Sunday, April 10, 2022

Tasting: Bay Bridge Pinot Grigio

Name: Bay Bridge Pinot Grigio Colombard

Varietal: Pinot Gris

Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2020

Price: $7.99

Winery Review: Bay Bridge wines are full of flavor and smooth in taste. This Pinot Grigio is light-bodied and has vibrant citrus, pear, and crisp acidity. It has a refreshing finish and can pair with rotisserie chicken or shrimp scampi.

Wine Folly: Pg. 147 references Pinot Gris as a pink grape mutation of Pinot Noir that is known for its zesty white wines that can be dry to sweet. It is light-bodied, low in tannins, but high in acidity. Known to pair well with white meats, seafood, and food that has a fruit element. Such as lemons, oranges, apricots, or peaches.

My Review: The color of the wine represents a light yellow that is clear color. The aromas of the wine represent tropical, citrus, and fruitful. After tasting the wine, I absorbed the tastes of pear and green apple. The overall wine was light and smooth with a touch of acidity. 




Sunday, March 20, 2022

Tasting: The Butchery

Name: The Butchery

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: Stefan Voda

Country: Moldova 

Year: 2020

Price: $20

Winery Review: This wine has strong aromas of smokiness and black fruits. In this mouth, it is astringent with flavors of tart cherry and black cherry, Along with hints of smoky meats that can be smelled from the wine itself.

Wine Folly: pg. 88 mentions that cabernet sauvignon is a natural cross between cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc. Originally made in Bordeaux, the rich flavor and high tannin content make it a perfect pairing for rich grilled meats, peppery sauces, and dishes with high flavor. 

My Review: My first impressions on the aroma are great with blackberry and cherry flavors, to a harsh yet elongated hint of tannins and acidity. During my tasting, I tasted strong amounts of blackberry and raspberry throughout the entirety of the tasting. Leaving the mouth puckering, the overall wine has a great start and finish with smooth and silky finishes. 





Drink This Now Lesson #2

 During this lesson, I was experimenting with drinking wine out of different sizes and shapes of glasses. Through these different sizes and shapes, I was set to identify any trends or factors that different sizes and shapes could have on the aroma and taste of the wine. 


After setting up the five different sizes of glasses: White Wine (Chardonnay)

Shot glass: Small amounts of buttery and cream aroma. Not much space in the glass for the aroma to mature and develop. Without the smell of aroma, it's easy to taste the acidity of the wine, with a lag on flavors and taste due to the lack of aroma that the shot glass offers.


Short glass: Easier to get a whiff of aroma as my nose is able to enter the glass. Once again, a buttery aroma with a touch of citrus. With the glass being so open, the aroma doesn't really affect the taste of the wine. Similar to the shot glass, but with more prominent hints of oak and butter. 


Tall thin: Hard to smell the aromas of the wine since the wine itself sits so far into the glass, the aromas cannot reach the nostrils well. The taste of the wine focuses on the acidity and lacks flavor, mostly due to the depth of the glass the wine is held in.


Smaller flare: Much better aroma smell as I am able to put my nose into it. With buttery aroma being the main smell I still receive. After tasting, it's easy to find the buttery, citrus, acidic, and oaky flavors with the involvement of the aroma. 


Bigger flare: Able to smell a pear/citrus aroma with a tad bit of floral in the mix. Obviously, much easier to be able to smell the aroma effectively with the larger glass. The butter, oaky, and fruitiness of the chardonnay are exhibited through the effects of the aroma as well. 


After setting up the five different sizes of glasses: Red Wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)

Shot glass: Hard to get a smell of aroma, but I could slightly smell the blackberry used in the cabernet sauvignon. In general, no real smell even with the strong aromas of a cabernet sauvignon. During the tasting, lots of bitterness at first but as I chewed the wine I tasted the cherry and blackberry of the wine. The taste is still good but it can be enhanced when aromas are present.


Short glass: A little bit easier to smell the wine's aroma, could smell the blackberry, whiskey, and a touch of a cherry aroma.  During the tasting process, I tasted a lot of cherries, not much of anything else. Slight bitterness in the beginning but nowhere near the shot glass bitterness. Overall, tasted more fruitful with fewer flavors of whiskey and oak. 


Tall thin: Honestly couldn't smell much of anything due to the glass. You can smell a bit of the tannin of the wine, but the glass is so full of air in a thin amount of space it's hard to pinpoint any specific aromas. During the tasting, lots of cherry flavors arrived from start to finish. Didn't experience much bitterness as expected and the fruitiness of the wine overwhelmed the taste of the wine.


Smaller flare: Much easier to smell the aromas of the wine. I smelled a mix of cherry and blackberry with a hint of whiskey. But the overwhelming amount of aromas smell of the mix of cherry and blackberry. During the tasting, there are the flavors of blackberry and raspberry, which almost makes a slightly sour taste to the wine, not overwhelming though. I would say the glass allows for different flavors to be presented during the tasting process.


Bigger flare: Easiest to smell out of, with aromas similar to the smaller flare but with a touch of oak during the smelling process. During the tasting, the overall fluidity of the wine was the best. Smooth taste from start to finish with cherry to whiskey flavors. The bigger glass allows for those aromas to evolve as the wine is swirled throughout the glass.




Tasting: Bay Bridge Chardonnay

Name: Bay Bridge Vineyards

Varietal: Chardonnay 

Region: Livermore, California 

Country: U.S

Year: 2021

Price: $9.99

Winery Review: At Bay Bridge Vineyards, they carefully select grapes from some of the finest vineyards to craft wines with vibrant fruit and elegant structure. This chardonnay is clean and accentuated by the aromas of pineapple, oranges, and melon with a smooth buttery finish.

Wine Folly: pg. 96 mentions how chardonnay is one of the most popular grapes in the world. That creates creamy white wines that are aged in oak. With light-bodied and acidity, this wine pairs best with subtle spices and flavors. Often matches well with creamy and buttery flavors. 

My Review: This chardonnay provides a pear aroma with touches of citrus and floral. Before drinking, hints of butter can be smelled. After drinking the wine, I tasted a buttery and creamy wine that is evident to the taste. In terms of fruitiness, I could not taste much fruitiness in the wine. The buttery and creamy taste overwhelms natural florals.





Sunday, February 27, 2022

Red Tasting: 7 Deadly Cab

Name: 7 Deadly Cab

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon 

Region: Lodi 

Country: California 

Year: 2019

Price: $12

Winery Review: Abundant dark fruit and toasted vanilla. Arrays of aromas include sweet sweet tobacco, black cherry, clove, and cinnamon.  

Wine Folly: pg. 88 mentions that cabernet sauvignon is a natural cross between cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc. The wine has a lot of body and tannins to fulfill the customer's taste buds. With flavors revolving around black cherry, cedar, and baking spices. 

My Review: Strong aroma of dark cherry or black cherry along with a touch of oak. The color of the wine looks like a dark red with ---- consistency. It tastes like a cherry with hints of vanilla extract that you may use in baking or cooking. Smooth aftertaste with a puckery taste that makes the mouth a little dry but not overwhelmingly dry. 




White Tasting: Kim Crawford

 Name: Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 

Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc 

Region: Marlborough

Country: New Zealand  

Year: 2021

Price: $12

Winery Review: With aromas of intense tropical fruit and fresh-cut grass notes. Palate bursts with passionfruit, citrus, and ripe stone fruit flavors. Delicious with seafood, goat cheese salad, or on its own.

Wine Folly: pg. 165 talks about the strong herbaceous flavors that are derived from compounds called methoxypyrazines, which are also found in bell pepper. High amounts of acidity within the wine that goes well with salty cheeses and light meats. With primary flavors of gooseberry, honeydew, grapefruit, and white peach. 

My Review: Extreme fruity aroma of tropical and citruses. With a pale yellow color to match the fruitiness of the aroma. The tastes come from a light passionfruit to a hint of honeydew and cantaloupe. It's a light taste with a very smooth aftertaste. Also, has a grassy taste from the soil the grapes were grown on. 







Sunday, February 20, 2022

Drink This Now: Lesson 1

During this lesson, I was experimenting with my tastes of some new red wines as I described the aroma, foods that go with the wine, along taste change over time the red wine. When I went to the store, they did not have any wine on the list but ended up suggesting Generation 1905 Grenache. In addition, I used a variety of cheese from aged cheddar to Dutch gouda.

Step 1: Open the wine bottle and try it immediately.

As I tried the wine, the aroma of oak with hints of cherry hit my nose before I took my first sip. The taste of the wine represents aspects of red cherries along with dashes of cranberry mixed together. The wine has a smooth overall taste with a slightly tannic aftertaste to cover your palate. 

Step 2: leave the bottle of wine to decant for 2 hours, then try again.

After letting the wine sit for two hours, as it decants. Before my next sip, I received a more tannic and higher presence of tannins in the aroma of the wine. As I tasted it, I could decipher a stronger tannic flavor throughout the entirety of the tasting, with an explosion of cranberry that overwhelms the previous taste of cherry. However, after tasting, my mouth felt a little drier compared to the taste test hours before. 

Step 3: Try with food

• The Cheeses

○ Aged cheddar
Made the wine a lighter taste. No acidic aftertaste. Smoother than without food
○ Jarlsberg
Is Not a great taste in general. Neither the wine nor cheese mix well together. You lose the taste of the wine because of the cheese
○ Creamy Havarti
Pairs well. The subtle hints of the flavor of the cheese are good. Silky and smooth. The wine becomes slightly elevated due to the creaminess of the cheese.
○ Dutch Gouda
No real change in taste or flavor from the wine or cheese. The cheese lighted up the tannins slightly. The wine is the dominant taste by far compared to the cheese. It just doesn't flow with the wine compared to creamy Havarti

Step 4: Try many hours later

The aroma smell is pretty much the same as it was after 2 hours. The wine taste itself is dry with much of the fruitiness flavor being cranberry. The aftertaste of the wine is a tad bit more bitter than it was earlier in the day with tannins still being prevalent in the mouth. 


Tasting: Bay Bridge Pinot Grigio

Name: Bay Bridge Pinot Grigio Colombard Varietal: Pinot Gris Region: California Country: USA Year: 2020 Price: $7.99 Winery Review: Bay Brid...