Wine Tasting 4/5/23

 Name: Castello Del Poggio Moscato

Variety: Muscat grapes

Country of Origin: Italy

Region: Gambella, Italy 

Vintage Year: 2021

Price: $3.50

Wine Review: On the palate, it is sweet and lively, with a balanced acidity that keeps it from being cloying. The flavors are intense and persistent, with a perfect balance between the sweetness and acidity. The wine is well-rounded, with notes of peaches, apricots, and honey, and a long, refreshing finish.

Wine Folly: On page 193, the moscato d'asti was the most similar to the one I tried. There were hints of peach, orange and a very sweet aroma. This type of moscato is made in Italy as well. The ABV was a little higher than what is stated in the book, but not by much. This wine was a 7% ABV so it was lower than most wines. 

My review: The color was light yellow with light bubbles. I smelled apples and peaches. Overall it smelled sweet. I could taste the apple, and it was also acidic because I could feel bubbling on my tongue. I really enjoyed this wine. I didn't try it with any food, but I would love to see what I could pair it with. 

Wine Tasting 3/28/23

Name: Chateau Morrisette, Farmhouse Sangria

Variety: blend, of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, verdejo, and merlot

Country U.S

Region: Virginia (Meadows of Dan)

Vintage year: 2019

Price: $9

Wine Review: From their website, the winemaker's notes: Made from delicious red wine, dark sweet cherries, oranges, and limes, this festive Sangria is bursting with abundant, lively fruit aromas. Sweet and smooth, with a mouth-watering juicy character.

Wine Folly: On page 92 was the most similar wine I could find. There were lots of fruity flavors in this wine. The Castelo had the same flavors listed. This included plum and strawberry, cherry flavors. There wasn’t an acidic finish. 

My Review: I really enjoyed this wine.The smell wasn’t the best, it didn;t smell fruity. I love all the fruit flavors I got, there was cherry, lime, and plum.  I am excited to get more likes and try pairing them with food. I loved how it was fruity, but still gave off the characteristics of a wine.

Wine Tasting 3/28/23

Name: Baby Prosceo

Variety: Glera

Country of Origin: Italy

Region: Veneto

Vintage: 2016

Price: $9

Wine Review: From a wine shop: Tasting Notes - It's a semi-sparkling wine with a pale straw yellow color. Delicate bouquet with typical notes that remind of wild apple, honey and flowers. On the palate the taste is fruity, fresh and crisp with fine bubbles

Wine Folly: One page 155, it is stated there are pear, green apple, honey dew flavors. I could taste the pear, and the acidity at the end. But there wasn’t much taste to it. This also had a bubbly texture. The one I had was DOC, which is considered a lower quality and could explain why the flavors weren’t as present. 

My Review: This was not my kind of wine. There wasn’t much of a smell or taste. There was a kick at the end. I did taste pear flavors and a nice bubbly texture as well.  This would probably be paired with a bold meal because this isn’t that bold. I did not try it with food, but it would be interesting to see what foods could enhance the flavors.

Wine Tasting 3/24/23

Name: Vouvray

Variety: Chenin blanc

Country of origin: France

Region: Bordeaux 

Vintage Year: 2020

Price: $10

Wine Review: Bertrand : Really enjoyed this bottle; had half of it on its own and the other half with a salmon dish = both options resulted in a pleasant intake. The fig, pear and honey mixture provided a flavorful and creamy body without going overboard with tannins and acidity. Well done.

Wine Folly: I tasted light, acidic and somewhat pear and peach flavors. On page 230, the text stated that this wine could deliver tart, fresh fruit flavors. I think this describes it very well, that is exactly what I was tasting. 

My Review: I like dryer wine over acidic wine. I did enjoy this one, it had other flavors then just a kick at the end. I like how I could differentiate the peach and pear taste. Overall I would rate it a 6/10. I didn’t pair it with any food.

Wine Tasting 3/24/23

 Name: Duplin Hatteras Red

Variety: Muscadine grapes

Country of origin: United States

Region: North Carolina

Vintage year: 2022

Price: $9 

Wine Review: This is from the winery and why they think everyone loves this wine. Hatteras Red has been our best seller for at least 25 years, and cases (12 bottles) are 30% off when you order online June 5, 6 and 7. Sweet and fruity, with a bite at the end, this blend of late-harvest Muscadine grapes is an easy drinker for folks new to wine. We call it our "beer-converter wine" because so many beer drinkers end up loving Hatteras Red. And it's a perfect match with our Chocolatini Sweetzer.

Wine Folly: There wasn’t a section in the text for muscadine wine, but I looked up that it is similar to port wine. I went to that section on page 154. In this section there were a lot of similarities between the two. They were both super sweet and had a dark, cherry plummy flavor. There was also a smokey smell which hinted that it could have been aged in a barrel. 

My review: I thought it was way too sweet. I like sweet wine, but this was like cough syrup. It was so sugary. I feel like this would be best if paired with meat to balance savory and sweet. I rate it a 5/10 because I did get hints of cherry which was nice. I did not try it with food.

Drink This Now Lesson

 Barefoot Reisling California: $7 

The smell was pretty much the same chilled and non chilled, it was sweet and peary;It smelled fruity. The taste chilled was so good, I really enjoyed this wine. It was crisp and clean; I could taste the orange, and peach flavors. After it was chilled the flavors were very bland. I could taste the sweetness, but it was very subtle. The color was light to clear, there was a clear difference between chilled and warm. I rate this a 8/10 when chilled and 6/10 when room temperature. 

Ste Chateau Michelle: Dry reisling: $10

The dry riesling chilled was clean, crisp and had a citrus flavor. The smell gave hints of banana and citrus. The dry riersing room temperature had no flavor but it was more tangy. The smell was very faint, I couldn't figure out what the smells were, but I could detect a tangy substance. This was a 5/10 room temperature and 7/10 chilled. 

   

Overall they were so much better chilled. When being chilled the flavors were enhanced and I was able to taste them all. When the wine was room temp, the favors were hidden and it was harder to figure out what they were trying to express. 

Wine Tasting #2

Name: Barefoot Fruitscato

Variety: Moscato 

County of Origin: United States 

Region: Modesto, California

Vintage year: 2019

Wine Review: Pale pink coral color. Aromas of watermelon, fresh peach, honeysuckle, and apricot with a soft, crisp, petillant, moderately sweet light body and a polished, medium-length strawberry candies and ripe peach finish. A fresh and fruity sweet Moscato that will hit the spot. With an overall score of 89.

Wine Folly Page 138-139. There were many different kinds of Moscatos. The one that was the most similar to the Barefoot Fruitscato was moscato d’Asti. It was noted that there would be hints of citrus, flowery and some melons. I definitely got the citrus with the peach flavor. It was also bubbly which was another characteristic of a moscato. This was definitely a sweeter wine. 

My Review: I was worried at first that it would taste more like juice than wine. It didn’t. There were lots of peach tones, but I also got an acidic ending that helped it taste more like wine. This wine was also bubbly which I liked because it added more texture to the wine. I did try this wine with aged cheddar and havarti. The havarti made it more neutral and took away the tangy and sweetness of the wine. The aged cheddar made all the tanginess come together.