Adventures of an Aspiring Wine Connoisseur

Cupcake's Cab

2010-09-15T12:28:00.000-05:00

This week I tried Cupcake Vineyard's 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chardonnay was fantastic, so I thought I'd give this one a shot. It was not as pleasing as the Chardonnay, but it was still tasty. On the nose it was spicy with dark berries, cedar, and a hint of vanilla. Besides being a little tart, it had an initial bit of spice and a woody flavor with cedar and oak. There was also a note of blackberries. This cab had light tannins and body. The biggest problem I noted was that it did not last much more than a day past opening. Usually I can drink a red two nights after I've opened it but this one was not very drinkable.

So, all in all, this was not a bad pick. And their logo is just so cute! You can see it better here: I love it! Go ahead and invest in a bottle. And while you're there, pick up the Chardonnay if you haven't!

Sangiovese Di Romagna- Ummmmm, no thanks

2010-09-12T19:05:00.000-05:00

I must admit, I grabbed this wine because it was listed at the Class 6 (a liquor store on an Air Force base) for $6.30. I had already picked up another, promising wine but I had to have this super cheap wine. I simply was curious as to what a wine for that cheap could offer. Honestly, a lot of Barefoot's wines go for less than $7. And, honestly, most of them are better.

Bolla's 2008 Sangiovese Di Romagna was, at best, not good. I knew we were in trouble when I smelled the cork and I noticed a distinct note of funk. Not easily discouraged, however, my husband and I pushed forward. On the nose was some spice, raspberries, and, as I mentioned earlier, a bit of funk. On the palate it was (to quote my husband) "Sour, sour, sour." This is not an exaggeration. Maybe you could taste some young red berries, but they were tart, unripened berries. And perhaps there was some plumb- the sour plumb skin, however, not the sweet flesh. Did I mention this wine was sour?

I've had a sangiovese before, and it was fabulous. Spicy, with dark fruit hints, and great depth. Bolla did not make a characteristic sangiovese. This is the second sour wine I've had this month. I think two a month is enough. The last was a Merlot and I mused this might have been due to being a young wine. Maybe this Sangiovese was not ready. But I don't think funk dissipates with time. I would pass if you see this one on the shelf!

Chardonnay with a Cool Label

2010-09-09T12:31:00.000-05:00

Found this label on www.internetwines.com. I just wanted to show you that it is, in fact, a very cool label. The wine itself was not as fabulous as its label, but, if your sole purpose is to have a couple glasses and "relax," this wine (which I bought for $7.99 at Albertson's) will most certainly meet your needs.

Bohemian Highway's 2008 Chardonnay has a sharp, citrus smell. The crisp, tart flavor is not a surprise. This wine is very acidic. It is, however, very light. Though lacking in depth, the flavor is nice. It has a bit of a bite, with a lemon start that becomes a bit sweeter through the finish. Like I said, it's not fantastic but its most certainly enjoyable! And since it is still hot (and unusually humid) here in West Central Texas, it certainly hit the spot!

Red Diamond Merlot not a Diamond in the Rough

2010-09-01T11:05:00.000-05:00

Red Diamond's 2008 Merlot is probably the prettiest wine I've opened so far. It has a beautiful garnet color that's just lovely. Unfortunately, its flavor doesn't match its beauty. It's not a bad wine, by any means. It is light in body and on the tannins, but quite sour. On the nose is spice and cherries, with some mild cedar and red grapes. This wine offers flavors of sour cherries and a hint of cedar with some spice, but only a little. The finish yields a touch of vanilla and maybe some oak as well.

For dinner I had stuffed eggplant (with mozzarella, Parmesan, and provolone cheeses and tomato sauce) and I wouldn't say the merlot complemented it. I had also just baked some fabulous triple chocolate cookies with walnuts and they didn't benefit from the wine either. It was just too sour to enrich my dinner or dessert. And try as I might, I can't think of a dinner that would benefit from such as sour wine. Maybe it was designed to compliment a less-sweet dessert.

For $11, this wine is drinkable but less than ideal. I am wondering if the tartness is a result of a young wine. Perhaps this one would benefit from some time in a wine cellar. Which is great if you have one. But I don't. I'll leave it to age in the store.

Some Wine, Cupcake?

2010-08-19T11:25:00.002-05:00

Today's subject? Cupcake Vineyards 2009 Chardonnay. I was very excited to try this label because, well, simply because it says cupcake. No, I didn't imagine a cupcake-tasting wine. But I did receive a delightful surprise with this $11 white. Light citrus on the nose with a lovely pale yellow color. This wine is not too dry, nor too sweet. At first I noticed the taste of citrus with a touch of spice, which quickly mellowed to a creamy vanilla and butter flavor. After swallowing give yourself a minute to enjoy the finish. The flavors linger for quite a while.

My biggest warning is to be sure to drink it at the right temperature. If it's too cold you won't be able to recognize all the amazing flavors in the wine (so let it sit out a bit longer). If it's too warm the result is not dissimilar to leaving beer out for too long. I enjoyed this wine with sautéed Basa fillets and a garden salad. Not bad at all! And at that price, who can go wrong?

A Lighter Cab...

2010-08-12T11:12:00.000-05:00

Blackstone Winery's 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the lightest Cabernets I've tasted to date. It does not have the spice and depth typical to a cab. Though it got better as it had time to breath (we actually thought it was better the second night after we opened it), it was light bodied and weak flavored. The company uses grapes from several Californian regions. My husband decided that by using grapes from so many different regions the winery did not commit to a specific flavor and it shows. This wine has no definite direction.

It was tough to distinguish many flavors. Sour cherry came through (my husband's first reaction was- "Wow, this is sour!") and there was a touch of spice. The nose was more interesting with spices, oak, plum, and vanilla. Again, these were more noticeable after the wine had some time to breath. The tannins were light and acidity moderate. At $10 I'm sure this is a good wine for someone, but as my tastes become more discerning I don't think that someone is me.

Hot Weather = Chilled White Wine Time

2010-08-09T14:32:00.002-05:00

I must say that, in general, I used to prefer red wines to whites. However, seeing as it has been in the high 90's - low 100's here, I have gravitated towards the cool, refreshing, white wines. And I've liked it.

Beaulieu Vineyard's Coastal Estates 2007 Chardonnay was not bad. On the nose you could notice citrus scents that fell to pineapple and sour green apples. It has a bit of a bite at first sip. This lessens as the wine warms in your mouth. Green apple flavors give way to lemon and limes, with a hint of vanilla on the finish. Don't take your next sip immediately but note what the flavors do. They linger and mingle like a Christian congregation after church or as family does when we attempting to say goodbye.

For $9 a bottle, I'd say it's worth it! It will especially go well with Chicken Francese or with swiss cheese.

Barefoot Falls Short With Zinfandel

2010-08-04T11:33:00.000-05:00

Time for a second wine in the Zinfandel category. First, let me say, I love the plays on words you can find on almost any Zinfandel bottle. Like our last Sin Zin. This bottle claims this wine to be "Zinfully delicious!" Being one who enjoys a corny joke now and then, I find them very amusing.

Barefoot's Zin had a great price, but for $7.60 I'd prefer their Muscato or the Riesling I had a few weeks ago. The Zin had a fruity nose and light body, but no depth of flavor. As a friend who was tasting with me said, "It tastes like... wine." That's about all there was to say about this wine.

I'm a bit disappointed, as I've always enjoyed the low price point of Barefoot. But perhaps my sense of a good wine in improving. (I was informed on LinkedIn that I am a "wine geek in training.") Either way, I hope disappointing does not become a pattern for Barefoot wines. I'll keep trying and let you know what I find.

Stay cool (which is extremely difficult right now in my part of the country) and drink up, y'all!

-wine dummy

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Riesling!

2010-07-17T19:55:00.007-05:00

Well it's hotter than hell in Texas (my thermometer read 100 degrees at 7:30 this evening). What better way to cool off than with a nice, chilled, white wine? Tonight's wine is Barefoot's Riesling. It's been chilling in the refrigerator for a few days and I took it out before I hopped in the shower this evening so that it had time to warm. I've found you can taste the flavors more if the wine is not refrigerator cold.

It has a nose of crisp green apples and this is the first thing you'll taste. The sharp apples flavor mellows a bit into a citrus flavor with a peach undertone. The finish is a delicate orange blossom flavor. I'll admit I wouldn't have noticed the peach or orange blossom without the fine notes from the back of the bottle, but this is all a learning experience, right?

This wine has little sweetness and moderate acidity. It has a very light mouth-feel and no tannins. Overall, I like it but, given my limited Riesling experience, I'd need to try some more to give a fair judge of whether this is a good one. But by all means, give it a shot- it's not bad!

Drink up y'all!

-wine dummy

Zinfandel from Alexander Valley: Zin-fully good!

2010-07-12T20:43:00.001-05:00

Nothing like starting a post with an irresistibly bad pun! I'm back from summer vacations and ready to return to tasting with our first Zinfandel!

Alexander Valley's 2007 Sin Zin Zinfandel promises a fruity nose and it certainly delivers. It's fruity with a touch of vanilla and spice, just as the website promises. The first thing I noticed when I tasted the wine were the strawberry and raspberry flavors. Then a plummy taste leads to a spice- according to the back of the bottle it's black pepper. At first I did not notice any oak flavors (as their website said I would), but upon further inspection it is just barely there in the finish. I also didn't notice at first the cherry flavor that works with the plum, but after a few more sips I think I can notice it, only I think it's more of a finishing flavor.

This is a moderately sweet wine that's very light on the tannins, has very little acidity, and a light body. My husband and I enjoyed Sin Zin with a spicy BBQ chicken. While this was good, I believe a hearty steak and baked potatoes would be a better match. We did, however, both really enjoy this Zinfandel. It had good fruit flavor balanced with the appropriate amount of spices. And it's not a Texas wine, so look it up next time you're out!

Wine tasting notes were found at http://www.avvwine.com/scripts/display_product.php?product_id=65.

Our First Official Tasting: A Tale of Two Cabs

2010-06-25T22:39:00.002-05:00

Tonight's wines are two 2007 Cabernet Sauvignons. One is by BV Coastal Estates and the other is from Texas' own Becker Vineyard, Iconoclast. But for now, we will refer to them as Elephant and Heart- A mystery as to who is who and named for the lovely wine glass charms they adorn. This is a winedummy Official Taste Test. The wine bottles are covered with elegantly taped newspapers so I cannot see the labels and I carefully removed the tops and corks without looking at the names. I gave my husband two glasses (with the aforementioned wine glass charms) and told him to pour one into the elephant glass and write an "E" on the paper covering that bottle and the other into the heart glass and write an "H" on the paper covering that bottle. Any mistakes in this process are his fault.

Elephant has sweet fruit notes in it's aroma with very delicate spices- lighter than a typical cab. As for the palate is is unexpectedly heavy on the tannins. There are some dark fruit notes but they are not very sweet. It also has a medium light body. (By the way, there were limited tasting notes on the respective websites but pretty good ones on the bottles. Unfortunately these are covered right now so we're going blind.)

Heart had a stronger spice on the nose and a slight fruit note. This is more similar to the typical cab smell. The palate had much lighter tannins and a good bite with the spices. If I let the wine sit a while in my mouth I could pick up some fruit hints.

So who was better? Hold on- one more glass for the comparison. Heart is definitely the winner. I let Daisy try, but she was indifferent. I told you she was not helpful in wine tastings. but can you really expect one who used to eat poop be discerning between wines? Anyways, Heart is smoother and I like it better.

And now, the wines revealed:

Elephant is Coastal Estates. The bottle proclaims "...layers of ripe blackberries, cherries, and spices. Smooth tannins envelope the dark fruit flavors while toasty vanilla oak nuances linger on the finish." So go team, we noticed the dark fruits. I disagree on the tannin level, and I'll have to try again for the vanilla.

And that leaves Becker Vineyard's Iconoclast as Heart, tonight's fave! This bottle says nothing about tasting notes and neither does the website. Sorry guys, you'll have to take my word on this one...

Good luck.

Happy drinking!

-winedummy

P.S. Becker Vineyard's wines are only offered in TX. Sorry all y'all who aren't able to find it. (Yes, all y'all is grammatically correct.)(Depending on who you ask.)

There was once a Malbec from Argentina...

2010-06-20T20:14:00.000-05:00

Enter Bodega Septima's 2007 Malbec. This is our first sweeter red wine. More accurately, I guess it's our first not dry red wine. As suggested by ctmarylin after my first post, today's wine is a Malbec from Argentina. The label gives us some idea of what we're going to be smelling and tasting, which is good because the website only gives us contact information for the vineyard.

This wine is supposed to have "Intense aromas of sweet fruits such as plums, blackberries, and quince preserves with hints of herbs and green pasture." I definitely noticed the lack of twinge typical of a Cabernet when inhaling over the Malbec. This was sweeter, with an outdoorsy feel. For anyone (besides me) who was curious, a hint of green pasture does not smell like freshly cut lawn. But there is an earthy smell surrounding the sweetness. Trust me on this, it may take a few inhales to get it. That's the fun in wine tasting- know what you're supposed to smell/taste, then convince yourself you can notice it!

And enter the learning part. For those of you who didn't know, a quince is a yellow fruit that's like a cross between an apple and pear. I had to look it up because I've never heard of that word before. Pronounced "kwins" (thanks Wikipedia), this fruit is pear shaped and is prominent in Asia. I think I ate some at a bar in South Korea. I've never had quince preserves, but I can only imagine they're sweet. Smell noticed.

As for the taste, the bottle tells us there should be "soft tannins and toasts, oak and vanilla nuances." This wine does not "stick" to your tongue as much as a cab does, a result of the soft tannins. It has more of an earthy taste to it- to be attributed to the toasts and oak flavors. Now I don't know if you've ever had the pleasure of being near someone cutting oak- it stinks. (Not terribly, but it's not as nice as pine.) The oak taste is not the same. It's more of a woodsy finish, with a vanilla undertone. It's nice.

So for the profile, this wine has a 3 out of 5 for sweetness. It doesn't have the twang of a cab, but is definitely not a dessert wine. Light on the tannins, and nil on the acidity- there is only a little bite, so we won't count it. The wine has a much lighter body than I expected. But it has a light mouth-feel.

I'd consider myself more of a dry red wine girl, but this was a good wine. And I enjoyed it with tonight's burritos. Go ahead and give it a try.

-winedummy

Menage a Trois...Oh la la

2010-06-15T21:08:00.003-05:00

So, thanks to this weekend's lesson, I remembered to look up the wine's tasting facts before drinking today. Tonight is white's debut on Adventures. We will be drinking Folie A Deux's 2008 Menage a Trois White. It is a combination of Chardonnay, Muscat, and Chenin Blanc. The bottles tells me to look (smell) for "soft floral aromas" and "caressing fruit flavors." The fact sheet tells me that "The Chardonnay is rich and firm. the Muscat is wild and exotic. The Chenin is soft and supportive." It also mentions juicy fruit aromas. Let's see what we can find tonight...

I've kept the wine in the fridge, but I let it sit until it warmed to about 50 degrees. I've read you won't taste the flavors as well if the wine's not the right temperature. 50 - 60 degrees F should be good for a white.

The floral notes are definitely apparent when you smell the wine. The smell doesn't fill your nasal cavities the same way a red does; it's lighter and sweeter. Besides the twang of an acidic white wine, you can taste the sweetness of the fruits. That is surrounded by a slight bite from the citrus flavors. You can feel the acidity in the finish. This wine is quite good, great for a hot summer evening. Which is something we have a lot of here in the middle of Texas. It would be nice on a hot day too- I just try to avoid drinking on weekdays...

Besides having a good excuse to drink wine on the weeknights, wine blogging has also led to an expansion of my vocabulary. Tonight's word is quaff. It is used to describe how one should drink this California white. "It's meant to be quaffed, not analyzed." Basically, drink up y'all!

Enjoy,

wine dummy :o)

- Wine fact sheet can be found here: http://www.folieadeux.com/pdf/factsheets/MAT_WHT_08_FS.pdf

Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon- Worth a try?

2010-06-12T17:54:00.002-05:00

First, today's lesson- if you look the wine up online you may learn more about it before you drink it, making your blogging experience much easier and more interesting for your readers. I will do my best to avoid this mistake in the future. This post, however, will give us a chance to see what I tasted (with the help of last night's fellow tasters) compared to what Mr. Robert Mondavi thought we should taste.

First, the scenario. The best wine, of course, is free wine. My in-laws won this wine and kindly shared it with us. (Thank you airlines for making it too expensive to check a bag AND illegal to carry bottles larger than 3oz on the plane!) So last night's tasters were me, my husband, and my mother-in-law. My father-in-law aided in our aroma analysis. The more the merrier!

The wine was Robert Mondavi's Woodbridge 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. The label told us we would a "spicy dark fruit character with a velvety smooth finish."

While smelling the wine- swirling properly and breathing deeply, of course- we noticed a slight sting in our nasal cavities and a wood undertone. I can only imagine the sting came from the spice and the wood from the aging process. Then we did our taste analysis. I feel this was fuller than Chateau St. Jean's Cab from earlier this week. We couldn't taste specifically the dark fruit character but definitely noticed the spice. There was also a better finish (the taste you get after you finish swallowing) on this wine. It had a slight bite, but was full.

Next we did our profile analysis. Before we get to that, let me make a plug for one of my favorite Apps:

I use Wine Notes, developed by William Lindmeier, to keep track of the wines I drink. This iPhone/iPod Touch App lets you store images of each wine with their name, producer, variety, vintage, alcohol level, etc. Then you have the opportunity to add the flavors that are supposed to be there and fill out a profile with the sweetness, tannins, acidity, and body of each wine. You can also select a color. These are all stored and you can search them by variety, name, or recently added. You can also make notes for each tasting. It's great for when you're in the store deliberating whether that merlot was fantastic or left you with a hangover the next morning.

But anyways, we found this wine to have little sweetness, a few tannins, moderate acidity, and a medium-low body. It leaves your mouth a little dry, but had a sort of full feeling. Not that it was light, but it wasn't the fullest feeling wine ever.

Now- for the comparison with Mr. Mondavi's write-up:
The blackberry black cherry notes would have been nice to know about earlier. I think it would have made it easier to notice them. Maybe. Hints of dark chocolate, cedar, and black olive? I wish, check, absolutely not. Oh well. Noticed the "smooth, velvety tannins" and smooth mouthfeel. Spicy finish- got it. Go team.

Overall- we enjoyed this wine and it went well with the Lindt Chile Chocolate we had. This wine is often served in restaurants so next time you're out, go ahead- it's worth it.

-wine dummy

PS- You can check out Wine Notes at WineNotesApp.com

Once Upon a Time...

2010-06-08T20:48:00.000-05:00

... in the beautiful state of Texas, a woman started her blog.

So this is the very beginning. My first entry to my first blog. I'm very excited! I feel like a kid with a new toy. You should feel privileged too- like watching the first episode of a new show. But without all of the hype because, until now, you haven't heard anything about me.

I guess this brings me to a good starting point. My name is Allison but I'll be posting as wine dummy because, as the purpose of this blog is to share my stories of wine education, I don't know a whole lot. I know I like mainly reds and a few sweet whites (I save those mostly for when my husband is out of town). Oh, and reds are served room temperatures while whites should be chilled. But when it comes to smelling aromas in wines and tasting the complexities of a good wine, my wine knowledge ends. My hopes are to develop an even deeper appreciation of wine and to eventually brew my own wine- and be able to taste how good/bad it really is.

I mentioned earlier I live in the great state of Texas. I haven't been here all my life, just for the last few months. My husband's job brought us here in February and will take us away later this year. So while I'm not a Texan by nature, I say things like y'all, talk with a slight southern twang, own a sweet pair of cowgirl boots, and love a good glass of sweet tea. (Four and a half years of living in Mississippi helped this too.) Really I'm from Connecticut and my family laughs at me when I say y'all and think my boots are a little over-the-top. I prefer not to be called a Yankee because I was born and raised a Red Sox fan and it just seems sacrilegious, but I am a New Englander at heart.

I don't have a job right now because I quit to get an M.B.A. and now have no idea what I'd like to do with said degree. So here I am, picking up new hobbies, trying to figure out what it is, exactly, I'd like to do with my life. My other hobbies include running and working out, baking, eating all the good things I bake, reading, and plucking away at my guitar on occasion.

I am celebrating tonight's opening post with a few glasses of Chateau St. Jean's 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. Ever since I visited Napa Valley in CA I've had a soft spot for Cabs so I grabbed this one when I saw it on display at the front of the grocery store. The label said it should have ripe plumb and spice aromas, "lush black cherry and crushed raspberry flavors with soft, supple tannis." Personally, I like it when the label tells me what I should taste because then there's a little bit better chance that I will.

So to truly appreciate the smell of wine you should fill your glass 1/3 of the way full (which is a shame because my husband and I bought the largest wine glasses we could so we could put as much in them as possible- we prefer to call them wine bowls), swirl it around, and take a long breath that fills your entire nasal cavity*. After many attempts I could sense the sweet smell, which I imagine is the plumb, and I think the tingling in my nose as the scent fully makes its way back there is the spice.

As for the flavors, I'm still at a loss. Perhaps this will become clear some day. I can, however, feel that this is a dry wine and a bit acidic. It's an OK wine, but I don't think I'd rush to get another bottle.

Anyways, that's it for tonight. I hope you enjoyed tonight's rambling and you come back for more soon!

*As I learned from Andre Domine's book, Wine, 2008.