DTN Blog 2 - Lesson 6

Today I went back to Josh and Debbie's to do the Drink This Now: Lesson 6. This lesson was on the color of wine, and if you should care about the color of wine. I chose to do this lesson on different Chardonnay's because #poor. I went to the Vintage Cellar to get two Chardonnay's. Keith was SUPER helpful and told me a bunch of stories about different vineyards and the history behind some of the wine. He helped me choose a Chardonnay from Sonoma County, a 2015 Kunde for the heavier, barrel-aged Chardonnay. For the light easy Chardonnay, Keith picked out a 2016 Domaine Talmard Macon-Chardonnay from Burgundy. 

The winery review for the Domaine Talmard Macon-Chardonnay: The sole wine of the estate, this Macon-Chardonnay is pure and refreshing, achieved by early picking of ripe grapes while they still have good levels of acidity. The wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks only. It is notable for its freshness, purity of Chardonnay fruit and consistency from vintage to vintage (EmpireWine.com)

The winery review for the 2015 Kunde Chardonnay: Chardonnay is the queen of the whites and this lady suits that description to a tee. Across the incredibly diverse Kunde Estate, combined with a collection of clonal selections, complexity and focus come together in an easy sipping white wine. For those who like their Chardonnay to be crisp, a beautiful dose of acid and the richness of barrel fermentation creates a very lightly oaked, tasty experience (Wine.com) 

The two wines that Keith picked for me 

Step 1 for this lesson was to pour a glass and set it in front of me, and describe the colors and differences in intensity or richness of the color between the wines.  

The two wines next to their respective bottles

The Macon-Chardonnay was a much lighter, paler gold/yellow than the Kunde. The Kunde was darker in comparison, with more of a brown tint and more intensity. The Kunde is oak aged wine and the Macon-Chardonnay was aged in a steel tank, so I think the oak definitely contributed to the more golden-brown color of the Kunde. 

Step 2 was to do the standard sniff and drink. The Macon-Chardonnay smelled like a light honey drizzled on a freshly picked grape. Upon smelled the Kunde, it smelled a lot drier than the Macon-Chardonnay. I was hit with a strong sense of crisp apples, some smokiness, and an acidic, possibly sulfuric smell. 

The Macon-Chardonnay tasted very fresh and was super refreshing on my palate. It transported me to a flower patch in France, and I felt like I was drinking flowers in a way, it tasted like light strawberries, honey, and spring, however the aftertaste was a bit acidic. The Kunde was much drier and tasted very heavily of pears. I am not a fan of pears in the slightest, and did not really like this wine by itself. 

Our wine set up 

The parmesan cheese

Step 3 was to describe how the wine feels in the mouth. The Macon-Chardonnay felt MUCH lighter and thinner than the Kunde. With the Kunde, I felt like my mouth was puckering much more and felt like I had a layer of wine and dryness on my tongue.


Step 4 was to try the wine with a variety of different foods. I went to Kroger before going to Josh and Debbie's and picked up some Stella Parmesan Half Moon Wheel cheese. By itself, the cheese was phenomenal. 10/10, would recommend. We tried the cheese with both the lighter Chardonnay and the darker Chardonnay. With the Kunde, the cheese was incredible. The saltiness of the cheese really worked with the dryness of the Chardonnay. The cracker on the other-hand (Club crackers), made the Kunde taste bitter. We also tried it with peanut butter Girl Scout cookies, and the Kunde tasted a lot drier with the cookies. With the Macon-Chardonnay, the peanut butter cookies made it taste so much sweeter and more floral-like, like fresh picked roses and honey. The cheese made it taste awful and I couldn't place the taste, but the Macon-Chardonnay was better with sweet foods and the Kunde was better with salty foods. 

Overall, this lesson taught me that the color of wine truly does not matter when it comes to quality. Both wines were good, yet each were very different in color and in taste. The only thing the color indicated for me was the body of the wine, with the darker color, the Kunde Chardonnay from Sonoma California, having a thicker body than the Macon-Chardonnay from Burgundy. 

Winery Tour: The Williamsburg Winery

I went to visit my best pal Nicole this past weekend in Williamsburg, and we took a quick drive on February 24 from her house to the Williamsburg Winery at Wessex Hundred. When we pulled up to Wessex Hundred, there was a wedding photoshoot for a magazine happening, as well as an actual wedding, so it limited where we could take pictures outside. It was a GORGEOUS day out, though.

The Williamsburg Winery vineyard - the Chardonnay grapes

Nicole at the entrance of the main building

While we were waiting for the tour to begin, we watched a short video on the history of Wessex Hundred and the winery. I also asked if the tour guide could go into extensive detail with me after, hence the long blog post. The tour was only supposed to be an hour, but we were there for three (Yikes, sorry Nicole + our tour guide).

The waiting/video room with original sketches of the farm

The winery came to be when Patrick Duffeler and his wife were living in Switzerland for his job, and his wife asked him if they were just going to travel forever and what the next steps of their lives were. Patrick thought about it a lot, and remembered he had spent a lot of time as a child in Williamsburg with his parents. He flew to Williamsburg and scoured some properties, and in 1983 ended up buying 300 acres of a farm and planning where the vineyards, hotel, and winery that is all collectively now known as Wessex Hundred. Everyone thought he was crazy for wanting to create a winery in Williamsburg.

In 1985, Duffeler planted the first grapes on a 3 acre size plot. He planted chardonnay grapes with plants from Jochem Hollerith. By 1986, he planned to have 35 acres of various varietals planted. By 1987, Duffeler had decided to focus on a wine that was fruity, young, and easy to drink. The winery created a blend of Vidal and Riesling and named it "Governer's White." The first bottle was opened on January 22, 1986 and the first actual harvest was in 1988.

We started the tour talking about the varietals and the cycle of viticulture that the winery goes through. Fast forward and the farm now has 38 acres under cultivation. There are eight varietals planted as of May 2017 - Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Viognier, Traminette and Albarino.

The vines are planted right alongside the road to get to the tour building

The winery prunes the branches in the winter, and trains and ties the vines in the spring, then in early summer the fruit sets and clusters begin branching into individual fruit, they green prune in the summer and the vines are kept cut short so the plant can focus, then cluster thinning occurs in the summer as well to allow for better fruit, then they harvest in late August to mid-October from whites to reds and then late harvest wine. They do controlled harvesting of 4 tons per acre.

We went down to the cellar and let me tell you, it was cold. I had to get on my tippy toes to see the crush pad through the windows. We couldn't see the crush pad due to the wedding happening right beside it, but for the actual production, the grapes are harvested by hand in the morning and they have grapes brought in from other vineyards, then the grapes are pumped into the stemmer and crusher, and the white wine grapes are pumped into a must chiller and then put into dejuicing tanks, and emptied into bladder presses where the rest of the juice is extracted, then it's fermented in 55F, filtered, and pumped into the tanks or barrels. On the other hand, the red wine grapes are fermented with the skins on at 85F and then pressed.

The belt and to the far left, the air and nitrogen blower to clean and get rid of the air in bottles, to the right the corker

The nitrogen blower and foil station. Each bottle is hand foiled. 

For the bottling process, the winery produces over 40,000 cases of wine a year and can bottle up to 1,000 bottles in an hour. The bottles are placed on a belt and the sparge rotates the bottle and a blast of air removes dust, and then nitrogen removes the air. The bottles are then filled and blasted again to remove the air, then it gets corked and the foil is put on by hand, tightened and heated while being spun, then the bottles are labeled front and back, then the belt takes them to the next room, turned upside down, and packed into cases.

The red wine cellar barrels

Even more red wine cellar barrels

The date on the top is the vintage year and the date on the sticker is the day the wine was placed in the barrel. This red wine was just placed into this barrel one week ago. 

Our first stop was the red wine cellar. Most of the red wine and white wine was stored in barrels. They use a variety of oak, from American, which is least expensive, French, which is the most expensive, and Hungarian/Romanian, which is in between. The red wine cellar can hold up to 800 barrels when stacked to the ceiling, which is wild considering one of their barrels 60 gallons of wine, or 300 bottles. They have their red wines in the barrel for 14-26 months, and white wines (mostly Chardonnay) for 8-10 months.

Our next stop was the reserve cellar. I wasn't able to take a photo because there was a tasting going on and that would just be weird of me to take a picture of wealthy strangers. This cellar can hold 5,000 bottles, but has about 2,000 right now. Our guide explained that the winery uses natural cork because of the Old World tradition, allowing small amounts of oxygen. However, because most of their wines are meant to be drunk young (2-4 years of vintage), most of their wines use synthetic corks nowadays.

The stainless steel storage tanks are massive dessert wine storage units, and there were at least a dozen of them.

Next we saw some their steel tanks. The tanks are 1400 gallons and 3200 gallons, so they can hold 7,000 bottles and 3200 bottles, respectively. They're primarily used for their dessert wines. Their white wine is immediately destemmed and pressed, but their red wines are destemmed and then put into the tank for maceration and fermentation. The red wines are fermented warm in tanks outside, and after fermentation the reds get pressed then racked into barrels.  Next were the concrete eggs. I had never seen one before and it was weird, but oddly cool. The tour guide explained that these eggs are ideal for fermentation and allow the wine to breathe without imparting any oak flavors that a barrel might, and the egg shape causes the wine to move constantly during fermentation, keeping the lees moving. They have three concrete eggs, each named Sheldon 1, Sheldon 2, and Sheldon 3, from Garfield & Friends.

Sheldon One - Concrete egg that is porous, but sealed so the red wine doesn't escape

In this cellar we also saw the Pall Filtration machine. I actually tripped over the hose connected to the machine multiple times, as did my friend. Talk about embarrassing. The filtration machine is a cross-flow filtration, so it's gentler on the wine, and is a 2 micron filter that replaces the need for racking, once filtered, the wine goes into the barrels for storage.

All of the wine in the facility is filtered using this machine.

The tour ended with the wine tasting.

The wines that we tasted from left to right

The tasting sheet 

The Chardonnay and Riesling

• 2016 John Adlum Chardonnay - 100% Chardonnay 
• Their review - Aged primarily in stainless steel resulting in apple and citrus notes with a very nice clean finish. Consider pairing this wine with seafood or a mixed green salad. 
• My review - It smelled very fruity and light. The body was light, it went down smooth, and it tasted like lemons and oranges. 
• 2016 Governor's White - 100% Riesling  (their best-selling wine!)


• Their review - Tropical fruits such as pineapple, passion fruit, star fruit followed by blueberry, strawberry, plum and a touch of lemon
• My review - This was SOOOO GOOD. It smelled faintly of honey but tasted like passion fruit and lemon. It transported me back to when I was in the Dominican Republic and literally picked passion fruit of the tree and ate it.

Tasting the chardonnay - SO good

Merlot and Zinfandel

• 2016 Two Schilling Red - 100% Zinfandel (Cali)
• Their review - Upfront jammy fruit including strawberry, raspberry, and cherry with hints of earthiness
• My review - Smells like light cherries and milk chocolate. Tasted like green tea, herbs, and dirt.

• 2015 J. Andrews Merlot - 100% Merlot
• We tasted this wine with aged white cheddar
• Their review - Fruit intensity of raspberry, strawberry, cherry and blueberry with hints of figs and plums, warm cinnamon spice with a creamy vanilla and cocoa touch
• My review - Smelled like strawberries, tasted like blueberry pie thick with cinnamon. The cheese did help cut the tannins and make it smoother 

• 2015 Barrel Aged Claret - 37% Petit Verdot, 32% Cab Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc

  

  Claret and Petit Fleur

• Their review - A lighter style fruit forward wine expressing some pleasant raspberry, strawberry, cherry and figs. The finish is clean, bright, and fruity and lingers on the palate. This should make a good wine to pair with many bistro foods.
• My review - This wine smelled like dried cranberries. It was INCREDIBLY dry and tannic, it tasted like raspberries and dark cherries. 
• 2016 Petit Fleur - 79% Vidal Blanc, 21% Moscato
• Their review - A beautiful amber gold color with an abundance of apricot, pear, tangerine, honeydew melon and a hint of tropical fruit. There are also notes of honeysuckle, orange blossom, rose petals and honey to round out the fragrances of the wine. Delicious with fresh fruit, Stilton cheese, or various after-dinner delicacies. 
• My review - This wine smelled very floral, like roses. It tasted like straight up honey and oranges, but I did get some melon after drinking Nicole's too (haha, bad friend) and left a coat on my tongue like having a teaspoon of honey would.

The Petit Fleur

These next two were a choice. I got the spiced wine and Nicole got the raspberry wine.

Williamsburg Winery Limited Vin Licoreux de Framboise

The spiced wine (cellartracker)

• Jamestown Cellars Settler's Spiced Wine 



Nicole and her raspberry wine

• Their review - Using a red wine base and infusing a carefully balanced blend of spices, the wine comes through with dark fruit and berries

• My review - It smelled like a Yankee candle in the worst way possible. I was immediately hit with cinnamon, which made me think of Fireball. Which made me gag. It tasted JUST LIKE FIREBALL, I tasted cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. I could NOT finish this wine. 
• Vin Licoreux de Framboise (Red wine with raspberry)
• Their review - A very pleasant dessert wine which will go well with many desserts such as rich cheesecake with fresh berries or anything with chocolate in it 
• Nicole's review - It smelled like raspberry cheesecake and tasted like raspberry jam.

I felt bad for asking a million and five questions, so I only asked about some of the first few awards won. The first award the winery won was the Norfolk Yacht Club 1988, Best of Virginia wine, and in 1988 they also won the Governor's Cup.

As for the future, they are adding Tannat and Petit Manseng, and their first batch of Albarino is coming out in April. They're releasing 9 wines over 9 weeks beginning in March, so I'm planning on coming back again then!


This was a lot of fun and it was great to have my best friend with me!

10 years of friendship

Realizing the amount of homework I have

Tasting: Thistle Gate Tartan Chambourcin Port

Name: Thistle Gate Tartan Chambourcin Port
Variety: Chambourcin
Region: Scottsville, Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2012
Price: Regular $32, Sale $9.95

Winery Review: This Port-style wine is made from late harvest Chambourcin grapes and fortified with brandy that was distilled from estate grown Chambourcin wine. Tartan embodies cherry flavors, smokey essence and subtle vanilla notes. Tartan is aged in whiskey barrels for 3 years. 18% alcohol.
Governor Cup winner.

My Review: Holy alcohol bomb. This port smelled like straight up alcohol, laced with red licorice. However, the taste was incredibly sweet. It tasted a bit like a smoked honey and the cherry hard candy that grandma's somehow never seem to run out of in their purse. This port definitely left a layer of sugar on my tongue, but the sugar helped balance the alcohol. I really liked this port, but probably wouldn't have it again because of the intense sweetness.

I did not taste this wine with food. 

Tasting: Carini Alicante Bouschet

Name: Carini Alicante Bouschet
Variety: Alicante Bouschet
Region: Lodi, California
Country:  United States
Year: 2013
Price: Regular $25, Sale $7.95

Winery Review: Opaque ruby in color, once in the glass the nose explodes right away. Delightfully intoxicating aromas of black and blue berry fruit leap forward first, followed by notes of cherry hard candy, crushed violets, caramel, allspice, cloves, and cigar box. In your mouth, more persistent and chewy berry fruit: blue and black + lots of sour cherry and tart blackberry.

My Review: This wine smelled like pomegranate juice and passion fruit. It tasted like a light red licorice candy, blackberries, and light herbs. I wasn't a fan of this wine because of the smell - I don't like pomegranates.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting: WildLife Shiraz 2013

Name: WildLife Shiraz 2013
Variety: Shiraz
Region: Swartland
Country: South Africa
Year: 2013
Price: Regular $12, Sale $4.95

Winery Review: Often referred to as Shiraz Country, the Riebeek Valley is renowned for exceptional Shiraz wines. WildLife Shiraz is a lively rich wine; full-bodied with a subdued smokiness on the nose and a palate of ripe fruit and interesting spice. Well-balanced and smooth, the aftertaste lingers with the exciting flavors of chocolate and spice.

My Review: This Shiraz smelled really dark, like dried cherries and dark chocolate. It didn't really taste like much at first, but then I got some spice and tang, as well as the dark chocolate that I had smelled. I liked this wine after having to taste it a few times to really get the flavors out. 

I did not taste this wine with food. 

Tasting: Reichsrat Von Buhl Spatburguner Trocken

Name: Reichsrat Von Buhl Spatburguner Trocken
Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Pfalz
Country: Germany
Year: 2016
Price: Regular $22, Sale $7.95

Winery Review: Made from Pinot Noir saignée—has an salmon-pink dress and opens with a clear, pure and very delicate bouquet of ripe red berries (raspberries) and sweet cherries, floral aromas (rose petals) but also fresh elements. On the palate, this is a full-bodied, round and pretty rich but pure, fresh and finessed wine with intense fruit, fine tannins and a very persistent, well-structured taste. The finish is stunningly powerful, intense and aromatic but also fresh and mineral, with nice grip and even salinity notes.

My Review:  This wine smelled like a light honey, but tasted like grass topped with honey to try and mask the grass taste. I did not get any fruit taste at all. After letting it sit for a bit on my tongue, I also got a slightly acidic, mineral, and salty aftertaste.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting: Skyfall Chardonnay 2015

Name: Skyfall Chardonnay 2015
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Columbia Valley
Country: Washington
Year: 2015
Price: Regular $20,Sale $9.95

Winery Review: Toasted hazelnuts and Asian pear on the nose. Rich and creamy on the palate with apple, toasted almond and lingering notes of Meyer lemon and creme brulee.

My Review: This chardonnay smelled like nuts and wood, mostly oak. It also smelled very buttery and creamy. It tasted like a smooth butter and was very easy to drink, not at all acidic. I got some smokiness as well as some oak. I really liked this wine and am really liking chardonnay the more that I try it! 

I did not taste this wine with food. 

DTN: Lesson 2

This past Friday, I went to my friend Summer's house. I got her to do this lesson with me so that I didn't have two opened bottles of wine hanging around my apartment that I for sure wouldn't drink in the next week (hello, midterms). For this lesson, I bought Oak Leaf's Shiraz and Chateau Ste Michelle's Gewurztraminer. I also had some Great Value (aka, Walmart brand) unsalted crackers to help cleanse my palate. This lesson was based on how different glassware affects the taste and smell of wine. This blog will go in order of the steps for this lesson.

1. I first collected the glasses to use. Because I was at Summer's, we used all the glasses we could find at her house. She had a pretty good variety for the white wine and red wine glasses, and we found a good variety for the other glasses, as well. For the fishbowl, we used a jumbo Texas margarita glass from El Rods.

2. Summer helped me pour the Gewurztraminer using the shot glass into each of the various glasses because apparently, I can't pour anything without spilling at least a little bit. We did the same pouring using the shot glass for the Shiraz after the Gewurztraminer test.

3. This section is broken up for both the Shiraz and Gewurztraminer smell test and taste test (Section 3, 4, 5), I swirled a lot before sniffing and tasting, too.

Gewurztraminer
Shot - Smells like acid and alcohol, couldn't detect anything else. It also, unsurprisingly, tasted like acid. Battery acid, to be exact.
Rocks  - More of a fruity, citrus smell, less acidic than the shot glass. Lots of swirling and sniffing had to happen to detect anything, though. It tasted like pears and light fruits that weren't detectable to my palate.
Water - It didn't smell like anything, which was surprising. I asked Summer if she smelled anything, and she said no. We both had our noses deep into the glass and it still didn't smell like anything. Somehow, it also tasted like water, I think due to how tall the glass is and the shape of the glass.
Small Wine - Detected some spice and orange, had to really sniff it to smell, though. It also tasted less acidic than the shot glass and the fruity taste came out, as well as the spices.
Big Wine - Super easy to detect the smells right off the bat.  Smelled VERY fruity, definitely detected the citrus and was able to place the spice as cloves and maybe cinnamon. Unlike the small wine glass, it tasted more acidic than fruity. I couldn't taste the spice that I smelled. I think this is why white wines are in smaller wine glasses than red wines. The taste is more pleasant in the small wine glass.
Marg Glass - Smelled more like honey than anything else. It was a mixture of acidic and fruity.  I was easily able to detect the honey smell, but the acidity and fruit took a few deep sniffs. I was hit with the acid taste, but after letting it sit in my mouth for a bit, I definitely got the fruity, pear and orange taste.

Shiraz
Shot  - It smelled like balsamic vinaigrette. Summer said it tasted like church wine.
Rocks  - The smell of rubbing alcohol was overwhelming, but then I got hints of cherries. It tasted like dark cherries, was bitter, tart, and tannic.
Water  - This glass made the Shiraz smell like a wet dog, it was unpleasant. I found it interesting how with the white wine, I couldn't smell anything, but with the red wine it was much more of a pronounced smell with this glass. It tasted like battery acid, like how the white wine in the shot glass tasted.
Small Wine  - At this point, I smelled cherries. Concentrated cherries. All of the cherries. It was super easy to detect the cherry smell with minimal effort. Upon tasting, however, it tasted like blackberries.
Big Wine  - Summer described this smell as death. I, however, smelled chocolate and dark fruit. The dark fruit was overwhelming. Summer refused to smell the margarita glass after this glass because she thought the death smell was so strong with this glass. The taste was not like death, it tasted like sweet honey and blackberries.
Marg Glass - I had to really stick my nose in the glass for this, but it smelled like blackberries and summertime. The margarita glass really opened up the flavors of the Shiraz and I tasted a more concentrated blackberry layered with honey. It tasted much sweeter and more honey-like than any other of the glasses made the Shiraz taste.

For reference, the Shiraz wine review is: Nice color, a slightly bitter or alcohol nose, flavors of plum, blackberry and oak with a strong tartness, and a long, slightly musty finish (vivino).

The Gewurztraminer wine review is: A fan favorite, this Gewürztraminer is a flavorful wine with bright, expressive fruit and clove spice. This is a lush style of Gewürztraminer with intense floral character, yet it still maintains the grape’s natural crisp acidity (ste-michelle).

For both the red and the white wine, the wine glasses brought out the flavors faster in comparison to the other glasses. The margarita glass with the red wine brought out the flavors the most, and the rocks glass in my opinion brought out the white wine flavors the most. The smells were all over the place for the glasses, but the small wine glass made the white wine smell more concentrated in the spices and fruit even though it took more sniffs. I was honestly shocked for the red wine and how I got such different flavors and smells depending on the glass used.  The rocks glass for the red wine also brought out the tartness that the wine review stated, but the red wine glass brought out the blackberries more.

As discussed in the lesson and in previous lecture videos, the difference in taste and smell with each wine and wine glass was due to the concentration of wine molecules being detected by the nose. What you smell is what you taste, basically. The shot glass was so small that you could only smell the alcohol and acid, but the margarita glass had such a wide surface area that in my opinion, made the aromas more concentrated all over the glass so it was easier to detect the smell and the taste was much more pleasant. This is different than most books would say, as the larger the glass doesn't always mean the more concentrated and more aroma, but hey, every nose is different. The wine glasses definitely brought out different aromas and flavors than the shot and margarita glass, which is why wine glasses are used to drink wine... they do a great job of making sure the wine molecules are concentrated for the nose to detect all those smells and tastes. The rocks and water glass had kind of the same effect, it was harder to taste and smell anything because the wine molecules were basically free to go right out of the glass and not into the nose. 

6. For this step, we poured some of the Shiraz into the margarita glass and the small wine glass. I let the small wine glass sit while I coated the inside of the margarita glass with the wine molecules by wrapping my hands around the glass and warming it, while swirling the glass quite a bit. Upon smelling and tasting the small wine glass with the Shiraz, it smelled like cherries and tasted like darker berries, and was very tart. Upon tasting the margarita glass, it smelled SO MUCH sweeter, like light honey, and tasted more like blackberries and less tart, and more honey-like. It's amazing how warming up a red wine in a larger glass will bring out the aroma and flavor so much more than solely letting it sit out in a small glass. The aroma was much more focused with the margarita glass than the small wine glass.

This lesson taught me that size does matter (lol) when it comes to wine, but the shape of the glass also matters just as much. Shape and size can have such different effects on the aroma of a wine.

Tasting: Casa del Maia White Zinfandel

Name: Casa del Maia White Zinfandel
Variety: White Zinfandel
Region: Puglia
Country: Italy
Year: -
Price: $6.95

Winery Review: With pretty aromas of wild berries and honeydew melon this sophisticated blush Primativo Bianco offers delicately sweet flavors of ripe strawberries, juicy peaches and watermelon, balanced by bright, refreshing acidity.

My Review: This wine smelled strongly of cherries. It tasted like apples and strawberries. This wine goes down really smooth. It wasn't too sweet, but it was sweet enough. It went down smooth ad was very refreshing. I really liked this wine.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting: Anderra Carmenere

Name: Anderra Carmenere 2013
Variety: Carmenere
Region: Valle Central
Country: Chile
Year: 2013
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Black currant and blackberry aromas open up to reveal bright strawberry and cherry notes, and a subtle spicy character. A touch of vanilla oak complements the fruit and the ripe, sweet finish. Pair with savory dishes, like earthy stews, spicy dishes, like braised short ribs, chile con carne, Texas ribs, or steak au poivre

My Review: This wine smelled like darker fruits, cherries and blackberries. It tasted strongly of oak and darker. This wine honestly made me think that if I were to eat a fireplace, this is what it would taste like. I also got hints of coffee and spice, like cloves.

I did not taste this wine with food

Tasting: Castle Rock Sonoma Pinot Noir

Name: Castle Rock Sonoma Pinot Noir 2011
Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Sonoma, California
Country: USA
Year: 2011
Price: $8.95

Winery Review: Dark ruby color. Aromas of chocolate covered berries, dates, grilled pepper, cedar, and a touch of peppered ham with a supple, dry-yet-fruity medium body and a cherry tart and dark roasted nut finish. Very tasty and well balanced.          

My Review: I was beginning to like Pinot Noir, until this wine came around. It smelled like rotten seafood and driftwood. It also tasted like seafood, salt, and grass. I got a hint of fig and plum. All of these together made it not pleasant and definitely not tasty in my opinion. 

I did not taste this wine with food. 

Tasting: Wild Life Chenin Blanc

Name: Wildlife Chenin Blanc 2015
Variety: Chenin Blanc
Region: Swartland
Country: South Africa
Year: 2015
Price: $6.95

Winery Review: Packed with upfront tropical fruit, the nose charms with an abundance of guava and gooseberries. The palate follows through with fruit flavors, balanced by a crisp acid to ensure a fresh and fruity style of wine.

My Review: This wine didn't really smell like anything. Water, maybe. It had a very strong taste of oak to me. I didn't taste any fruit of any kind at all, unlike the winery review. There was a sour aftertaste that I was not a fan of. Overall, I wasn't a fan of this wine.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting: Beringer Maine & Vine Sauvignon Blanc

Name: Beringer Maine & Vine Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: -
Price: $5.95

Winery Review: This Sauvignon Blanc has wonderful grapefruit, guava and melon aromas that lead into citrus and melon flavors. There's a slight grassy back-note with a hint of honey and a balanced acidity that leads into to a citrus finish.

My Review: This is one of the wine's I used for my first wine dinner, and I really liked it then by itself. (Yikes, can I still use this as a tasting since I did my wine dinner before this?) I still liked it now at this wine tasting. I was hit with the scent of light fruits and a slight honey smell. It tasted like melons, mostly cantaloupe and I got the honey aftertaste. It had a nice, smooth finish.

I did not taste this wine with food (this time).

Wine and Cheese #1

This past weekend (Feb 10), I went home because I won't be seeing my parents again for a while, and sometimes I just miss having a quiet place to sleep at night. I told them about this class, and my dad said and I quote, "Well, the wine and cheese pairing should be easy. We're a bunch of whiners and I make cheesy jokes." That one made me laugh. My mom suggested we go somewhere to do the wine and cheese pairing, but when we looked at restaurants, they were all beyond far away, beyond, expensive and incredibly beyond fancy for both my and my parents' liking. We ended up choosing to do the wine and cheese pairing at home, which both saved some bucks (poor college kid, yikes) and made it more fun.

The wines my mom and I chose varied. Because I'm half Chilean from my mom's side, I chose a 2016 Root: 1 Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo Valley, Chile. Next, my mom and I picked a 2015 Lunar Harvest Merlot from Columbia Valley, mostly because we liked the different phases of the moon on the bottle. Last, we chose a 2016 Pinot Noir crafted by the Casella Family (aka, Yellow Tail).

For the cheeses, we hit up our local Walmart and picked a soft-ripened brie from the brand President, as well as a smoked gouda from the brand American farmhouse, and an artigiano cheese crafted in Wisconsin that was soaked in red wine. I LOVE brie, so of course, I bought the brie no questions asked. The red wine cheese sounded interesting, so we had to have it. As for the gouda, I've never had it, but I am a fan of pretty much all cheese, so I was expecting big things.

My parents and I don't get out much, so we made this a whole event at the Legg household. My mom works in the bakery at Walmart, so she helped me pick out the freshest sourdough bread they had, and I bought some red pepper jelly and a balsamic sweet onion jam to pair with the bread, cheese, and wine. Just by themselves with the bread, they're both incredible and I would highly recommend them.






By themselves, the Pinot Noir tasted like cherries and smelled like cherries, but in a good way. The Cabernet Sauvignon smelled like cherries, but darker and richer smelling, it tasted heavily like mocha and very tannic, it made me crave water. The Merlot description said silky tannins, but let me tell you, the tannins were the exact opposite of silky in my opinion. This Merlot was hard to even taste test because it was so heavy on my tongue, but the oak aftertaste was nice.


As for the pairings, the first cheese we tried was the brie. By itself the brie was creamy and nutty, but not overpowering. The first wine we had with it was the pinot noir. The pinot noir made the brie taste more pungent. The brie brought out the cherry in the pinot noir and the spices. The brie brought out the mocha in the cabernet sauvignon but the cabernet sauvignon made the cheese taste like it had just spoiled. The brie made the merlot taste VERY tannic. The merlot overpowered the brie, but from what I could taste, it was more acidic tasting. The merlot with the brie made me very thirsty

The second cheese was gouda. The pinot noir overpowered the smoked gouda after drinking then tasting, but the smoked gouda when tasting after the pinot noir tasted SUPER smoky and a lot like a balogna you would get at a butcher's job. With the cabernet sauvignon, the gouda tasted a lot creamier and not as smoky. The gouda also made the cabernet sauvignon less tannic and easier to drink. It brought out the mocha flavors, which was wild with the smokiness of the gouda. The merlot made the gouda even smokier and richer tasting. The gouda also made the merlot taste a bit smokier, probably due to the oak aftertaste of the merlot, but it went down smoother.

The third cheese was the artiginio cheese. By itself, I hated this cheese. With the wine, I hated this cheese. Overall, I hated this cheese. The cheese COMPLETELY overpowered the wine and the pinot noir tasted like water because of it. The cheese tasted like how I imagine a sweaty locker room would taste. It was awful. The cabernet sauvignon made the cheese taste saltier, but less like a sweaty locker room. It tasted more like a parmagano reganno cheese. The merlot actually made this cheese taste kind of spicy, which was odd and I wasn't expecting it. The cheese also made the merlot seem heavier than it was and more tannic.

The bread with the jellies was a nice change from the cheese and wine, and the bread itself was a good palate cleanser. Overall, my mom said she would not do this with me again because she is not a fan of red wines and I chose only red wines. Maybe next time I'll do white wines with different cheeses.

My mom and the assortment of food and wine

Tasting: Baci Dolci Mosto di Uve Parzialmente Fermentato Rosato

Name: Baci Dolci Mosto di Uve Parzialmente Fermentato Rosato
Variety: 35% Garganega, 35% Marzemino, 30% Moscato
Region: Veneto
Country: Italy
Year: - 
Price: Regular $12, Sale $7.95

Winery Review: 86 – International Wine Review: A delicate, bubbly, pale pink wine. Fresh strawberry and cherry aromas. Light bodied with red fruit flavors and a refreshing sparkle to balance the semi-sweet finish.

My Review: This wine smelled like honey straight from the honeycomb. It is an extremely sweet, extremely sugary-tasting wine. I got some hints of strawberries, but it was like the strawberries were sitting in a simple syrup for decades, it was so sweet. I would not classify this wine as semi-sweet based on taste because the honey scent and flavor were so overwhelming. This wine would be perfect to have for dessert.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting: Jardin de Luculo Navarra

Name: Jardin de Luculo Navarra 2012
Variety: Garnacha
Region: Navarra
Country: Spain
Year: 2012
Price Regular $19, Sale $6.95

Winery Review: There’s a lot more in the bottle of the 2012 Jardin de Luculo, which is pure Garnacha from 30-year-old vineyards fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts and aged six months in used barrels. Here the nose shows much more complexity, notes of sweet cherries, red licorice and hints of sweet spices. The palate is medium-bodied, quite dry and the flavors denote some very ripe fruit underneath. The slightly drying finish should go almost unnoticed with lamb chops, rather than drunk on its own. It’s approachable now, but it should develop in bottle. Drink 2014-2018.

My Review: This wine smelled distinctly of licorice and leather. It also tasted darker, like licorice and cherries. I imagine this wine is also what leather would taste like. It tasted a bit spicy, like cloves and a whole lot of the licorice, but not in an overwhelming sense. I am not a fan of licorice, so I probably wouldn't drink this wine again myself, but would recommend it.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting: WildLife Merlot

Name: WildLife Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Region: Swartland
Country: South Africa
Year: 2014
Price: Regular $10, Sale $6.95

Winery Review: The wine offers an array of red berries and a soft and mellow palate. The style is elegant with distinctive red berries and well-integrated wood aromas on the nose. The palate is velvety and smooth with an aftertaste that lingers with the juicy flavors of abundant flavors.

My Review: This Merlot smelled like darker berries. After sniffing, I was hit with the scent of cherries and raspberries. The wine tasted strongly of cherries (I personally hate cherries), but to my surprise it went down smooth. This wine wasn't too overpowering on the palate. However, I felt like this Merlot left a coat on my mouth, which reminded me a bit too much of cough syrup.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting: Schwarz Barossa Valley Rose Grenache, Mouvedre

Name: Schwarz Barossa Valley Rose Grenache, Mouvedre
Variety: Grenache-Mouvedre blend
Region: Barossa
Country: Australia
Year: 2015
Price: Regular $27, Sale $6.95

Winery Review: Made from a blend of Grenache and Mataro, this pale pink rosé is definitely a wine to enjoy with friends. Perfectly pale pink in colour with soft strawberry and elements of musk and perfume. The palate shows a macerated strawberry component that makes for a great point of interest.

My Review: This wine smelled strongly of lighter berries, specifically strawberries. Unlike the winery review, I didn't smell musk. I tasted some hints of vanilla and also strawberry. Overall, I really liked this wine.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Tasting: Boet Le Roux Old Vine Colombard

Name: Boet Le Roux Old Vine Colombard 2016
Variety: Colombard
Region: Swartland
Country: South Africa
Year: 2016
Price: Frontline $13, Sale $7.95

Winery Review: Colombard is not considered one of the great wine grapes and is used mostly for Cognac in France and white jug wine in California. This old vine example from South Africa, though, is delicious. Crisp and refreshing with zesty acidity, it's a delightful wine to start a party.

My Review: This white wine was very refreshing. It smelled a bit acidic, but not in an overpowering or overwhelming sense. I tasted some hints of citrus, like lemon, which I think contributed to the crispness and refreshing factor. The aftertaste was like the smell, a bit acidic. Overall, I liked this wine and would drink it on a hot summer day.

I did not taste this wine with food.

Wine Dinner 1 - Homemade with my Coworkers

Preparing the spaghetti and meatballs

On Saturday February 3, I had a wine dinner for my coworkers. My friends Josh and Debbie graciously hosted us at their apartment. This wine dinner didn't really have a theme, as the food and the wine were from all over the place. The food and wine were great and it was nice to get together with my coworkers outside of our work environment. The guests were Josh, Debbie, Tobi (Josh and Debbie's daughter), Emeline, Michael, and me. I did buy more than 3 wines, because I was unsure of how many people would be there. I cooked everything, and we had homemade garlic bread as our appetizer, spaghetti with both homemade meatballs and sauce for the main dish, and a Chilean dessert called Brazo de Reina (accompanied with some ice cream!)

The five wines for the three courses

The first dish was the garlic bread. The spread for the bread had olive oil, butter, parsley, salt, and garlic, and the bread itself was a crusty multi-grain Italian loaf. The house smelled like garlic and parsley in the best way possible, it was incredible. We paired the garlic bread with a sparkling wine, Andre Extra Dry California Champagne. I chose this sparkling wine, champagne specifically, because a lot of my friends aren't a fan of dry wines, and before purchasing I read that the extra dry was a bit sweeter than the brut sparkling wine. It was fun to watch Josh and Michael open the bottle and celebrate our groups friendship. The sweetness of the champagne helped balance all of the garlic and salt that was in the garlic bread. However, the bubbles in the champagne accompanied with the bread made it a little too heavy together. I think had I not used so much butter, the champagne and garlic bread would be fantastic together in future pairings.

Tobi enjoying her apple juice with garlic bread

Michael and I "cutting the cake" aka the garlic bread

Josh also opened the sauvignon blanc, Beringer's Main & Vine 2017 Sauvignon Blanc for the garlic bread. The acidity in the sauvignon blanc helped cut down on the butter and oil of the spread. I think the garlic in the bread overpowered the citrus in the wine, as I couldn't taste any citrus, and wouldn't pair the two together again. Tobi really liked apple juice paired with the garlic bread!

Caught Emeline in the moment

Cheers to great friends and good garlic bread

The second course was the homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs, paired with the spaghetti. The spaghetti sauce had onions, garlic, black pepper, olive oil, basil, a dash of sugar, and a crap ton of tomatoes. The meatballs also had onions and garlic, but also had Italian herb seasoning and a mix of ground pork and ground beef. The wine for this dish was a 2016 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Merlot from California. The wine was better paired with the spaghetti and sauce than by itself. It was a really dry wine, but it brought out the sugar and sweetness in the sauce, and intensified the tomato flavor. I definitely got hit with a smoky flavor which was a fantastic aftertaste paired with the meatballs. The wine brought out the pork in the meatballs. Overall, I think this was a fantastic wine for the spaghetti and meatballs, or really any dish that has a red sauce, but none of us were fans of it alone.

Emeline + Mike taking their first bite 

I served myself too much spaghetti + not enough wine

The final course was a Chilean dish because I'm half Chilean. It's called Brazo de Reina, or the Queen's arm. It's basically a Swiss roll but with Dulce de Leche, bananas, and coconut. Half the group didn't like coconut, so I left half the dessert without it. We also had vanilla ice cream with it, because ice cream is always a good idea. I also apparently don't have toothpicks in my apartment, so I made do with floss to wrap the dessert. I paired the dessert with two wine's from Chateau Morrisette.

The first was their Blackberry wine, and the second was their Sweet Mountain Laurel. Debbie and I both thought the Blackberry wine was sweet enough to be had on its own, without an actual dessert. The aftertaste was thick with a blackberry jam taste and feeling on the tongue. Paired with the Brazo de Reina, the dessert actually made the blackberry aftertaste disappear, and the wine wasn't as sugary tasting. I think pairing a sweet fruit wine with a sweet dessert was a bad choice on my part, and wouldn't pair the two together again. Per Chateau Morrisette's recommendations, I would probably pair it with a spicy food in the future.

The second wine from Chateau Morrisette paired with the dessert was their Sweet Mountain Laurel. Debbie, Josh and I LOVED this wine. It tasted like a freshly picked grape. I'm talking EXACTLY like a green grape. This wine wasn't as sweet and actually complemented the bananas in the dessert and brought out the flavor, as well as the coconut. We all liked it by itself, and also with the dessert and ice cream. I would for sure purchase this wine again and drink it both with and without this dessert!

Overall, the champagne and the wine's from Chateau Morrisette did not disappoint. I'm excited to have more wine and food pairings in the future because I'm hopeful that I won't be so opposed to red wine. At the end of night, I ended up calling Emeline "Elemine," so Josh called me "Tharma" and Michael and I called him "Shoj" which I think was a great way to end a great night with good friends, good food, and good wine.

Floss works wonders during desperate times. Put that on my grave.