Tasting #24 - Sparkling

Name: Lost Vineyards (Spumante Dolce)
Grape: ?
Color: straw yellow
Smell: not super aromatic in my opinion
Taste: really sweet, good mouth feel, sparkling of course
Dryness/Sweetness: very sweeeeet
Food: just tasting
Country/Region: Italy

Alcohol Content: low
How much? $4.95
Where’d you try it? Vintage Cellar
Would you drink it again? At least one more time – I would buy it for the right occasion. This is not something I would buy to sip at home at my leisure. I just don't roll that way.

Extra thoughts? To date, I can count the number of sparkling wines I’ve tasted on 1 hand. My opinion on this one should be taken with a grain of salt.

Other reviews:

From the Vintage Cellar:
"Pale silvery straw color. Floral aromas of apples, peaches, and potpourri follow through on a round, frothy entry to a fruity medium bodied sweet wine with good depth and tangy peach fruit and a breezy, harmonious green apple kissed finish."

My rating scale works as such:
1. Never Again
2. If someone else bought it
3. I'd keep it in mind
4. At least one more time
5. Going to get another bottle right NOW!

Tasting #23 - White

Name: Charles Thomas Cotes-du-Rhone
Grape: 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre
Color: yellow
Smell: not sure
Taste: not sure, mostly dry
Dryness/Sweetness: dry
Food: just tasting
Country/Region: Rhone, France

Alcohol Content: ?
How much? $8.95
Where’d you try it? Vintage Cellar
Would you drink it again? At least one more time – I just didn’t get anything from this on the first tasting.

Extra thoughts? I need another round to get a better understanding of this one.

Other reviews:

From the Vintage Cellar:

“Wine Advocate gave it 87 points.
From a 140+ acre estate near the well-known Cotes du Rhone village of Pont Sait Esprit emerges this juicy Cotes du Rhone, a blend of 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre. Well-made, with loads of berry fruit and a heady, meaty peppery nose with a hint of Provencal herbs, the wine is fresh, lively, and best drunk over the next 2 years.”

My rating scale works as such:
1. Never Again
2. If someone else bought it
3. I'd keep it in mind
4. At least one more time
5. Going to get another bottle right NOW!

Tasting #22 - Red

Name: 2008 Coreto Tinto
Grape: Tinto
Color: typical red coloring
Smell: soft and buttery, little fruit and spice
Taste: creamy, oak, red fruit of some sort
Dryness/Sweetness: mildly dry
Food: just tasting
Country/Region: Lisboa Region, Portugal

Alcohol Content: ?
How much? $6.95
Where’d you try it? Vintage Cellar
Would you drink it again? At least one more time – that’s why I bought it.

Extra thoughts? I wanted to see if I could detect more of the “velvety” texture and “red currant” from the description below. Plus it tasted pretty good for $7.

Other reviews:

From the Vintage Cellar:
"This red from the Coreto range has loads of dark beery fruit with a hint of new oak creating a soft, velvet structure that makes it very easy to drink. Red currant and juicy acidiy."

My rating scale works as such:
1. Never Again
2. If someone else bought it
3. I'd keep it in mind
4. At least one more time
5. Going to get another bottle right NOW!

Tasting #21 - White

Name: 2009 Morro Bay (White Oak Estates Chardonnay)
Grape: Chardonnay
Color: yellow tint
Smell: sweet, possibly vanilla
Taste: earthy, sweet, a little hot on the finish
Dryness/Sweetness: dry
Food: just tasting
Country/Region: Lodi, California

Alcohol Content: ?
How much? $5.95
Where’d you try it? Vintage Cellar
Would you drink it again? If someone else bought it

Extra thoughts? Nope.

Other reviews:

From the Vintage Cellar:
"Vanilla cream soda nose with a slice of fresh cut pineapple. Full body, tropical fruit, spice and pleasing vanilla oak note linger in the finish. Sweet flavor on the palate os from sur-lie aging the wine on the primary yeast lees for 7 months. A versatile style of wine that can be served chilled with fine cuisine or a glass with friends. Certified Green by Lodi Rules Sustainable Winegrowers."

My rating scale works as such:
1. Never Again
2. If someone else bought it
3. I'd keep it in mind
4. At least one more time
5. Going to get another bottle right NOW!

Tasting #20 - White

Name: Cantina Villafranca Frascati
Grape: 45% Malvasia di Candia, 15% Trebbiano Toscano, 25% Malvasia del Lazio, 15% Grechetto (Greco)
Color: intense yellow, greenish reflections
Smell: fruity
Taste: citrus, white grape, balanced
Dryness/Sweetness: medium dry
Food: just tasting
Country/Region: Frascati, Italy

Alcohol Content: ?
How much? $7.95
Where’d you try it? Vintage Cellar
Would you drink it again? I’d keep it in mind

Extra thoughts? Not really. This just doesn’t stand out to me.

Other reviews:

From the Vintage Cellar:
"Produced from a selection of the best grapes located in the Frascati Doc production area. Characteristics persistent fresh and fruity aromas. Excellent as an aperitif and paired with fish, seafood or white meat."

My rating scale works as such:
1. Never Again
2. If someone else bought it
3. I'd keep it in mind
4. At least one more time
5. Going to get another bottle right NOW!

Tasting #19 - Red

Name: Grifone Primitivo Old Vine Zinfandel
Grape: Zinfandel
Smell: smooth, violet, not fruity but not corse, dark flora, deep red rose, vanilla almond
Taste: thin body, smooth, slight metallic finish
Dryness/Sweetness: dry
Food: White Sharpe Cheddar Cheese
Country/Region: Italy

Alcohol Content: 13%
How much? If someone else bought it
Where'd you try it? Friend bought it
Would you drink it again? I'd Keep it in mind

My rating scale works as such:
1. Never Again
2. If someone else bought it
3. I'd keep it in mind
4. At least one more time
5. Going to get another bottle right NOW!

Tasting #18 - Red

Name: Sagrantino Di Montefalco 2005 - Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita
Smell: not extremely fragrant, caramel?
Taste: thin body, not much going on, typical red
Dryness/Sweetness: medium dry
Food: White Sharpe Cheddar Cheese
Country/Region: Italy

Alcohol Content: 13.5%
How much? not sure - friend bought it
Where'd you try it? Tasting at home with friends
Would you drink it again? If someone else bought it - and there was nothing else to drink.

Extra thoughts:
I just wasn't totally impressed. This wine didn't nail it for me.
Sorry guys, I was slacking and didn't remember to take a picture of the bottle.

My rating scale works as such:
1. Never Again
2. If someone else bought it
3. I'd keep it in mind
4. At least one more time
5. Going to get another bottle right NOW!

Tasting #17 - Red

Name: Le Lapin Multiplicity
Grape: Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Refosco
Color: black cherry red
Smell: big oak, tame spice, outdoorsy/wooded smell
Taste: smooth, woody, first sip - slightly hot on the finish
Dryness/Sweetness: medium dry - not too much
Food: White Sharpe Cheddar Cheese
Country/Region: Paso Robles, California

Alcohol Content: 14.5%
How much? $6.95 on sale Vintage Cellar
Where'd you try it? Tasting at home with friends
Would you drink it again? At least one more time - I'd love to get more from this wine once I can generally detect more from the wines I'm tasting. The woody/smoothness of this wine is definitely my thing.

Extra thoughts:
This went down a bit like rolling hills. What I mean by that is that it wasn't super complex or dull and flat. I feel like at points it had a distinct flavor and then it simmered down, then peaked again. Interesting... hope you followed that description a bit.

Other reviews:

Chain Bridge Cellars gives us this insight:

"Multiplicity is a ripe, round, friendly wine that offers up ample aromas of red cherry and plum fruit with notes of cocoa butter, chocolate and spice. Then generous flavors of red and black fruits, graphite and a touch of menthol for complexity and lift. Nicely concentrated and softly ripe on the finish. The whole thing reminds you of cookouts at the beach somehow, so toss on some burgers and have a party!"

My rating scale works as such:
1. Never Again
2. If someone else bought it
3. I'd keep it in mind
4. At least one more time
5. Going to get another bottle right NOW!

Tasting #16 - White

Name: 2008 Igreco Filu Greco Bianco Calabria
Color: straw yellow
Smell: pear, melon, smooth friut
Taste: pear, hint of peach
Dryness/Sweetness: mild dry
Food: White sharp cheddar slices
Country/Region: Italy

Alcohol Content: 13%
How much? $12 from Vintage Cellar
Where'd you try it? Home tasting with friends
Would you drink it again? If someone else bought it - it didn't jump out at me as spectacular, but maybe I'm just not that into this kind of wine.

Extra thoughts:
I think this wine also got better tasting after letting it reach room temperature a day after opening. But that's just me.

Other reviews:

There is not much online in terms of reviews.

A note of citrus fruits and flowers. Fresh and round. Enjoy paired with fuller flavored white fish or veal.

My rating scale works as such:
1. Never Again
2. If someone else bought it
3. I'd keep it in mind
4. At least one more time
5. Going to get another bottle right NOW!

Wine Library TV- The glass, does it matter?

Happy Superbowl Sunday friends!

True or False? The shape of the glass affects the taste of the wine.

TRUE!
It's not just in your head. The shape of the glass actually does affect the way the wine will taste. No, the glass doesn't actually change what's in the wine as much as it emphasizes different features. The bigger the bowl, the more wine molecules can paint the inside of the glass. When the wine begins to evaporate, we have more to assess. Taste is 85%-90% smell, which is why it's so important to sniff before you drink it down! That being said, drink out of whatever glass you think gets you the most out of your favorite wine. You don't need a different type of glass for every type of wine you'll ever taste. That would just be silly.

Fun exercise:

Boyer, my Geography of Wine teacher, recommended we try this. I encourage you to do the same.

What you need:

a shot glass
a short glass (maybe used for juice or other alcoholic beverages)
a tall, thin water glass
a regular wine glass
a wine glass with a huge flare (If you don't have this, try to find something in
your kitchen that resembles it, like a vase)

Grab a red wine like a Shiraz or Zinfandel (These guys tend to have a distinct
aroma)
Grab a white wine of your choice
Bread or plain crackers to neutralize things in between
Pen and paper

Taste!

1. Chill the white wine in your fridge for 30 minutes or until it's chilled to
your liking.
2. Open your red, let it breathe while you taste the white.
3. Let's do this, pull out that white wine. Measure out a shot with the shot
glass and pour it into each of the above mentioned containers.
4. Taste! As you do so, write down your impression and see if it changes from
glass to glass. You may only notice a difference in a few, but
even a novice (like myself) will detect some subtle differences.

**Remember, the last Wine Library TV post showed us how to get the most out of tasting.
Step 1: "give it a swirl"
Step 2: "give it a serious sniff"
Step 3: "check out the legs"
Step 4: taste it
Step 5: "give it another sniff"

5. Try some bread or crackers in between to neutralize things a bit.
6. Repeat with the red.

Let me know what you all get from this when you try it!

If you'd rather watch Gary Vaynerchuck do it, check out Episode #111 - Wine glasses, how do they affect wine?