Tasting - Stella Mia Pink Moscato

Name:  Stella Mia Pink Moscato

Variety: 100% muscat with a splash of likely merlot to add color

Region: New York

Country: United States

Year: 2022

Price: $12

Winery Review: "Pale silvery pink color. Aromas of citrus punch and green apple with a supple, crisp, spritzy, sweet light body and a polished, brisk watermelon-strawberry smoothie finish. A sweet and bubbly treat for anytime quaffing" - tastings.com

Wine Folly: pg 138 - This was definitely on the sweet sparkling type. The smell I got was very different from what they said but this was because it was a strawberry flavored Moscato so that's why.

My Review: This was a very fruit punch like smell but much softer. It tasted like a juiced strawberry with bubbles in it. It was a very light body that went down easy with no real feeling being left in the mouth afterwards. I did feel a little bit of a sting on the sides of my tongues.

Tasting - Dr Leimbrock Riesling Auslese

Name: Dr Leimbrock Riesling Auslese

Variety: 100% Riesling

Region: Mosel

Country: Germany

Year: 2015

Price: 22

Winery Review: "The 2015 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Auslese boasts a big, sweet, full-bodied style that nevertheless stays clean and nicely balanced. Showing lots of sugared citrus, quince, mint, and hints of diesel fumes, it shines for this mid-palate depth, has terrific balance between its acidity and sugar, and offers a great finish. This cuvée comes from vines planted in 1990 and was brought up all in large oak barrels."- Jeb Dunnuck (March 27th 2019), 92 pts

Wine Folly: pg 158- I've actually had two Rieslings now and I remember the first one tasted dry while this one was very sweet so this matches with what the book says. 

My Review: I preferred the sweetness of this Riesling over the one I had in the past that was dry. I drank this the next day after it was opened which I think mellowed out the smell. My friends who had it the moment it was opened said that it was a very strong petroleum smell. When I smelled it was a very faint smell of petroleum and my roommates also smelled it and said was a lot more mellowed out than when they drank it. I thought the wine tasted like an apple juice with bubbles. It was a very light bodied wine with a little bit of acidity but not enough that it bothered me. 

Tasting - Franzia Pinot Noir Carmenere

 

Name: Franzia Pinot Noir Carmenere

Variety: 51% Pinot Noir 49% carmenere

Region: Cachapoal Valley

Country: Chile

Year: I could not find a vintage year on this bottle however since box wine is not usually for aging I assume its from 2022

Price: $20

Winery Review: A pleasing dry Pinot Noir, Carmenere with a light body and aromas of blackberry and raspberry. Pair it with beef, poultry or winter nights.

Wine Folly: pg 214- according to the textbook chilean pinot noirs normally have a subtle woodsy or oak note which I wasn't able to notice. I do strongly agree with the berry flavor.

My Review: My initial thoughts when I smelled the pinot noir carmenere was an alcoholic raspberry. The taste made me think of a propel water that had a tiny bit of berry flavoring in it. I will note that this wine had been opened a few weeks prior but since its a box wine which normally last a month plus I thought it was still ok. This was a high tannic feeling but it was mainly only on my tongue not my mouth. Normally when I have a high tannic wine it makes my lips pucker up all over but it was only my tongue that felt bitter after the tasting for this one.

Wine and Cheese Pairing #1

A few friends and I decided to do our wine and cheese pairing as one of our initial wine drinking's.

We chose to drink a 19 crimes sauvignon cabernet, sun pop moscato, and sebastiani cabernet sauvignon. Wea paired these with smoked goat cheese, aged gouda, and cheddar in that respective order. There wasn't any particular reason we chose these whines outside of its what we had. We tried the white wine first and then the red wines as told in the lecture videos. 

Starting first with the Moscato, it was a very clear barely yellow drink. It smelled very water like with a small hint of pineapple but more like water. As I drank it alone there was no alcohol taste to meaning I didn't feel any burn as I drank it. There was a little bit of a citrus taste to it but for the most part is was almost water like. We ate this wine with the aged gouda which I think wasn't a good choice for pairing. the little flavor the wine did have seemed like it disappeared when we drank it in tandem with the cheese. The gouda was strong enough that I didn't really taste a difference between eating it alone and with the wine.

The next pairing was the 19 crimes cabernet sauvignon and the smoked goat cheese. The 19 crimes was very dark fruity smell. I'm not the best at smelling so I couldn't place a specific fruit but it just gave a me a dark fruity vibe. Everyone around me said they got a vanilla smell that I didn't smell but I thought it would be worth noting. Since this was a red wine it was very tannic. After drinking it more and more it started to feel a little less bitter/tannic in my mouth. When combining the cheese and wine I was a very big fan. The cheese was even stronger than the wine was so neither flavor was overpowered like it was in the previous pairing. The wine also felt like it went down significantly smoother and took away some of the bitter flavor. I wasn't able to notice any real flavor changes besides the bitterness and smoothness.

For the last pairing it was the sebastiani and the cheddar. The sebastiani smelled very similar to the 19 crimes likely since they were both cabernet sauvignons but this one smelled slightly like a lighter fruit smell instead of a fully dark like 19 crimes. I didn't like this pairing nearly as much as the prior one. Although I'm not sure it almost gave me a sour after taste when pairing them which was horrible. The wine alone was good in my opinion. It was very tannic but more bearable than the 19 crimes. I think this may have been affected by  me drinking a white wine before the 19 crimes but a tannic wine before the sebastiani. The cheddar also didn't taste that good on its own so I'm not sure if the pairing was the issue or just the cheese. Since this pairing made me feel kind of gross I didn't drink too much of it since I didn't want to feel nauseous. 

Overall, the 19 crimes and goat cheese was my favorite pairing and I wasn't a big fan of the other two.

Tasting - Maynard's 10 Years Old Aged Tawny Porto

 

Name: Maynard's 10 Years Old Aged Tawny Porto

Variety: I was unable to find a variety online for this besides the fact that a majority of port wines are composed of the following: Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão, and Tinta Roriz (also known as Tempranillo)

Region: Duriense

Country: Portugese

Year: I was unable to find an exact year but based on the name I'm guessing around 2012

Price: $30

Winery Review: "10 Years" indicates an average age – this Aged Tawny Port is a blend of older wines, which offer complexity and younger wines, which bring fresh fruit flavors and vibrancy. During their long maturing period in oak casks, Aged Tawnies undergo subtle color changes: the deep red hue which characterizes Port's youth gradually gives way to a paler reddish amber color. Graham's is known for its rich, elegant house style. This 10 Year has a full, nutty bouquet, the classic Graham's richness and a soft lingering finish.

Wine Folly: pg 154 and pg 267 - There wasn't really much information on tawny port wines specifically besides that the older it is the better it is the book which makes me want to try an older one at some point in the future since all this wasn't my favorite I did enjoy it. From my own research outside of the book I saw that it was good when paired with dessert so I tried it with ice cream.

My Review: Great! My initial thoughts when I first smelled it was dirt to be honest. My nose was a little stuffy the night I drank this though so I don't that that is a fair review. I also smelled a bit of raisins which I thought was a weird was to describe a wine but it seemed fitting. I also had the initial notice that this was very thick. When swirling it, it would take forever for the legs to go back down which I know as was talked about in the lectures means nothing but I definitely noticed the viscosity as I drank it. From the way my friends described it who drank it first I thought it would be very sweet but upon tasting it I didn't think it was that sweet. Instead I mainly tasted a syrupy raisin with an alcohol aftertaste. I tried pairing it with ice cream but I wasn't a fan of the combo since the ice cream tasted funny with it so I stopped shortly into it. Mainly because it was a fruity ice cream and I think it made the fake strawberry taste of the ice cream even more pronounced which was gross.

Tasting - Six Grapes Reserve Porto

Name: Six Grapes Reserve Porto

Variety:  Blend of vintage-quality wines from four indigenous Douro grape varieties – aromatic Touriga Franca; rich, tannic & well-structured Touriga Nacional; raspberry tinged Tinta Roriz; and chocolate noted Tinta Barroca.- Advisor wine industry. I was unable to find specific percentages

Region: Oporto

Country: Portugal

Year: I was unable to find a vintage year but According to online sources it is aged in a barrel for two years.

Price: $26

Winery Review: A lip-smacking, tasty, well-priced dessert wine from the iconic Port region of Portugal. Loaded with aromas of fleshy ripe purple plums and blackberry jam. Great way to finish dinner. Pair with Black Forest cake. - Natalie Maclean wine reviews

Wine Folly: pg 267- Although I was unable to try it with the blue cheese which Wine Folly calls a perfect pairing for a vintage port, I did think that it was a very flavorful wine. I also thought it was very high tannins so this makes sense for what they say on this page. This was my favorite wine I've drank since starting this class so I might try this again with the cheese later.

My Review: Amazing! I really enjoyed the smell of this wine actually compared to other red wines. Normally when I smelled red wines in the past, specifically shiraz and cabernet sauvignon the smell just made me think it would be a bitter taste. However, with this it was almost a refreshing smell comparatively with a subtle fruity smell. The taste was also very different than I expected. Since I knew port wines were high on alcohol I expected it to be very burning feeling in my throat typesque but it was instead really smooth and went down easy. The only downside is I'm still not the biggest fan of the puckering feeling from high tannic alcohol which I definitely got from this wine.

Tasting - Luna Nuda Pinot Grigio

 

Name: Luna Nuda Pinot Grigio

Variety: 100% Pinot Grigio

Region: Alto Adige

Country: Italy

Year: 2021

Price: $14

Winery Review: Luna Nuda Pinot Grigio is estate grown, handpicked, and hand sorted in Italy's Alto Adige Valley at Castelfeder Winery. Bright, crisp flavors of golden delicious apple and citrus flow through this wine with just a hint of alpine air and minerality – flavors that embody the terroir of Italy’s northernmost winegrowing region.

Wine Folly: pg 251- Although I can't recount based on my notes, there was very likely a subtle tart characteristic as described in the book since I consider the bold rocks I think it was similar to have some tartness. I however did not notice the high tingling acidity unless that's what made me still feel the flavor in my mouth after drinking it which in that case it was noticeable as they said.

My Review: When I first smelled this drink my first thought was that it was a green apple bold rock cider without the fizz. After trying it it confirmed my thoughts that this tasted eerily similar to one of my go to drinks. To confirm this I opened up a bold rock and it tasted like the Luna Nuda pinot grigio but with alcohol and more fizzyness. The pinot grigio was very delightful since there was no strong alcohol taste or bitterness. It wasn't as fruity as I thought it would be so it was little low on flavor. The flavor that was there though would sit on my tongue after drinking in a pleasant way.