish, and he loves checking the label on the back of the bottle to see if I correctly identified any of the aromas listed by the winemaker.

Also considered a little odd is my enduring love for Jelly Belly candies. So you can imagine my glee this morning when I read about Wine X Magazine's Jelly Belly Wine Bar. You know those "recipes" printed on packs of Jelly Bellys that tell you which flavors to mix in which proportions to make a combined taste in your mouth? (For example, "Banana Split": 1 Top Banana, 1 Chocolate Pudding, 1 Crushed Pineapple, 1 Strawberry Jam, 1 Very Cherry, and 1 A&W Cream Soda.) Well, the Jelly Belly Wine Bar takes it to a new level: More than 50 Jelly Belly combinations that call to mind wine varietals based on grape and/or region. Want to break down Central Coast Zinfandel? Pop 2 Raspberries, 2 Strawberries, 1 Cherry, 1 Blackberry, 1 Pepper, and 1 Cappuccino. Says Wine X Magazine:

The idea is to taste the individual Jelly Belly beans first, to understand the different flavors associated with certain wine varietals. Then you put all of the flavors in your mouth at the same time, chew them together, and voila . . . you experience the wine varietal itself.

I see another trip to the Jelly Belly factory in my future . . .


[Spotted at Daily Candy.]