Weekend Wine Picks

We can't stress this too strongly: When you see a varietal on the shelves that you've never seen before, give it a try and you're likely to have a fun, interesting experience. It's impossible to know if you will like the wine, but part of the fun of wine is experiencing the unknown. One important lesson on the road to a genuine love of wine is appreciating wines that might not be exactly your cup of tea.

We spent a little while visiting wine stores in New York and Florida recently to see what kind of unusual American varietals we could find. We tasted them over several nights -- not blind, because we only had one or two of each type -- and here's a half-case of our favorites. We list them only to give an idea of the very unusual stuff on shelves and some sense of the interesting stories behind them. We have listed the price we paid, but prices, especially on unusual stuff, vary widely.

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