Wine Dinner Easter Weekend

This Chianti Reserva from Montalcino, Italy is a 2007 wine that has been aged for two years, at least one in oak.  A Chianti wine is a sangiovese grape.  Most chianti's are known to go wonderfully with food.  With this I ate with my family at Sal's Restaurant in Blacksburg.  We started with a platter of antipasto.  This includes salami, prosciutto,  red peppers, mozzarella cheese, romano cheese, olives, and more.  This Chianti wine at first smelled of almonds and blackberries.  The oak was very prevalent in the taste, as well as a mix of raspberry and creamy vanilla.  After tasting some romano cheese, the Chianti became much more flavorful.  The salty cheese brought out  many more berry flavors and gave the wine a kick to it.  The mozzarella cheese also brought out more flavors to the wine, but creamier flavors.  The wine tasted roasted and zesty while eating the mozzarella cheese.  The prosciutto brought out a blackberry cigar flavor of the wine.  It was a smokier taste, probably from the type of salt that prosciutto has.  For dinner I had the Salmon Salad.  This was not only amazing, but the Chianti with the Salmon was AMAZING.  It was incredibly smooth tasting and the vanilla, almond, roasted cigar flavor worked amazing with a grilled salmon.  The balsamic dressing and olives in the salad also added to the taste within my palate.  It was a salty and flavorful delight.

Wine Tasting- 04/07/12

This Oxford Landing Estates Viognier is a 2010 wine of the Viognier white grape.  It is $7.95 a bottle.  It smelled of strong oak and musty.  The taste was very limey, with honey and apricots mixed in.  I could see this wine being enjoyed with a salad or a veggie burger.

This wine is a 2009 Clara Benegas Chardonnay is a sauvignon blanc grape.  It is $10.95 a bottle.  It was grown in the province of Mendoza.  The smell was fruity and creamy.  This wine had a strong vanilla and fruit taste.  With a smooth scent it was down very easily.  There was hints of orange and almond.  It was a very fresh wine.

This wine was my favorite out of all of the ones I tasted yesterday.  It is $12.00-$5.95 and was a blend of different dark grapes.  It is called Hey Mambo, a sultry red, from California and Italy Varietals.  This wine had a strong nose of vanilla, oak and blackberry.  When I tasted it there were also hints of strawberry.  It was really deliscious!  Anyone could enjoy this wine with a piece of pie.

This Plungerhead Old Vine Zifandel is a 2009 from Lodi, California, and costs $13.95 a bottle.  It as very dark in color, and had a strong nose of orange and cloves.  It had a spicy smell to it. It tasted of oak and oranges.  It was almost peppery, with raspberry and cherry seeping into its flavor.  I could see this being a winter wine.

This Shoofly Shiraz is a 2010 wine costs $11.95 a bottle.  It has a nose of spice and licorice.  It tasted of berries and was a little tart.  It had an earthly feel to it with a spicy yet fruity flavor.

Primo Amore Moscato

This Primo Amore Moscato from Italy was only $8.95.  It smelled obviously sweet and of peaches and other fruits.  It had a creamier taste, again with a hint of peach and apricot.  I can see this wine tasting amazing with chocolate.

Faraway Farms Shiraz

This Faraway Farms Shiraz is a 2008 wine from South Africa, costing only $5.95.  This wine had a strong nose of plum and raspberry.  It was not too dry, and tasted of mocha and sweet berries.  I could see this wine being pared with a dessert.

Tres Ojos Old Vines Garnacha

This Tres Ojos Old Vines Garnacha is a 2009 wine from Spain, costing only $6.95.  It had a very ruby color and a nose of berries and marshmellows.  It smelled burnt, or tart with dark cherry and tang.  The taste was very dry and brisk.  I can see one enjoying this wine with cheese and crackers.

Fox Hollow Chardonnay

This Fox Hollow Chardonnay is a 2009 wine that costs only $5.95 from California.  This wine had a strong nose of oak, smokey oak.  It was creamy with a taste of apple and almonds, and other fruits.  I could see someone enjoying this wine with tropical fruits.

Wine Tasting of Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc

This Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc is a 2010 from South Africa.  It costs $7.95.  I tasted this wine at the wine tasting this past Thursday, and it was actually very good.  It had a melon, tangy taste to it.  For a cheap white wine it had a good body and was not too watery.  The nose was strong of berries and a little bit of alcohol.  This is a perfect summer wine.  I could see someone drinking this wine with figs and various fruits and cheese.

Dinner - Boudreaux's (New Orleans)

Last night, a few friends and I went to Boudreaux's downtown.  Calli Scheidt and I ordered three glasses of different wines to taste throughout our meal- a Tempranillo, Sauvignon blanc, and a vinho verde.  The Tempranillo was a 2008 Mano A Mano Tempranillo from Spain, 21 dollars for a bottle, and 6 dollars for a glass.  The Sauvignon blanc was a 2010 Ponga Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, 22 dollars for a bottle, and 6 dollars for a glass.  Lastly, the Vinho Verde was a 2009 Conde Villar Vinho Verde from Portugal, 20 dollars a bottle, and 5.50 dollars a glass.  The nose on the Vinho Verde and Sauvignon Blanc were very different.  The Vinho Verde smelled of lemon and cat pee, whereas the Sauvignon Blanc smelled very sweet with a hint of pear.  The Vinho Verde had more of a blast of taste, and darker color, than the Sauvignon Blanc, it tasted tart with a zing of lemon.  The Sauvignon Blanc had less of a taste, it was very close to a weirdly flavored water, with a hint of bananna or peach.  The Tempranillo was my favorite of all three wines.  The only red of the bunch.  It was pretty dark, and had good legs on a swirl.  It   smelled delicious.  There was a hint of blackberry and smoke in the nose, which then created a smokey, root beer and burst of blackberry in the taste.  It was a very well rounded wine.

For dinner we ordered the crab cake sandwich, which not only was very tasteful, but also amazing with the Tempranillo.  Though I felt that the Tempranillo would pair better with a meat dish, like steak or lamb chops, the crab cake was nicely complimented by the smoothe taste of smokey blackberry in the Tempranillo.  I enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc with the crab cake as well, but I did not like the Vinho Verde with it at all.  The Sauvignon Blanc was a good accompaniment because I did not think it had too much taste, so there was nothing to cause the crab to taste bad really.  The Vinho Verde was no very good with the crab cake because the flavors did not mesh well.  The Vinho Verde was too tart and lemony.

Last night I drank Mollydooker Cabernet Sauvignon in a variety of wine glasses.  It of course turned out that the roundest glass was easiest to swirl the wine, allowing the air to enter, but the smaller glasses were more comfortable to hold.  Tasting this wine was also interesting because the bottle had be open for a while.  I opened it before I cooked my dinner, let it sit, and then showered, and then returned to the bottle 4 hours later.  The taste was exceptionally different from the first time i opened this bottle.

Tonight I had some Ed Hardy Chardonnay.  It was very creamy and dark in color.  It had almost a vanilla hint to it.  It was not sharp at all, but not too watery.  I really enjoyed this white wine!

This past week I was in the Bahamas and tried some typical Bohemian Beer.   It was a Sands and reall good.  It was not dry, but in fact more of a sweet beer.  There were hints of apple and cherry.  I enjoyed it a lot!

This past Saturday I tried a Sutter Home white Zifandel.  It was really good.  Not sharp at all, but instead went down quite smoothly.  It had a light pink color to it, and was more creamy than most light wines I have had.  I would definitely buy this wine.

Last week I tried an imperial stout oatmeal beer.  It was amazing!  It was a Samuel Smith, from England.   I loved it because it was not too dry, but sweet enough.  It did not taste like oatmeal, which my roommates thought it may, but instead it was more of a apple taste.

Last night I compared a Guinness to a Purple haze- I prefer darker and drier beers like guinness, and the purple haze was the polar opposite.  The purple haze was fruity and more like a juicy juice, whereas the Guinness was dark and strong.  The Guinness was a thick beer, however, which I think one would just have to be in the mood for.  Another interesting fact, was that Guinness is a barley beer, whereas Purple haze is a wheat beer.  In Germany, I enjoyed wheat beers a lot, however last night I preferred the Guinness a million times more.

Wine tasting 2

Tonight after class was a wine tasting at the vintage cellar.  I tried 5 different wines.  After tasting the Royal Chenin Blanc of South Africa, all I had to say was yuck.  I did not like it at all.  It was very wet, and basically like water with a sharpness.

The Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc was very tasty.  It was less sharp and more of a smooth wine.  There was a good taste of fruit in it as well.  Again, I like this grape!

The Marques de Moral Crianza Tempranillo from Valdepenas, Spain was very different.  It was a light red wine, not very thick.  It did not have much taste, but instead tasted like bad grape water.  I did not like this one very much.














The Le Lapin Multiplicity was full of flavor.  While on the cheaper side, I lovedddd this wine.  It was sweet and fruity, which I noramlly vere away from, but in this case it was very pleasant.  This winery is in Paso Robles, California.















Lastly, we tried the Opera Prima Moscato from Spain.  Normally, I really enjoy Moscato, but this was wayyy too sweet for me.  I remember liking moscato usually, so maybe I don't anymore? Or maybe I will try some more and like them.  We will see.  But this particular was a burst of sweetness and bubbles.  Definitely not my preference.

This cabernet sauvignon is also a Mollydooker wine, specifically called The Maitre D.  I though it would be interesting to try two different grapes from the same vineyard.  Both wines were very good!  However, the cabernet sauvignon was a bit more robust.  It seemed to have more flavor, and less of a zing (which I prefer).    With all this tasting I have been doing, I have noticed I am definitely a fan of cabernet sauvignon grape.

Last night I tried an Australian wine called Mollydooker, specifically The Scooter.  It was a merlot and really good!  The legs were not very apparent, but it had a strong scent and a dark color.  This was a mid-priced wine, but a really good one at that.  Of course, after two glasses my lips were dyed a bit, but it was definitely worth it!

The Faraway Farm Chenin Blanc was a grape I have never heard of before.  It happened to be very tasteful though, I would definitely buy a bottle of this white wine.  It was not sharp but instead very smooth.  It wasn't too thick either, which I think I prefer.

This Sauvignon Blanc was a delicious white wine.  It had a spice and zing to it that was not too sharp and very flavorful.  It was a thicker white wine than I have had before.

This Villa Maria was a fairly good marlbourough wine.  I must say the merlot was a bit more robust, but the marlbourough had a zing to it that I didn't hate.  I would probably not choose this wine to drink because it did not rhyme well with my pallet. 

Three Rivers Winery has produced a fairly silky texture to this merlot.  The legs on the glass were beautiful.  It was a very dark wine, flavors of blackberry and grape were apparent.  While being in a mid-price range, I would definitely drink this wine again.  Though it had a bit of a sharpness, it was a good quality of flavor.

This Zinfandel was not particularly pleasing to my taste buds.  It had an odd zing to it, and I would almost prefer a cheaper wine to this one.

While tasting this wine, it was similar to the Beringer, however, it contained even less flavor.  This Solaire is a Pinot Noir grape from the Santa Luca Highlands.  I would not choose this wine over the Beringer, and the Beringer was cheaper!

Yesterday I tasted Beringer Pinot Noir.  This is a cheap wine, that did not have much flavor, but went down very easily.  It did taste a bit like water, however, so that could be the reason for the lack of sharpness.  It was not very dark, and had no particularly strong smell.  For a cheap wine, however, I would probably drink it again.

The other day I purchased two different types of wines.  One was a cabernet sauvignon and the other a merlot.  My roommates and I are going to cook dinner and attempt to decipher a difference between the tastes tonight.  The two bottles are of the same manufacturer in Australia, so hopefully that will help.

Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc

Last night I tried a new after dinner wine called Cupcake.  The bottle to the right is a sauvignon blanc grape from the vineyards of Marlborough, New Zealand.  Some flavors in this bottle are meyer lemons and key limes.  It is said to be served with lobster or oysters.  It was a very sweet wine though, but for a fairly cheap wine, I would not say it is the best..  It definitely has a bit of a sharpness to it going down, so I am still searching for that silky indulgence.

Geography of Wine

Wine can turn one's world upside down and inside out.