Name: Sau-Rus Gruner Veltliner Austria
Variety: 100% Gruner Veltliner
Price: $8.99
Country: Austria
Winery Review: Crisp lime flavors, white pepper and lentils, followed by a mouthful of mineral notes and gooseberry.A long lingering finish. A great accompaniment to any Asian or fresh seafood dishes.
My Review: This white wine poured out bubbly but then flattened out. It smelled fruity like pears and apple juice. Matthew said they call this the pig wine because of the picture on the bottle of the wine is like a pig nose. It did not taste as sweet as it smells, however it did taste bubbly. I tried it with cheese and crackers. It made the cheese flavor stronger, and I really liked how the cheese tasted with this wine. I would definitely drink this again with the same food pairing.
Wine #2
Name: Meinklang Burgenland White 2011
Variety: 80% Gruner Veltliner & 20% Muscat
Price: $11.99
Country: Austria
Winery Review: This biodynamic white wine is a glend of 80% Gruner Veltliner and 20% Muscat, both indigenous to Austria. It bursts with lively minerality and citrus fruits on the palate, complimented by notes of apple and a dash of pepper. A great match for white meats, seafood or salad! Bright and crisp with hints of citrus. Great with seafood, salads and soft cheeses
My Review: This wine had an olive oil yellow color to it. It had a nose of tree branches and pears. It tasted like white grape juice with a little more tang. I tasted this wine with cheddar cheese and I liked the wine much more once I had the cheese with it. This wine is an organic wine and is nick-named the "cow wine" because of the cover on the bottle. Everyone at the dinner liked the first wine compared to the second Austrian wine, and I agree with this.
Wine #3
Name: Michel Picard 2011 Vouvray Loire Vally France
Variety: Chenin Blanc
Price: $11.99
Country: France
Winery Review: Alcohol 11.5% Off-dry in sweetness, this Chenin Blanc has freshness on the palate with hints of apricot and stone fruit. Its hint of sweetness is counter balanced by a high level of acidity making this a wine that is round and fresh easy to drink now or a wine that can age well. Pairs well with pork, salads, fish, vegetables, chicken or seafood.
My Review: Matthew informed us that this wine goes really well with raw oysters, and is becoming more and more popular. I did not think this wine smelled that sweet, and there was a slight flower nose. It tasted sweet, but not too sweet, which is just the way I like it. It also had hints of apples. I tried it with the talapia with lemon and it paired really well. I liked the after taste of the wine with the fish better than the actual taste of the wine. My friend and I liked this wine so much that we ended up buying the last two bottles of this wine for us to take home!
Wine #4
Name: Case Ibidini 2010 Insolia IGT Sicily
Variety: Insolia
Price: $11.99
Country: Sicily
Winery Review: Alcohol 12% 88pts. Case Ibidinia is the second label of Valle Dell'Acate. The wines are made from vineyards on the valley floor and aged in stainless steel. The 2010 Insolia is a crisp, floral, refreshing white best suited to near-term drinking. The mid-weight white offers gorgeous balance and class at this level.
My Review: I remembered this wine particularly because it had an orange cork. The wine itself was a light yellor in color. It smelled fruity with a faint fruit punch smell as well. I really like hoe it tasted light, however it was a little more dry than I thought it would be. I thought it was the perfect mix between sweet and dry. I had bread with olive oil and I thought it was an okay pairing with the wine. It did not really affect the taste of the food or the wine.
Wine #5
Name: Serie Terra 2010 Sparkling Malbec Mendoza Argentia
Variety: Malbec and Mendoza
Price: $14.99
Country: Argentina
Winery Review: Alcohol 12.9% intense red color with violet shades. It offers a rich and intense aroma of red fruits such as cherry, cranberry and plum. Good equilibrium between sugar and acidity. Malbec tannins enhance structure and complexity.
My Review: When the bottle was poured it poured extremely bubbly. I looked like watered down cranberry juice. It had a nose of raspberries, apples, strawberries, and wild berries. It tasted very bubble and dry at first and then sweet after the taste of raspberry kicked in. I could not drink a lot of this wine. This wine made the cheese and bread taste better but it did not make the wine taste any better.
Below is a picture of my friend Kayla and I who are both in the Geography of Wine class together.
The second half of the dinner consisted of tasting red wines. For the red wine a delicious pasta dish, with red sauce, green peppers, onions, and beef, with think linguini noodles, was brought out with the other food. Below is a picture of my plate with the pasta at the bottom.
Name: Campos De Luz Garnacha Old Vine
Variety: Garnacha
Price: $8.99
Winery Review: 86 Points by Robert Parke's The Wine Advocate. A fleshy red berried nose is to be expected form old Garnacha vines. These are between 25-80 years old, bush trained and 100% handpicked, Estate fruit. Carinena means field of light and the fruit-forward warmth of this region near Catalonia is evident as it is also balanced with mineral acidity. This wine is plump, heavy with ripe red currants and wild berried. It will go nicely with pork shoulder in a tart, spicy braise.
My Review: When the wine was poured there were some bubbles around the ring of the glass. It looks like communion red when I was little in church. It had a nose of pepper with hints of berries. I tried this wine with the sausage cheese croissant and it made the sausage taste super spicy and peppery. I really like spicy food, so I liked this combination a lot. Without the food pairing it tastes a lot more sweet than spicy, and it goes down smooth. I liked this wine and would consider drinking it again.
Wine #7
Name: Riebeek 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Swartland South Africa
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: $7.99
Region: South Africa
Winery Review: Alcohol 14% Mad from 85% Cabernet Sauvingnon, and 15% Shiraz. An exciting new world style wine with upfront black currant flavors. The black fruit is well-balanced with subtle French oak for a complex nose and an elegant and lingering follow-through. An exceptional example of a lighter style Cabernet Sauvignon that can be enjoyed young. Excellent with red meet dishes or veal.
My Review: This wine had a very dark cranberry red color. It smelled like chocolate covered cherries with hints of cheddar cheese. It also had a peppery nose as well. It went down very smooth and was not super sweet or dry. It also tasted peppery like it smelled. I tasted this wine with the beef, red sauce pasta and I thought it went extremely well together. I then tasted it with cheddar cheese and it takes away from the cheese but goes down even smoother.
Wine #8
Name: Comain de Fontsainte 2009 Corbieres France
Variety: Carignan, Grenache, and Syrah
Price: $12.99
Country: France
Winery Review: Alcohol 13% "An attractive blend of 60% Carignan, 30% Grenache and 10% syrah exhibiting lots of lovely, spicey, red and black fruit notes intermixed with notion of roasted herbs, new saddle leather and a forestry/earthy component that adds and intriguing, wild Mediterranean sort of character. Drink it over the 2-3 years." Score: 88. - Robert Parke, February 2012.
My Review: This wine had a dark red color when poured. It had a nose of pepper and raspberry. It did not taste very dry and it took away the spiciness of the pasta when I paired that food with the wine. I thought it paired very well with the pasta. I remember this wine specifically because I broke my fork while trying to eat the beef in the pasta while tasting this wine.
Wine #9
Name: Cantele 2008 Salice Salentino Riserva Puglia Italy
Variety: Negroamaro & Malvasia Nera
Price $11.99
Country: Italy
Winery Review: Alcohol 13% Carmelized red fruits and juicy dark fruits, with a layering of tobacco spice and earth, all balance by smooth tannins and a refreshing acidity. This is a complex, easy-drinking, versatile red for a bargain bottle price. 85% Negroamaro, 15% Malvasia Nera. Only one of 14 wines in the Puglia region deemed the prestigious 3 glass award.
My Review: We tasted this wine in the following three ways:
Taste #1: First we tasted the wine just from the bottle. It had a very sharp and spicy nose. It went down a lot smoother than I thought it would, but had a dry after taste. This wine made the pasta taste awesome! The pasta brought out the spice in the wine.
Taste #2: Second we tasted the wine that had been through and aerator. The nose was more rich with more pepper and now more of a chocolate covered cherry smell as well. It was more dry right away when it hit my mouth. It was more hotter as well. It acted the same way with the pasta as it did for the first tasting.
Taste #3: Lastly we tasted this wine after it had been in the decant for 2 hours. It still smelled peppery but was not as rich. However it had even more of a chocolate covered cherry nose. This time it went down more smooth than the second tasting, however the flavors tasted the same. Overall I liked the second tasting the best.
Below is a picture of a few of the wines that I had tasted and described throughout the entire wine blog.
Below is a picture of me drinking the wine at Zeppoli's, and then another picture of more wine bottles. We were allowed to drink more wine for a little after we had finished our dinner. We got to meet everyone at the dinner that we did not get to during, which made the event a lot more fun. It is obvious everyone was willing to talk after people drink wine and got some alcohol in them. Overall I had a lot of fun, and it was definitely worth my $15. I would definitely recommend other students to do this dinner.
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