Purchased on a trip to Martha’s Vineyard, the chilled Chenin Blanc is pleasantly unusually-tasting — less tannic than a more normally-tasting white wine, but less sweet than a full-blown dessert wine. It is light enough to be enjoyed on its own, but flavorful enough to complement a meal.

A breakthrough in label-removing technique was also realized, thanks to some hospital techniques brought home by Patrika. As usual, I soaked the bottle in hot/warm water over an episode of CSI: NY, then removed most of the outside edges of the label with a box cutter, leaving the more-securely-adhered center of the label still attached to the bottle. Patrika then used a cotton ball to apply rubbing alcohol to the remaining underneath of the label, dissolving the rest of the adhesive, allowing the remainder of the label to be easily removed with the box cutter. Patrika says this rubbing-alcohol technique is employed in the hospital to remove leftover adhesive from things like bandages, IV tubes, etc.

The dual-layered label itself is also quite interesting. The top layer is a transparent plasticy substance (similar to clear contact paper) that doesn’t absorb water, doesn’t tear, and doesn’t easily puncture. It is stuck to a more-traditional paper-like bottom layer, which has the artwork and is glued to the bottle.

Trying to remove the label intact also made me wonder about why many vineyards don’t provide sample labels. I had requested some labels from Thomas Fogarty winery, and they refused, saying that the labels had been used illegally in the past (counterfeit wine?). However, wineries are now subject to people like me presenting botched labels on websites, which might hurt their brand. Auto companies often refuse to allow video game developers to depict damage to their branded vehicles for this very reason.

The Chenin Blanc was Good.