While we didn’t know it at the time, Day 5 in OBX was actually our last day on the beach. With a couple of hurricanes approaching the Eastern coast of the US, the waves were high and the current was strong. It was beautiful to watch, but by Day 6 it would be too dangerous to go in the water. Unfortunately, even on Day 5, my sun allergy was acting up a little, so I spent most of my time watching everyone in the water instead of going in myself. Hubby was having a blast body surfing the 8 ft waves, which are big ones for the East Coast, and a number of people tried surfing and water kayaking. Needless to say, the people-watcher inside of me was entertained for much of the day.

After a great day on the beach, instead of going out for dinner, I convinced Hubby that it would be fun to get a steamer pot from Coastal Provisions Market. What could be better than steamed shrimp, oysters, clams, and crabs with corn on the cob, sausage, and potatoes? Let’s just say that while the idea was great, the reality was a disaster. Even though the directions said to steam the corn, sausage, and potatoes with the shellfish, we should have gone with our gut instinct and cooked them separately, and we should have steamed everything longer than we did. Basically, we had undercooked shrimp and crab to go with potatoes that were mushy from cooking in the questionable seafood liquid and corn that tasted like shellfish instead of corn. I can’t blame anyone but myself for the disgusting mess that was dinner, which also means that Hubby won’t let me forget about it any time soon.

To accompany what I thought was going to be a delicious collection of seafood, I opened the 2007 Moselland Lighthouse Series Riesling (winery, snooth). The wine was a medium lemon color with some small bubbles in the glass. On the nose, there were lemon zest, apricot, and peach aromas, with a hint of lime. In the mouth, there were lime, lemon, apricot, and peach flavors, with a hint of granny smith apples. There was also bit of fizz on the tongue. The wine had a medium body and good acid, but I expected more crispness to balance out some of the sweetness.

Is this worth a glass after work? Eh…if you have a bottle on hand, drink it, but I wouldn’t go searching it out either. At $13, this wine could be an ok addition to a summer outing where you didn’t want to spend too much money, but, in general, it’s a little too flabby to really offer the freshness of a great Riesling. Had the steamer pot worked out the way I envisioned, the wine may have made for a decent, beachy pairing. As it was, I drank the Riesling on its own, which was a fine way to spend the evening.

Overall: 2.5 Corks