Wine Dinner 1

    

THE FOOD & PEOPLE:

I had the pleasure of enjoying a splendid meal filled with wine and laughs with my wonderful roommate Forbes. We cooked a spicy steak as our entree and had baked cheddar and jalapeño potatoes along with rice on the side. The steak was cooked with black pepper and habanero rub, giving it a little kick to go with the wine and sides. I threw some teriyaki sauce over the rice and mixed a little in with the cut up steak. 

 
THE WINES & TASTING: 

St Chateau Michelle Sauvignon Blanc ($13): Has a vintage year of 2023, comes from Washington state and comes from the sauvignon blanc grape. The wine smelt like a juiced green apple and tasted fairly similar. The first sip was crisp and brought a quick acid tang that died quickly. The steak brought out the acidity on the front end of the taste and lowers the green apple flavor of the wine. Although it brings out the acidity, it comes in quick on the top of the mouth, but dies fairly fast. The moisture from the steamed rice made the wine go down like water and taste like thin cat piss. The baked potato definitely overpowered the wine, making the wine taste like a potato and losing its acidity.

California Dream Cabernet Sauvignon ($6): Has a vintage year of 2023, comes from California and is made with the cabernet sauvignon grape. I can definitely tell why this wine is $6 (as with the chardonnay below). Before trying it with food, the wine smelt like a rotten red grape and tasted like a dry pomegranate filled with paint. It barely had any acidic feeling to it (something I look for). The spice from the steak made the wine taste more like a pomegranate and less like paint. With the rice, the wine lost its viscosity and flavor, but gained a little more acidity at the top of the mouth. The potato was the best pairing with this wine. It gave the wine more viscosity and the spice from the jalapeño gave it an acidic kick. 

California Dream Chardonnay ($6): Has a vintage year of 2023, comes from California and is made with the chardonnay grape. First, the wine smelt like a mashed potato. It went down like water and barely had any taste or acidity to it. The spicy steak gave the wine a slight apple taste to it, but ultimately overpowered the wine. The rice turned the wine into cat piss, mostly overpowering it, but leaving a hint of mucus like viscosity. Finally, the baked potato made the wine taste more like a potato while making the physical potato taste worse. It turned the juicy potato into a wet mashed potato with a little spice from the jalapeño.

CONCLUSION: I really enjoyed the St Chateau, especially with the baked potato. As for the other two wines, The cabernet sauvignon wasn't bad for the price, but I would never buy the chardonnay again, even if it were a cent. 

Drink This Now! Lesson #1

 

For the DTN Lesson #1, I drank Alain Jaume Roquedon Lirac. Vintage Cellar was out of the wine on the list, so Christian recommended the Alain Jaume Roquedon Lirac The wine have a vintage year of 2020 and is made from 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, and 10% Carignan.

1) Open the Bottle and Try Immediately: The color of the wine was dark red, much darker than a pinot noir in my opinion. For the first swirl and sniff test, the wine smelt like a flattened out cherry. For the first sip, I got notes of grapefruit, pomegranate, oak, and paint. The wine tasted acidic on the front end, but sweet on the back end.

2) After 2 Hours: After letting the bottle open and sit for 2 hours the order of acidity and sweetness flipped from when I first tried it. It tasted sweet on the front end and way less acidic on the back end.

3) With the Cheese: I tried the wine with Provolone Piccante cheese from Italy. I wasn't too fond of the cheese, but it definitely had an impact on the wine. After eating a piece of cheese and trying sipping again, the wine almost lost all of its flavor. The wine basically tasted like cheese and a lot less like wine. It also flattened out the acidity even though I expected the opposite.

4) Wine with Spicy Foods: I had the wine with a spicy steak I was also eating for my wine dinner. The steak was smothered with black pepper and jalapeño juice. The wine itself made the steak taste much juicier. The spiciness from the hints of jalapeño and black pepper dulled the acidity of the wine, but heightened the flavor of jalapeño. 

Conclusion: Personally, this wasn't my favorite bottle of wine. Letting the wine sit for 2 hours definitely made a difference on the texture and acidity of the wine, something I enjoyed learning/experiencing. I wasn't expecting the flavor/acidity of the wine to change the way it did when I tried it with cheese and the spicy food. I probably won't be buying this wine again, but it was fun to experiment with.

Wine & Cheese Pairing #1

 

I went to Krobar with my roommate Forbes, where we got a wine flight and some cheese to go with it. The cheese we purchased included: Murray's Gruyere, Smokey Pepper Fantina, and Cave Aged Gruyere. The wines I had to go with the cheese included: Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc, Borsao Cabriola Red Blend, and Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon. 

1) Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc:

The White Haven Sauvignon Blanc was from Marlborough, MA with a vintage year of 2021. Before trying it with cheese, I tasted a tart green apple with some burnt ash on the back end; however, on the second sip the wine tasted mostly like cat piss.

Murray's Gruyere: The cheese lessened the flavor of cat piss and brought out more of the green apple.

Smokey Pepper Fantina: The cheese mellowed out both the fruity and tartness of the green apple flavor and transformed the wine into water.

Cave Aged Gruyere: The cheese brought the tartness of the green apple with the aftertaste, but didn't change much on the front end of the sip.

2) Borsao Cabriola Spanish Red Blend:

The Borsao Cabriola Spanish Red Blend comes from Campo de Borja, Aragon and has a vintage year of 2018. Before trying it with cheese, I noticed a combination of a sweet cherry sensation on the front end, and then a dry aftertaste in the throat after swallowing. 

Murray's Gruyere: The cheese brought out both the fruity and tart flavors of the cherry, but made the wine loose its viscosity and thickness.

Smokey Pepper Fantina: The cheese really amped up the tartness and killed the fruit flavor of the wine. It left a very dry aftertaste at the top of my mouth

Cave Aged Gruyere: The cheese killed the fruit flavor more than the Smokey Pepper Fantina cheese and left a tart aftertaste in the throat that left rather quickly.

4) Austin Hope Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon:

The Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Monterey, CA with a vintage year of 2022. Before trying it with cheese, I noticed a combination of sweetness and dryness, although the dry trumped the sweet. It had no aftertaste and smelt like a pansy.

Murray's Gruyere: The cheese toned down the thickness of the wine and brought out the tartness. It felt like I was taking a shot of vodka. 

Smokey Pepper Fantina: The cheese really brought out the dryness of the wine. I tasted a hint of pomegranate on the front end, and then an aggressive dryness towards the back of the throat on the back end. 

Cave Aged Gruyere: The cheese paired well with the wine. It brought out a smoky oak flavor and leveled put the fruit while leaving a slight dryness on the top of my mouth.

Conclusion: Cheese really makes a difference when drinking the wine. Dorris was very helpful with providing Forbes and I plates for our cheese and crackers as well as recommending some good wines. I'm glad we were encouraged to do this tasting because I would have never gone out of my way to think about the changes in flavors, let alone pair wine with cheese.

Tasting - Yellow Tail Merlot

 Label:    Me: 

1) The Wine: Yellow Tail Merlot is crafted by the Casella Family in Australia with the Merlot grape. This bottle has a vintage year of 2023 and costs $6.99.

2) Critic Review: Jon Rogers from "Honest Wine Reviews" doesn't claim the wine to be fantastic, but recommends a glass if you plan to sip it alone (Review)

3) Wine Folly: Page 131 of Wine Folly claims Merlot to be on the lower level of all 5 sections of the whine wheel. I definitely noticed its sweetness and lack of body, as well as its notes of chocolate and cherry.

4) My Review: For a cheap bottle of wine, Yellow Tail Merlot is about what you'll get for the price you pay. It tastes like a smooth chocolate fountain and goes down like water. It has notes of cherry and a subtle spice on the back and of a sip. I didn't have the wine with any food, but I'm sure it would go well with some ribs and mashed potatoes. I don't recommend this wine unless you're looking for a cheap merlot just to sip on. 

Tasting - Lavish Menage a Trois Merlot

Label:                     ME:  

1) The Wine: Lavish Menage a Trois Merlot comes from California where it is grown with the merlot grape and has a vintage year of 2022. As said on the label, it has a smooth, plush, and dark taste to it. The bottle costs $18

2) Critic Review: Most reviews online give it a 3/5 and recommend trying the wine with veal or lamb (Review)

3) References of Flavors: Wine Folly pg 131 has the Tannin level of Merlot pretty high as well as giving it tastes of chocolate, cherry, and dried plums. I definitely noticed the cherry flavor and the tannins to it. The wine tasted lighter, but went down less smooth than other merlots I've tried. 

4) My Review: Have this wine with an Oreo! I was watching a movie while drinking the wine and eating Oreos. at first I was eating the Oreos, but I said screw it, what does wine taste like after munching on an Oreo. It brings out the acidity and chocolate flavor of the wine; something I quite enjoyed. The Oreo spread the flavors all around the mouth, rather than just the throat. (8/10)

Tasting - Woodbridge Pinot Noir

Label: ME:  

1) The Wine: I tried a glass of Woodbridge Pinot Noir at my apartment while watching a movie. The bottle cost $9 from Kroger. It is from California and grown with the pinot noir grape. Weirdly enough, i could not find a vintage year on the label of the wine or online.

2) Critic Review: Jim Gordon describes the wine as having "veggie aromas and tomato flavors give this wine an unusual herbal quality, but it's well-balanced and smooth in texture. It's a savory rather than fruity take on Pinot." (Review)

3) References of Flavors: The wine has a sharp acidity towards the back top part of the mouth that sticks are for a bit following that first sip (Whine wheel on Whine Folly pg 150). It tastes like sour apricot during the first taste followed by a smokey and clove-like sensation. (Wine Folly pg 150).

4) My Review: Honestly, I would not prefer this wine to anyone who wishes to solely drink the wine without any food. I drank this without food and thought it was very bland without any special qualities. After researching the wine online, most critics recommended to drink the wine with food, so I'm sure the wine would taste much better with a juicy steak. (6/10)

Tasting - Frei Brothers Russian River Valley Chardonnay

 LABEL: ME: 

1) The Wine: I tried a glass of Frei Brothers Russian River Valley Chardonnay. The wine is made with the Chardonnay grape and comes from Sonoma, California with a vintage year of 2022. The wine had an alcohol content of 13% and costs around $18 a bottle.

2) Critic Review: Jim Gordon states the wine is "a great choice when you don't want the wine to upstage food" (Review)

3) Wine Folly: I could taste notes of yellow apple and starfruit (Wine Folly pg 96). I also relate to the low tannin, but experienced a thicker draw and body attributes of the wine (Wine Folly pg 96).

4) My Review: When I first took a sip of the wine I thought two things... 1) the viscosity feels a little low, and 2) cat piss! Like I said above, it has a thicker draw when compared to other Chardonnay's. The swirl and sniff test wasn't awful. it brought out a nice pineapple and vanilla smell, but the taste that followed was not enjoyable. I don't recommend this wine for anyone who enjoys Chardonnay, you can definitely find a better glass than Frei Brothers. I did not try this wine with food, so maybe if I were to try it with a lobster or something I would enjoy it better.

Tasting - Portlandia Oregon Pinot Noir

 LABEL: ME: 

1) The Wine: I drank a glass of Portlandia with Pinot Noir grapes from Oregon, having a vintage year of 2022. The bottle of Portlandia cost $18.

2) Critic Review: Michael Alberty, from Wine Enthusiast, describes the wine as having a subdued red cherry, tangy cranberry and caramel like taste (Review)

3) Wine Folly Reference: Portlandia comes from the Willamette Valley, noted in Wine Fillet for being an ideal place in the US to grow Pinot Noir grapes (Wine Folly pg 284). When tasting the wine, I noticed a higher acidity to it and notes of cherry (Wine Folly pg 150).

4) My Review: When I did the sniff and swirl test I got a hint of apricot, followed my a cherry. After sniffing, while tasting the wine I got a strong taste of cherry, but then felt a scent of metal pass through my nose. The wine left an acidic touch on the top of my mouth following each sip, something I quite enjoyed actually. I did not try this wine with food, but I'm sure a nice steak would pair well. Overall, I would recommend this wine for anyone willing to support American vineyards and enjoys apricots and higher alcohol content. Check it out at KroBar while they still have a bottle left!