Tasting- Chateau Morrisette Vidal Blanc

 

Name:  Chateau Morrisette Vidal Blanc

Variety:  Vidal Blanc

Region:  Chateau Morrissette

Country:  United States

Vintage:  2022

Price:  $21

Critics Review:

"Primary aromas include peach blossom, lanolin and Gala apple dusted with confectioners' sugar. Crunchy acidity gives this medium-bodied wine plenty of cut and a tart finish."

- Chateau Morrisette 2011 Vidal Blanc (Virginia) Rating and Review | Wine Enthusiast

Wine Folly:

Page 121:

    This mentions that Vidal Blanc is an ice wine.  This means the grapes have to naturally freeze in the vineyard.  I just thought it was interesting because I remember in the lecture videos that harsh temperatures can kill grapes and ruin a harvest.  Some of the specific flavors and aromas mentioned with this wine were pineapple, lemon curd, honeysuckle, apricot, and lychee.  I was definitely able to get a lot of the pineapple, but I also got some peach too which was interesting because it was not mentioned.  

My Personal Review:

    I honestly really liked this wine, it was probably the second sweet wine that I have drank all semester.  It was very light bodied I thought and refreshing given the warm weather we were having.  I got a lot of fruit up front, specifically the pineapple, followed by a sweet finish

Tasting- DaVinci Chianti

 

Name:  DaVinci Chianti 

Variety:  Sangiovese

Region:  Tuscany

Country:  Italy

Vintage:  2020

Price:  $20

Critics Review:

"DaVinci Chianti is a well-balanced wine of medium weight with jammy flavors of ripe plums, cherries and red fruit. It has a deep crimson color and is a lively wine with a soft mineral finish and round tannins that linger in long, peppery finish. This wine pairs perfectly with all starters, pastas and meat dishes."

Da Vinci Chianti 2020 | Wine.com

Wine Folly:

Page 162:

Some of the specific flavors and aromas mentioned are cherry, roasted tomato, sweet balsamic, oregano, and espresso.  I was definitely able to get the cherry, and oddly enough the balsamic towards the end.  It wasn't like the typical balsamic smell, but more just the vinegar-like notes that I could smell.

Page 162:

This page just talks about the aging specifications in Chianti, which is interesting because I genuinely had no idea that Chianti wines were named based off their aging and quality requirements.  For Chianti wines that are aged for two years, they are called "Riserva" which is what this wine is.  

My Personal Review:

This was my first time ever trying Sangiovese wine, and I honestly was not a huge fan of it at first but it definitely grew on me.  I felt like this wine was fruit forward, as I was able to get the cherry off the rip.  But as it went, I was able to get a little bit of vinegar followed by a tannic finish.  Overall, I'm not sure if I would buy this wine again because the price before discount was something like $43, but it was marked down to $20.

Drink This Now Lesson Blog Report #2

    For the second Drink This Now lesson, I decided to go with lesson #1.  In this lesson, we were to go buy a type of wine, some hard cheese, and lastly pair this wine with some foods to see how it evolves.  In addition to the pairing with cheese and foods, we were to try the wine upon opening and take notes, and let it sit for two hours and then try again and see how it has changed.  After that is when you try it with the cheese.  I went with parmesan as my hard Italian cheese.  As far as the pairing goes, I paired this wine with grilled chicken covered in cheese, bacon crumbles, and raw onions. 

For the wine:

Cotes du Rhone Apellation d'origine protegee

The cheese:

I went with Kroger brand Parmesan

Dinner:

Step #1: Initial reaction to the wine

    When I opened this wine up and pouring the first glass and took a sniff, I was immediately taken punched with fruity aromas.  I was really preparing for a super fruit-forward wine.  As far as specifics of aromas, I was able to get plum heavy, some blueberry, and a little bit of blackberry but I was not positive on that.  As far as color goes, this wine is a darkish purple color.  No debris or anything in the wine.  Now onto trying the wine, the fruity flavors, again, specifically the plum, were very present, but honestly not as strong as I had imagined they would be based off the smell which kind of surprised me.  I was also surprised about the spice this wine punched, specifically on the aftertaste.  So much so that after my first sip I even coughed.  It seemed to soften up though as I worked through the first glass.  

Step #2: Let the wine open up for a few hours and try again

    After leaving the cork off the wine for a few hours and revisiting, I was able to notice a pretty big difference in both the smell and the taste.  Trying the freshly opened wine, you are punched by the fruity aromas on your first sniff.  This is not really the case after letting the wine sit for a little bit.  It is almost like the wine has mellowed itself out during this timeframe which I really enjoyed.  As far as any other aromas I was able to pick up that were not previously there, I kind of got a little bit of chocolate or vanilla, I'm not really sure how to describe it but it just smelled silky.  Now for the tasting, it was pretty much the exact same as smelling in terms of how much it had mellowed out.  You could definitely still get the plum notes but not as dramatic.  The spice that hit me at the end of first trying it was no longer there, as the wine finished velvety smooth.  I was definitely able to get some vanilla which I thought was weird because that was not listed as a descriptor for either Grenache or Syrah, the two grapes in this wine.  

Step #3:  Try the wine with cheese:

    So, after trying the wine initially, waiting a little bit, and then trying the wine again, we are to try the wine with the hard Italian cheese.  Just as a reminder, I went with parmesan.  I took a bite of the cheese by itself first to try to get a feel for it, and it was definitely very potent by itself.  I took a drink of wine while I was working on the cheese and I could immediately note how much bigger the fruits tasted.  Its like the cheese brought out what I was smelling initially.  Also, the spicy element I was able to taste before was completely gone.  The wine finished extremely smooth, and the fruit was jumping.  I honestly liked this wine so much more with the cheese because it seemed to like disarm it in a way.  As far as how the cheese changed, it definitely softened up a bit too but honestly I could not taste a huge difference, maybe because of how elevated the fruit flavors were in the wine.  

Step #4: Trying the wine with dinner:

    So after I had let the wine sit for several hours and tried it with cheese, next up was trying this wine with dinner.  Like I mentioned earlier, I had grilled chicken covered in cheese, bacon pieces, and fresh onions.  As a side dish I had corn on the cob with butter and Cajun seasoning.  As far as the chicken goes, I felt like the wine got a little bit of a bitter taste to it when I tried it with the cheese bacon and onion, I had a bite without all that stuff and just the grilled chicken and the wine kind of went back to its normal mellowed out form, so not much to tell there.  Other than getting a tad bitter with the cheese, bacon, and onions, there was not really much change going on here.  A little disappointed with the lack of change in this pairing, but it definitely did not ruin the meal or anything.  As far as the corn on the cob goes, also the same.  Could have been the Cajun seasoning but I felt like it just made the wine get more bitter.  I also enjoyed this meal and wine with my parents, so we finished the bottle at dinner.  

    Overall, this lesson was actually really cool.  Being able to see how the wine evolved from something that comes out from the jump and really gets after you to a wine that mellows out and becomes very silky smooth was interesting.  

Tasting: Cotes du Rhone Appellation d'origine protegee

 

Name:   Cotes du Rhone Apellation d'origine protegee

Variety:  65% Grenache, 35% Syrah

Region:  Les Vignobles Foncalieu

Country:  France

Vintage:  2021

Price:  $12

Critics Review: 

"This Côtes du Rhône blend sets off a red berry explosion on the nose with cherry candy and fresh cranberry. More smokey dark prunes and dried tea on the palate with soft-textured tannins. A fair level of acidity keeps the ripe fruits vibrant. Juicy, well-balanced and quaffable."

Co-op, Côtes du Rhône, Rhône, France 2021 (decanter.com)

Wine Folly:

Page 117:

    This is the flavors and aromas expected in a grenache wine.  Mentions stewed strawberry, grilled plum, leather, dried herbs, and blood orange.  This is interesting because the only two I was able to really pick up on is the strawberry and grilled plum.  

Page 172:

    Now this is the flavors and aromas of Syrah.  Highlights blueberry, plum, milk chocolate, tobacco, and green peppercorn.  I was definitely able to get the blueberry and plum right off the nose, and after drinking I could get milk chocolate in the finish and tobacco in the spice. 

My Personal Review:

    I tried this wine for the first time by itself and one of the things I noted immediately was how much this wine punches you straight away with the fruity aromas.  I was able to get blueberry and plum, especially the plum as it was highlighted as an aroma in both grenache and syrah.  I was planning for a super fruit forward wine after smelling, but after I tasted it I was taken aback by the spice this thing came with.  That could come due to the hints of tobacco in this wine.  Specifically in the aftertaste.  Overall, very good wine and I would definitely buy it again.  

Tasting- Green Fin Red Table Wine

 

Name:  Green Fin Red Table Wine

Variety:  Red Blend (Could not find specifics but I think heavy pinot noir?)

Region:  California

Country:  United States

Vintage:  2020

Price:  $4.99 (Trader Joe's)

Critics Review:

The price is unbelievably cheap for the flavor. It’s about a $5 bottle, but it sips like it’s at a higher price point. It’s on the sweet side; heavy on fruit notes (berries), but not so sweet that it goes down like a Moscato. This red is absolutely sip-able on its own, even at room temperature, when it’s harder to fake good flavor compared to a chilled temperature. Bonus: It’s made from organic grapes. Next time you’re in Trader Joe’s, try picking up a bottle.

Wine Folly:

Page 288:

    Mentions that while cabernet sauvignon and oaky chardonnay is what California is best known for right now, the zinfandel, Syrah, and petite Syrah all highlight the fruit-forward flavors of California, which I thought was interesting because this wine was very fruit forward and it was from California, so I would not be surprised if this wine featured some of those grapes. 

Page 189:

    Some of the specific flavors and aromas mentioned in a zinfandel are blackberry and strawberry.  I do not know for certain if Zinfandel is included in this blend, but I got a heavy dose of blackberry so I figured I would not that.

My Personal Review:

    For what I paid for this wine, it was phenomenal.  I would 100% buy this wine again.  I got heavy fruit aromas the first time I sniffed it and that did not change once I tasted it.  Some of the fruits specifically were blackberry and cherry.  On the label of the wine it mentions soft mocha flavors, I was not really able to get this, but I did get the very smooth finish.  This is probably the best value wine I have ever had. 

Wine and Dinner Blog #2

     A few friends and I just recently went on a cruise for spring break (see the sunburn and Hawaiian shirt) and we all purchased the drink package.  So with all the alcohol and food I could ever want, I figured it would be irresponsible of me if I did not enjoy some wine on this trip.  Unfortunately, I was the only one of the people on the cruise that is currently taking this class, but that definitely did not stop me from having some fun with different wines.  The last night on the cruise I knocked out the second wine and food pairing and it was honestly phenomenal, especially since I did not have to do any dishes this time around.  

    So, for the meal, I started things off with a Caesar salad for the appetizer.  For the main course I had a New York Strip steak with a combination of mashed potatoes and vegetables.  And to finish things off with dessert I went with a baked Alaska, which I was a little bit nervous about because I had never had one or even heard of it, but I figured I would try it.

    Now, getting into the specifics of the wine.  The first wine I had was a Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio.  With the steak I had a Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, and with the Baked Alaska I had a Santa Helena Merlot.

#1:  Caesar Salad paired with Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio

Starting off with the wine by itself:  this wine was extremely light bodied and a very refreshing way to kick things off after a day of being in the sun.  I was able to get strong fruity notes off this wine with a dry, but not very tannic, finish.  Really the only fruit flavor I could get was tart apple.  

    Now moving onto the pairing, and I was pleasantly surprised.  I feel like the salty element of the croutons in the salad went hand in hand with the refreshing element in the wine.  The Caesar dressing kind of threw me off a little bit because tasting it without the wine I just thought it tasted normal, but when I took a bite and followed it with some wine, I felt like the garlicky flavors in the dressing really got brought out, which I was not the biggest fan of, but it was not very overpowering.  I don't necessarily think this pairing really brought anything out that wasn't tasted prior, but definitely a good pairing.

Specifics of the wine:

Price:  $20 for a bottle

Variety:  Pinot Grigio

Region: Veneto, Italy

Specifics of the Salad:

    Just Caesar dressing, chopped lettuce, and croutons.  Nothing fancy at all

#2:   New York Strip paired with Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay 

    I really enjoyed this Chardonnay.  It had a mild tannic finish but it was not overpowering.  Some of the specific flavors I was able to get were apple pie, but not apple or anything very fruity as weird as that is.  I was also able to get oaky/buttery flavors in this wine which was cool because I had always heard how Chardonnays can have a buttery finish but I had no clue how that could be a flavor in wine until I tasted it.

    Now for the pairing specifically, I thought that the steak itself might have overpowered the chardonnay a little bit, but it paired well.  I think this may have been the buttery sauce that was coated on the steak because it really brought out the buttery flavor in the wine.  It felt like this combination almost diminished the apple pie flavors I was getting before.  One thing that really surprised me was the combination of the mashed potatoes with the wine.  Again, it was how buttery the potatoes were that seemed to really fit like a puzzle piece with the buttery finish of the wine.

Specifics of the wine:

Price:  $17 for the bottle

Variety:  Chardonnay

Region:  Sonoma County, California

Specifics of the steak:

New York Strip with buttery glaze, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. 

#3:  Santa Helena Merlot paired with Baked Alaska:

    The wine specifically punches you in the face with fruity flavors.  I had never really smelled a wine before where I was immediately able to take a step back and be like woah.  Some of the specifics I was able to get were blackberry and raspberry.  After tasting the wine, I was able to get a little bit of sweet vanilla on the finish.  This wine felt a little bit more fuller bodied, and it was not very tannic on the finish but the alcohol was definitely present.  Even when just smelling the wine you could definitely get big whiffs of the alcohol.   

    As for how these two paired, it was an odd pairing.  So baked Alaska is kind of like Neapolitan ice cream between two graham cracker-like things and then roasted marshmallow on the top.  The wine with the strawberry part of the ice cream was the part that threw me off because it was like the wine and the ice cream went against each other almost.  It was like the strawberry came off as really bitter when pairing it with the wine which I did not like very much.  But, drinking the wine with the roasted marshmallow/graham cracker part was phenomenal.  It was like the fruity elements of the wine were still present but the sweetness of it got exacerbated.  So a weak start for this pairing, but a strong finish.  

Specifics of the wine:

Price:  $7 for a bottle

Variety:  Merlot

Region:  Central Valley, Chile

Specifics of the food:

    Graham cracker, roasted marshmallow, and Neapolitan ice cream.

Tasting- Black Box Chardonnay

 

Name:  Black Box Chardonnay

Variety:  Chardonnay 

Country of Origin:  Australia

Region of Origin:  Monterrey 

Vintage Year:  2019

Price:  $4.99

Critics Review:

"Black Box Chardonnay is a vibrant white wine that comes in a light and transportable box. This box wine has refreshing hints of crisp apple and a touch of oak to accentuate the smooth finish. It also makes the perfect pairing with foods like chicken, white fish and soft cheese. Black Box Chardonnay wine is the perfect choice for outdoor and on-the-go occasions, from hanging by the pool to camping with friends. Each 500 mL box contains about 3 glasses of wine with 14% alcohol by volume. The convenient, compact box is shatterproof and resealable, making any outing easy."

Black Box Chardonnay White Wine Box Wine Price & Reviews [4.6 Stars] | Drizly

Wine Folly:

Page 96:

    Some of the specific flavors and aromas mentioned for chardonnay are yellow apple, starfruit, pineapple, vanilla, and butter.  This makes sense to me because I was able to get some pineapple in the taste of the wine, but nowhere in any description about this specific wine did it mention pineapple so that was kind of reassuring to win that one in terms of being able to pick up specific flavors and aromas.

Page 207:

    This page mentions that Margaret River, Australia is one of Australia's top ranking regions for Chardonnay.  I found this interesting because it mentioned these Chardonnay's tended to have more mineral and fruit flavors due to the sandy, granite-based soil which I was definitely able to pick up on.  It also mentioned that this region produces both oaked and un-oaked styles of Chardonnay.

My Review:

    This wine was a little bit higher in alcohol, coming in at 14% alcohol.  I could definitely taste that, as this wine came in with a little bite to it.  I also noted that this wine has a very tannic finish, which honestly surprised me.  If I had not known what color the wine was, I honestly would have thought it was a red because of how tannic it is.  Honestly, I was able to get more oak than I was able to get fruit, although fruity aromas were present.  Specifically, pineapple and green apple which I thought was weird because nowhere in any description did it mention pineapple.  I would probably give this wine another try because it was fairly cheap and not bad for the price.  I did not have this wine with any food. 

Tasting- Vendage Pinot Grigio

 

Name:  Vendage Pinot Grigio

Variety:  Pinot Grigio

Country of Origin:  United States

Region of Origin:  California

Vintage Year:  2022

Price:  $3.99

Critics Review:  

"This straw-colored wine has a light, pleasant nose of white flowers and an engaging feminine personality. The wine is refreshingly dry, with light body and a short perfumed finish''

- Vendange Pinot Grigio | Vivino US

Wine Folly:

    Page 149:

Some of the specific flavors and aromas that are mentioned in a Pinot Grigio are white peach, lemon zest, cantaloupe, raw almond, and crushed gravel.  This is interesting because I did not really get any hints of any of these flavors, maybe a little bit of lemon zest with how tart this wine was but that is about it.  Another thing from this page is that among the five flavors in wine, acidity sticks out for this wine.  I definitely picked this up as this wine was extremely acidic.

    Page 256:

Mentions that Pinot Grigio is best from Alto Adige and Friuli.  Apparently in the Alto Adige wines are more fruity with a fierce acidity, so I would definitely like to try a higher shelf tier of Pinot Grigio, because I feel like I would really like it but this was just very cheap.

My Review:

    This wine was extremely light bodied.  Like to the point where when I took a sip it literally felt like I was drinking water.  While I was able to pick up some fruity flavors, this wine just felt like it was not packing much.  It was very bland.  Some of the specific flavors I got were pear and heavy green apple so maybe the malic acid content was stronger in this wine.  It was very tart, for every single sip I took, which usually I find the tartness of the wine decreases the more I drink but this was not the case.  Definitely do not regret buying and trying this wine because it was very cheap, but I would not buy it again.  I did not pair this wine with any foods.  

Wine and Cheese Pairing #1

 Initially, when I saw this assignment was due this week, I was a little overwhelmed because I though that wine and cheese pairings were extremely fancy and it was very difficult to find good cheese to pair with the wine.  I was sorely mistaken.  This assignment was very fun and it actually helped me gain a new appreciation for some wine, specifically the Zinfandel I tried.  This leads me to the three wines I tried.

1. Bogle Family Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel

2. Martin Codax Albarino

3. Dark Horse Pinot Noir

You've got the wines, now here are the cheeses that were tried with these wines

1. Cabot Creamery Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese

2. Great Value Colby Jack Cheese

3. Sargento Provolone

Now, lets get into each wine specifically:

1. Bogle Family Vineyards Zinfandel

- This wine by itself was fruity upfront, and then finished with a bitter, tannic taste in the mouth.  It was very good, but like I said the tannins were strong on the finish.  Some of the fruit notes I picked up on were blackberry and cherry. 

Paired with the sharp cheddar:
- This pairing really surprised me.  Like I just mentioned, the wine by itself left my mouth with a bitter taste, and the cheese by itself was also very aggressive and bitter.  But when I took a bite of the cheese and then drank some wine while I was working on the cheese, they came together and almost created like a sweet flavor.  It was like the bitterness of both of them cancelled each other out and it revealed more sweet, fruity flavors of the wine.   

Paired with the provolone:

- Was not a big fan of this pairing at all really.  It just seemed like these two just could not get in balance, as it both of the bad things were brought out.  The sweet, fruity flavors that were present in the wine by itself were masked by the flavors of the provolone (which I am not a huge fan of to begin with), but then kept the bitter finish.  

Paired with the colby jack:

- This pairing was not bad, but where the cheddar worked with the zinfandel and almost brought out sweet, fruity characteristics, this was the opposite.  I feel like the two paired together and enhanced the bitterness of the colby jack while also bringing out the same fruity characteristics I tasted in the zinfandel when I paired it with the cheddar.  

2. Martin Codax Albarino

- By itself, this wine was really good.  It was fruity at first, and I made note of the pear and apple notes I got from this wine.  While it was rather fruity at first, this wine finished dry. 

Paired with the sharp cheddar cheese:

- I felt like the wine got completely overpowered by this cheese.  I could not really get much of the fruity notes, honestly it was just the cheddar that I tasted.  I think this wine was too light bodied to compete with the cheddar.  I do not think this was a bad pairing, as I did not mind the taste when the two combined, I just feel like the sharpness of the cheddar was too much to bring anything out in the wine that the wine could not express on its own.

Paired with the provolone:

- This pairing with the provolone was way better than the Zinfandel with the provolone.  Feel like these two actually were able to play off each other in a way, as the wine took a little bit of the bite off the provolone with the pear and apple flavors.  I don't know however if anything necessarily gets brought out by these two pairing, but the two seem to play off each other nicely.

Paired with the colby jack:

- Honestly really good.  I feel like the not-too-bitterness of the colby jack, combined with the flavor it does bring to the table does a good job of bringing out the apple notes in the wine.  While I did taste the apple in the wine by itself, I had also tasted the pear and it seemed like the two were pretty even.  That was not the case when paired with this cheese.  The apple for some reason really jumped out.

2. Dark Horse Pinot Noir

- Tasting this wine by itself, one thing that really jumped out to me was the strawberry flavors.  I was also able to get some cherry, but strawberry was definitely the first fruit to show itself.  In addition to the fruit flavors I got, this wine was also very smooth on the finish, and did not seem to tannic.

Paired with the cheddar:

- This really surprised me, I did not go into this pairing expecting much from these two.  The cheddar seemed to really bring out the strawberry/cherry flavors in the wine while maintaining the smooth finish I tasted in the wine initially.  It also seemed like the bold flavors in the cheddar held stronger with this wine than the provolone or colby jack did.

Paired with the provolone:

- Honestly I did not like this pairing at all.  These two seemed to be the absolute worst as the cheese seemingly took away the fruity characteristics all together.  This could just be tied back to me not really liking provolone, but  I definitely had higher expectations for this wine.

Paired with the colby jack:
- This was a great pairing, I felt, much like the cheddar, the fruit really got enhanced by this pairing, but the wine finishes kind of bitter when combined with the colby jack which I was a big fan of.  I felt like the wine took the initial bite out of the cheese, but not so much to where one overpowers the other.  

    Overall, my favorite pairing was the Zinfandel with the cheddar cheese, which was probably a bad way to start this tasting with the best pairing, but oh well.  My least favorite pairing was the Pinot Noir with the provolone.  Something about the provolone just did not sit right with me for whatever reason.

Drink This Now Lesson Blog Report #1

     For my Drink This Now lesson blog report, I decided to go with the exercise from chapter two.  This lesson focuses on trying out different vessels and seeing how they affect the scents and tastes of the wine.  The lesson recommends grabbing a aromatic white wine and an aromatic red wine to start the exercise.  For my white wine, I went with Martin Codax Albarino.  

Name:  Martin Codax Albarino

Variety:  Albarino

Region:  Rias Baixas

Country:  Spain

Vintage:  2022

Price:  $17.99

For the red wine, I went with Bogle Family Vineyards Zinfandel:

Name:  Bogle Family Vineyards Zinfandel

Variety:  Zinfandel

Region:  California

Country:  United States

Vintage:  2021

Price:  $9.99

    Next, the lesson stated to grab an array of glasses ranging from a shot glass, rocks glass, standard water glass, white wine glass, and then lastly a larger red wine glass.  Here are my observations for the albarino:

Starting out with sniffing:

Shot glass-

     I noticed the shot glass gave a pretty strong smell right away, but I think that could have just been because of how close I was able to get to the wine.  After the initial smell, it seemed like the scent did not change or evolve at all, it did not get stronger, and the scent kind of faded after the initial smell.  

Rocks glass- 

    I was able to get a good smell of the jump, seemed like I was able to unpack a little bit more of the wine with this glass than I could with the shot glass.  I noted that I was able to pick up on more scents of the wine because it was a longer lasting, stronger smell.  I picked up scents of pear and it was kind of flowery.

Water glass-

    Surprisingly enough, I felt that I was able to get a stronger scent from the rocks glass than I was from this water glass.  This was definitely stronger and longer lasting than the shot glass, but I felt like it did not have much of a prolonged scent as the rocks glass.  As for the specific scents, there was nothing more or less than the rocks glass, I was able to get the fruity and flowery scents.

Smaller Flared Wine Glass-

    This was definitely the strongest smell yet, not only did the flavor jump right out at me, but it definitely lingers longer.  I feel like the fruity aromas really got unpacked here and I was able to get a stronger sense of pear and almost like sour apple.  

Larger Flared Wine Glass-

    Maybe the wine glasses I used were not flared, but this was definitely the strongest smell yet.  The scents were way more intense than the smaller wine glass, and they lasted way longer.  I was not able to pick up on any more scents, but like I said, it was just intensified.  

Moving onto the Zinfandel:

Shot glass-

    Very similar to the white wine in terms of what you smell initially is about all you are going to get.  I was able to get a little bit of blackberry initially.  But, like I said once I smelled it, it did not get any better, or only lost scent the longer I smelled it.

Rocks glass-

    A stronger smell than the shot glass, I feel like I was able to unpack a little bit more on the fruity side as the blackberry got a little bit stronger and I got some shades of cherry.

Water glass-

    This was the biggest difference between the Albarino and the Zinfandel, as the water glass actually gave me a better and stronger smell than the rocks glass.  I got all the same fruity smells, with blackberry and cherry, but I was also able to pick up more of a tannic smell, I'm not sure why the water glass elevated that smell.  

Small-flared glass-

    This was where I really started to notice a bigger difference, as I was able to get some weirder scents from this glass.  I picked up what kind of smelled like clove, and some very earthy scents that I could not exactly put a name on.  All the same fruity notes that I was smelling in the shot-water glass are still there initially, but like I said I was able to pick up on more earthy notes, specifically clove.  

Bigger-flared glass-

    This was far and away the most pronounced glass in terms of smell.  The fruity flavors jump out at me but the earthy undertones are brought out much quicker than the smaller glass.  On top of this, they also seem to hold their intensity for a longer amount of time.  The tannic smell is exacerbated with this glass as well.

Now, moving onto the differences I noticed when drinking the various wines:

    I picked up the same notes from each of these wines throughout the tasting process, as most of what we taste comes from what we smell.  The shot glass tasting for both wines seemed kind of bland, there was fruity flavors to start off with both wines, and then a semi-sweet finish.  As for the finish on the Zinfandel, I was able to get the tannin finish.  The smaller-flared glass yielded more flavors for both the white wine and the red wine, but I felt like it enhanced the flavors more of the apple-pear in the albarino than it did the blackberry/cherry in the Zinfandel.  The Zinfandel still finished with the tannins, but being able to enjoy more of the fruity flavors beforehand helped ease that up.  As for the larger-flared wine glass, it was also similar to the smaller wine glass.  It was many similar flavors in each, but the biggest difference was in the red wine.  For some reason the tannins in the wine seemed to relax a little bit, I'm not sure if this was because the change in the glasses, or if the wine had just been sitting out for long enough to see a change.   

    And for the last part of this, I took the smaller flared glass and the larger flared glass, poured some more of the zinfandel in both, only I heated up the larger glass by cupping it with my hands and sloshing it around in the glass for a few minutes.  I then sniffed the smaller glass and immediately switched to the larger glass that had been warmed and sloshed around.  It was crazy the difference, it was almost like the smaller-wine glass seemed duller once I smelled the larger glass.  The fruit smells of blackberry and cherry were extremely more pronounced it seemed, and it was honestly surprising because when I smelled the smaller-flared glass before, it smelled normal.  I was very surprised how much of a difference the vessel makes, and to take it a step further, the difference it makes when you warm the wine up and move it around. 

Wine and Dinner Blog #1

     For the wine-dinner pairing, several other students and I got together and all contributed to the meal, with three total wines, and three courses of food.  We did this dinner on Valentine's Day, as we figured none of us had big plans that day anyway, so we might as well drink some wine and eat some good food.

    Getting into some specifics of the meal, we started off appetizers with a spread of crackers, for the main course we had rigatoni noodles with a vodka sauce, both ingredients bought from Kroger, then lastly for dessert we had a homemade Valentine's Day cake.

    For the wines, we had Freixenet Prosecco to pair with the crackers to kick things off, we had Ghost Hull Cabernet Sauvignon to pair with the pasta, and then we had Dreaming Tree Pinot Noir to pair with the dessert cake.   

#1: Freixenet Prosecco paired with Crackers

I was actually very surprised by this pairing.  The Prosecco alone was very light and refreshing by itself, but once I ate a cracker and took a drink of the wine with it, it really opened up a new realm to the wine.  It was like the sweet and salty balance was in perfect harmony throughout the entire appetizer.  I thought the wine by itself was very fruity right off the bat, but once it was paired with the saltiness of a cracker it seemed to enhance the fruit characteristics of the prosecco.  

    I did not feel like the crackers helped bring anything out of the wine that was before hidden, but more so enhanced what the wine was already bringing to the table.  As far as specific tastes, from the wine, I was able to pick up apples off the jump, almost like a sparkling, alcoholic, apple juice.  I was very delighted with this pairing overall and it was a great way to start off the meal.  

Specifics of the wine:

Price:  $17

Variety:  Glera 

Region:  Veneto, Italy

Specifics of the Crackers:

Fig and Olive Crisps crackers

#2: Ghost Hull Cabernet Sauvignon paired Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce

    Starting off with the wine by itself, this was really the first tannic wine I have learned to enjoy.  At first, I was able to pick up hints of blackberry, which was nice to know I was in the right spot after reading more about the wine.  As for the finish, the wine left a bitter-ish tannin feeling.

    After trying the wine by itself, I went in for the for the food right after.  Honestly, I feel like the wine was better by itself.  Once I ate some of the Pasta it seemed like the bitterness and bite of the vodka sauce actually took away some of the fruitier flavors in the wine and exacerbated the bitter finish to the wine.  The pasta by itself was phenomenal and it had a little bit of kick to it.  Some of the flavors I got predominantly off the pasta alone was parmesan and some crushed red pepper.  Overall, this was definitely my least favorite pairing of the night, but that could have just been my palate.

Specifics of the wine:

Price:  $43

Variety:  Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc

Region:  San Lucas Vineyard, California

Specifics of the pasta:

Kroger for the pasta, and Classico Vodka sauce for the sauce. 

#3: Dreaming Tree Pinot Noir paired with homemade Cake

    Starting with the wine by itself, I thought it came out fruity right off the bat with hints of what I picked up to be very cherry-ish.  As for the finish of the wine, I thought it was a very smooth, non-bitter finish.  I also picked up a little bit of spice with this wine, as a few times it caught me just weird enough to get me to cough.  I thought it was strange noting that I sensed some spice until I read a description of the wine, and one of the key descriptors mentioned was spice.

    But as good as the wine was by itself, I felt like cake took it to a new level.  I felt as though the wine got more of a vanilla flavor to it than it did before the cake.  The cool thing too was that none of the fruity elements or the way the wine finished was affected by the cake, it only really added the vanilla taste.  The vanilla flavors of the cake paired really well this wine, but I was skeptical going in.    

Specifics of the wine:

Price:  $14

Variety:  Pinot Noir

Region:  California

Specifics of the cake:

Homemade

Tasting- Yellowtail Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Name:  Yellowtail Cabernet Sauvignon 

Variety:  Cabernet Sauvignon

Region:  South Eastern Australia 

Country:  Australia

Vintage Year:  2022

Price:  $8

Critics Review:

"Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon is a rich, full-bodied red wine that delivers a luscious drinking experience. The dark and intense color of the wine reflects the depth of its taste, offering a complex combination of flavors that are sure to please any palate. This vibrant red blend is made with high-quality grapes from Australia, where winemakers have perfected the art of cultivating and crafting the perfect wine."

- Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon | Yellow Tail Wine Delivery | BuyWinesOnline.com

Wine Folly:

Page 88:

    Some specific flavors and aromas mentioned are black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, and graphite.  I was able to pick up on the black cherry and a little bit of the cedar, which I was surprised because I have not really been able to pick up many odd flavors/scents thus far into my wine drinking career.  

Page 203:

    Diving into Australian wines specifically, it mentions that most Australian Cabernet Sauvignons are made in the southern region of the continent.  Some of the specific flavors and aromas that are mentioned in the southern Australia region are black cherry, black currant, and black tea.  I was able to pick up black tea more in the aftertaste, I think because of how much tannins I was able to pick up on. 

My Personal Review:

    Really good for what I paid for the bottle.  I was able to get that cherry up front and a little bit of cedar like I mentioned.   This wine I felt was very dry and had a strong tannic finish which I actually did not mind.  This was a very solid wine and I would definitely buy it again.  I did not pair it with any food, but some of the foods mentioned that pair well with Cabernet Sauvignon are rich grilled meats, peppery sauces, and dishes with high flavor so I might look to pair this with a steak. 

Tasting- Chamisal Pinot Noir

 

Name:  Chamisal Pinot Noir

Variety:  Pinot Noir

Region:  San Luis Obispo County, California

Country:  United States 

Year:  2022

Price:  $22

Critics Review:  

"This bright, acid driven Chamisal Vineyards San Luis Obispo Pinot Noir is sourced from some of the most coastally influenced vineyards on the Central Coast. The cool climate generated by the close proximity of the Pacific Ocean is vital for the freshness and vibrancy of this wine. The wine is intense with opulent notes of red cherry and spiced red plum mingle with hints of Mission fig and rose petal, showcasing the distinctive Chamisal spice. The palate is rich and luscious with suggestions of cherry pie, strawberry preserves, and hints of anise, backed by fine and focused tannins that bring balance and length to the finish."

- Chamisal Vineyards San Luis Obispo Pinot Noir (shopwinedirect.com)

Wine Folly:

Page 150:

    Some of the specific aromas and flavors that are mentioned are cherry, raspberry, clove, mushroom, and vanilla.  I was definitely able to pick up on some cherry, I'm not sure if that is just because what I am most familiar with out of these flavors, but the cherry definitely jumped out from the start for me.  It also mentions that Pinot Noir wines are known for their smooth finish, soft tannin finish, which is something I also noted as the wine was very easy going down.

Page 284:

    For more California specific Pinot Noir, it mentions that these wines tend to be more fruit forward that are bodacious.  Maybe this is why I was able to get the cherry off the jump. 

My Personal Review:

    This was far and away the best wine I have tried so far.  Like I said earlier I was definitely able to pick up the cherry aspects right off the bat.  Another thing I really liked about this wine was how easy it was to drink.  It was still relatively dry, which I am new to, but it seemed like there was almost zero bitterness to the wine which I really liked.  I would 100% buy this wine again.  It mentioned this wine pairs well with duck, chicken, pork, and mushrooms, so while I did not try this wine with any food this time, maybe I will pair it up the next time I drink this.  

Tasting- Barefoot Pinot Grigio

 

Name:  Barefoot Pinot Grigio

Variety:  Pinot Grigio

Country of Origin:  United States

Region of Origin:  Modesto, California

Vintage Year:  2022

Price: $2.00

Critics Review:

"On first sip, Barefoot Pinot Grigio is light-medium bodied, fruity and very mildly sweet (left of center if you had a dry to sweet scale). It is not noticeably acidic and is very well balanced overall. The taste has a bit of a citrus component that I did not particularly get in the aroma, but that works well. I also got a hint of a taste of Granny Smith apple, which I love and so that was an enjoyable addition. The finish of Barefoot Pinot Grigio is medium and quite nicely mirrors the overall flavors of the wine."

Barefoot Pinot Grigio: Wine Review — Grand One Lounge: The Home Bar Resource

Wine Folly:

Page 149:

    Says that Pinot Grigio is known for its zesty white wines that can range from dry to sweet.  It also mentions this wine pairs well with white meat, seafood, and food with a fruit element to it.  Some of the specific flavors and aromas mentioned are white peach, lemon zest, and cantaloupe.  

Page 251:

    Says that Pinot Grigio has subtle tart fruit characteristics and mentions green apple specifically.  

My Personal Review:

    I really enjoyed this wine.  It was much sweeter than I had expected going into it, but I tend to lean towards sweeter wines thus far.  I was definitely able to pick up some apple, as it kind of smelled and tasted like apple juice so I was glad the book mentioned that.  I only purchased a split of this wine, but I would definitely buy the full bottle.  I did not pair this with any foods.

Tasting- Barefoot Pinot Noir

 

Name:  Barefoot Pinot Noir

Variety:  Pinot Noir

Country of Origin:  United States

Region of Origin:  Modesto, California 

Vintage Year:  2022

Price:  $2.00

Critics Review:

"Smooth, supple and warmly fruity, this is a cherry pie of a wine. Generous red- and black-cherry flavors are wrapped in soft tannins for a rich feel without being heavy. Small amounts of Zinfandel and Barbera were blended in. — Jim Gordon"

Barefoot NV Pinot Noir (California) Rating and Review | Wine Enthusiast

Wine Folly:

Page 150:

"A versatile red wine for food pairing given the higher acidity and lower tannin.  Pinot Noir tastes like it was meant for duck, chicken, pork, and mushrooms." 

This is kind of surprising to me because I thought that this wine was a little more tannic but that could just be because I am new to red wines.

Page 150:

Some of the specific aromas and flavors mentioned are cherry, raspberry, clove, mushroom, and vanilla.  I was able to get a little bit of cherry, raspberry, and vanilla, but I never really got clove or mushroom. 

My Personal Review:

    I was surprised by this wine because I have not been the biggest red wine fan, but this was actually really good.  It was not as tannic as I expected it to be, but I thought it still had a good amount of tannic taste.  I was able to get some of the raspberry and cherry.  Overall, I would definetly try this again it was pretty solid.  I did not try this with any food.