Wine Dinner #3

 As a last hoorah before we finished this class, my friends and I decided to visit the wine lab for a nice wine and meal pairing. We especially wanted to try this since we had heard about how wine lab does wine flights so we could get three wines to pair with our appetizers, food, and dessert.

I bought the new world flight which was a Thelema Mountain Sauvignon Blanc blend, Ken Wright Pinot Noir, and Catena Vista Flores Malbec. I planned on pairing this as the sauvignon blanc with the different foods on the charcuterie boards, the pinot noir with the reuben sandwich since the server highly recommended this and lastly, the malbec with the dark chocolate flourless cake.

Appetizer: Thelema Mnt. Sauvignon Blanc Blend '22 + Charcuterie boards

Our first course, we got two charcuterie boards. The first was the Fan Favorite charcuterie board which consisted of cheddar, speck, honey truffle, prosciutto, and accoutrements. The second was the Adventurous Board which consisted of chorizo, duck breast, woodbine, and accoutrements. I mainly tried this pairing with the smoked duck breast because I read online that sauvignon blanc was supposed to pair well with smoked meats. My initial thoughts on the sauvignon blanc was that it smelled like what I thought gooseberries was. The reason I say I think is because its a smell that I recognize from past blancs that my friends have said is what gooseberry smells like. It was a very acidic taste but still went down really smoothly. When I tried pairing this with the duck I can't say I was a fan. From what I read online it was supposed to bring out the fruity flavor of the wine but instead it just tasted more acidic to me. I tried pairing it with the cheddar cheese and I liked this way more. I then lastly tried with the honey truffle but this somehow brought out the acidic component even more than the duck had so I promptly stopped.

Main Dish: Kena Wright Pinot Noir '20 + Reuben Sandwich & Sweet Potato Curry Soup

For my second course I got a reuben sandwich and sweet potato soup since I absolutely love reubens. For my initial thoughts on this wine, it smelled almost exactly like the six grapes porto red wine I had drank in the past which was one of my favorite wines so far. This wine did not disappoint, it was very fruity with a little bit more of a tannic component than I would have liked. It was a very plummy or dark cherry fruit taste if I were to try and place it. I didn't really notice a difference with the wine when pairing it with the sandwich to be honest. I semi-thought that it maybe became fruitier but I think this was mainly placebic. I will say though that when it was paired with the sweet potato curry soup it did actually taste fruitier in my opinion. The tannic component was definitely mellow while pairing it with both.

Dessert: Catena Vista Flores Malbec '19 + Flourless Chocolate Cake

This was by far my least favorite pairing. It may have just been the wine as the base but even the wine I wasn't a fan of. It was too tannic for my liking and overpowered any taste I would've gotten from it. I looked online because I was curious and it said it should've been fruitier but I didn't notice this at all. The wine alone smelled like how I picture a rotten fruit would smell. It was a fruity smell but just smelled like it was gone bad for some reason. The cake was good but when I tried pairing them it just ruined the taste of the chocolate cake. I think if it was a different wine I probably would've liked a pairing more but this one just threw me off.

Overall, this was a pretty fun experience to drink with my friends as a last hoorah before we finished the class. We also got to see professor Boyer but he left before we could say hi.

Tasting - Kungfu Girl Riesling

Name: Kungfu Girl Riesling

Variety: 100% Riesling

Region: Washington State

Country: United States

Year: 2021

Price: $12

Winery Review: "White peach, mandarin orange and apricot are delivered with a core of minerality that makes this dry Riesling shimmer with energy and freshness. Another epic vintage of Kung Fu Girl."-Charles Smith Wines

Wine Folly: pg 158- I think this was definitely an off dry wine and not super sweet. I wish I had bought some chinse takeout to eat with this since they actually recommended this both on the wines page and in the textbook. 

My Review: To be honest, I purchased this wine solely because I thought the bottle looked cool, however I was pleasantly surprised by how good this wine was. It tasted like an apple juice without the sugar after taste you normally get with juice. Instead, it was a more acidic after taste with a limey apple taste in your mouth. I couldn't really get much from the smell of this but I think this was because I have a stuffy nose since I'm sick right now. 

Tasting - Robert Mondavi Merlot

Name: Robert Mondavi Merlot

Variety: 100% merlot

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2019

Price: $11

Winery Review: "Central Coast, California- Bright aromas and flavors of smooth cherry, plum and strawberry with hints of cedar, black olive and spice—supported by a supple texture with fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. These qualities come from choice Central Coast Merlot grapes."-totalwines.com

Wine Folly: pg 131- I agree with the cherry flavor since that as by far the main thing I tasted while drinking this but I didn't notice any chocolate or vanilla flavors in this. The book mentions how this pairs well with roasted food which I didn't try but my roommate tried this with roasted lamb and he thought the pairing was really good.

My Review: My initial thoughts on this wine was that there was no smell. There was the usual smell you get for any red wine but other than that there were no distinct noticeable smells in my opinion. I think this may be impacted by my nose being stuffy since I think I may be getting sick. Upon tasting it my first initial thought was that this was a super thick wine. To the point where I almost felt like it wasn't a wine but a milk. I mainly only tasted a tannic dark berry from this but not so dark that it was unbearable. I think I would call this a good middle ground of flavor and tannins compared to really strong red wines I've had in the past. 

Tasting - Josh Sauvignon Blanc

Name: Josh Sauvignon Blanc

Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2022

Price: $14

Winery Review: "California- A deliciously refreshing Sauvignon Blanc offering bright citrus and tropical fruit, with hints of dried herbs and a crisp, juicy finish. Pairs well with grilled fish."-totalwine.com

Wine Folly: pg 165- I think this was a little different from how they described it in the book for me. They mention goose berry, passion fruit, and honey dew but I don't think this wine really had any sweet fruity components to it. I mainly got a citrus crispy vibe from this wine.

My Review: I think although a little drab this wine was pretty good. After seeing Josh being mentioned in the lecture videos we wanted to try it. I really liked the smell of this wine since it smelled like a clean citrus fruit. When I drank it I could feel the acidic feeling on the bottom of my tongue when I swished it which was interesting. It didn't have a citrus taste like I thought it would but I still liked it. I think after reading the wine folly maybe this was a grape fruit taste but I haven't had a grape fruit recently enough to remember what it taste like.

Tasting - Menage a Trois Merlot

 

Name: Menage a Trois Merlot
Variety: 100% Merlot

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2018

Price: $10

Winery Review: "Lavish is a luxurious, over the top expression of Merlot, offering a truly sensual experience. From its deep ruby red color and its alluring blueberry cordial fragrance, Lavish promises to be much more than a typical Merlot. On the palate, ripe blueberries and juicy black plums flirt recklessly with dark cocoa and vanilla notes before being swept up in a chocolaty finish. The winemakers chose grapes from California’s Central and North Coast appellations, known for producing grapes with rich flavors and aromas. The wine is fermented on French and American oak to round out the flavors and mouthfeel." - wine.com

Wine Folly: pg 131- This is one of the first times I can say that I agree completely with almost everything listed on the page wit slight differences only. I strongly felt the black cherry flavor but I wasn't able to place it as cherry, just as a darker berry taste. I also got the plum like feeling it talks about. I didn't notice the vanilla flavor that the online review talks about but I can see what they mean by a slight chocolate finish.

My Review: I loved this wine. Since I couldn't place the smell on its own I got a very dark berry/fruit smell. It was a very thick wine too but it went down super easy which seemed illogical to me with ow thick it was. There a very slight tannic feeling but that was only when I swished the wine around but I barely got the tannic component when I drank it normally. The taste was exactly how I described in the wine folly section. Definitely one of my favorites. In the future I want to try this wine again with something like pasta since that is supposedly a good pairing.

Tasting - Bay Bridge Strawberry Moscato

 

Name: Bay Bridge Strawberry Moscato

Variety: Moscato with a little bit of Merlot

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: No Year Listed

Price: $3.49

Winery Review: "At Bay Bridge Vineyards, we carefully select grapes from some of the finest vineyards to craft wines with vibrant fruit and elegant structure. Bay Bridge wines are full of flavor, rich in color and smooth in taste, which makes them delicious and the perfect accompaniment to any meal. Bay Bridge Strawberry Moscato is deliciously sweet, full of flavor, and smooth in taste. Enjoy aromas of juicy ripe strawberries that lead to a sweet finish which makes this wine the perfect complement to any occasion."- memphis

Wine Folly: The book never really talks about pink Moscato, only Moscato Blanc. The flavors that are meant to describe Moscato Blanc were nothing like what the one I drank was. I think the one I drank had strawberry additives which strongly changed the taste.

My Review: This smelled and tasted exactly how you would think. We tried to get a really cheap wine as a comparison to the normal wines we've gotten in the past. It tasted like the fake strawberry syrup you'd find on ice creams. This gave me juice vibes with no alcohol whatsoever. It was a very thin body with no tannic or bitter feelings.

Tasing - Novinophobia Chardonnay

 

Name: Novinophobia Chardonnay

Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2021

Price: $12

Winery Review: "The fear of running out of wine! Rich texture with medium body displaying hints of toast, vanilla, and lush tropical fruit flavors."-mandrliquors

Wine Folly: pg 179- I can definitely understand the pineapple and maybe the vanilla but not as much as the fruity pineapple taste. In the past I had a buttery chardonnay 

My Review: My first initial thought was that this was a very pineapple smell. This was a very dry wine. I'm not sure how to describe the feeling that I felt when I drank this but it was almost like a spongy feeling in my throat. It was very thin and with no tannins and not that much bitterness.