Wine Tasting: Scarlet Path Zinfandel

Name: Scarlet Path

Varietal: Zinfandel

Region: Lodi, California

Country: United States

Year: 2019

Price: $8.99

Shop/wine critic/notes online: "An enjoyable, fairly straightforward Zinfandel with red fruit and tobacco on the nose. To taste, red fruit such as cherry and hints of tobacco, mild earthy tones and maybe some faint spice at the finish. Medium-bodied, some acidity present. Would buy again. Drink with other Zin lovers who don’t mind some acidity, a little dryness, and a little boldness." From Joshua Kozlowski on Vivino: https://www.vivino.com/users/joshua.kozlowski/reviews/229821843.

References from Wine Folly book: From Page 189 in the Wine Folly book, Zinfandel is a fruit-forward but bold red wine that is loved for its jammy fruit and smoky, exotic spice notes. It originates from Croatia. Typical flavors and profiles of Zinfandel from the North Coast of California are blackberry, black plum, crushed gravel, allspice, and white pepper.

Personal review: Smells like dark cherry, plummy. It tasted fruity and a lot less tannic/full bodied than I expected it to be. It was velvety and luscious with a woody/oak finish. I really enjoyed this Zinfandel and it is definitely one of my top red wines now.

Wine Tasting: Quarter Cut Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon

Name: Quarter Cut

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: Mendocino County, California

Country: United States

Year: 2021

Price: $9.99

Shop/wine critic/notes online: "14.5% alcohol but it didn't hit me like most bourbon barrel's, very smooth and didn't much taste the bourbon as usually do. Flavors of Black cherry, dark fruits, jamy, vanilla and oak." From Sam Cracchiolo on Vivino: https://www.vivino.com/users/sam-crac/reviews/214408282

References from Wine Folly book: From Page 88 in the Wine Folly book, Cabernet Sauvignon is the world's most popular wine, and a natural cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, originating from Bordeaux. These wines are concentrated and well-suited for aging, and have a rich flavor and high tannin content. Typical flavor profiles of Cabernet Sauvignon include black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, and graphite. 

Personal review: I could smell vanilla, black cherry, and some sort of clover/spice in it. It tasted full-bodied and had decently high tannins. The oak from the bourbon barrel aging really came through, along with the vanilla. I really enjoyed this wine, and this is added to my list of reds that I actually enjoy. I think I'm starting to figure out that when it comes to reds, I like ones that have that more woody/vanilla flavor profile to it.

Wine Tasting: Castleridge Carneros Chardonnay

Name: Castleridge Carneros

Varietal: Chardonnay

Region: Napa Valley, California

Country: United States

Year: 2021

Price: $12.99

Shop/wine critic/notes online: "The color is a shiny wheat yellow. The nose is lemon, apple, peach, vanilla, pineapple, nectarine, a little honey, and lightly floral. The Castleridge Carneros Chardonnay 2021 is a smooth, rounded wine with some interesting elements of the mid-palate. This Chardonnay tastes like lemon curd, green apple, tart grapefruit, spice, juicy peach, and Anjou pear. The mid-palate adds vanilla cream, melon, that salty/nutty on-lees thing, and dried apricot. The acidity is well-balanced, the flavors have plenty of time to unfold and the wine has excellent length." From Domaine Dave on cheapwinefinder: https://cheapwinefinder.com/37996/castleridge-carneros-chardonnay-2021/

References from Wine Folly book: From Page 96 in the Wine Folly book, Chardonnay is one of the most popular grapes and made in a wide variety of styles, from sparking Blanc de Blancs to rich, creamy whites aged in oak. Typical flavors and profiles of Chardonnay from California are yellow apple, pineapple, lemon zest, pie crust, and nutmeg. 

Personal review: I thought that it smelled fruity and citrusy and a very faint hint of vanilla and clove. It was creamy with more forward notes of vanilla and spice when tasting, and the higher 14.2% alcohol came through. I really enjoyed this Chardonnay and this might be one of my favorites. I didn't try this with any food, but I would love to try this with an alfredo or seafood dish.

Wine Tasting: Elementalist Pinot Grigio

Name: Elementalist

Varietal: Pinot Grigio

Region: Mendocino County, California

Country: United States

Year: 2021

Price: $8.99

Shop/wine critic/notes online: "Light, floral, apricot nose, the palate is lemony, crisp green apple and hints of honeydew melon. A slightly lingering finish(which I like), which gives it more body than your typical, run-of-the-mill PG. It's inspired me to try more California PGs!" From Patricia Syvrud on Vivino: https://www.vivino.com/users/patricia.syvrud/reviews/246187402 

References from Wine Folly book: From Page 149 in the Wine Folly book, Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio) is a pink mutation of Pinot Noir that is famous for zest white wines that range from dry to sweet. Typical flavors and profiles of Pinot Grigio are white peach, lemon zest, cantaloupe, raw almond, and crushed gravel. I thought that the Elementalist Pinot Grigio was more on the dry side, and I could definitely pick out the lemon and peach notes.

Personal review: I thought that it was light, with more forward citrus scents (lime and orange), and a little bit of pear. It was very crisp which took me off guard, feeling like a punch to the mouth. I was able to taste more of the lemony/peach flavors from it which was pleasant. I don't think this was my favorite Pinot Grigio, but I did enjoy it. I did not taste this wine with any food.

Wine and Cheese Pairing #1

Cheese is one of my all time favorite snacks, and I often try to make dishes I can add cheese to, such as pasta. So, this Valentine's Day two of my friends and I had a wine and cheese night! We had three wines and five cheeses, and I will introduce them below.

The first wine was a 2020 Vinho Tinto from the Peninsula de Setubal, Portugal. This red wine is a blend of 60% Castelao, 30% Aragones, and 10% Syrah and has 14% alcohol by volume. It smells buttery, woody, and with small hints of fig. When tasted I thought it was very full bodied, woody, and I thought it had an after taste similar to bourbon aged in oak. This was one of my favorite reds I've tasted, and makes me want to experiment more with red wine.

The second wine was a 2021 Vinho Verde from Quinta da Raza, Portugal. This white wine is a blend of 50% Arinto, 35% Azal, and 15% Trajadura and has 11.5% alcohol by volume. By itself, I got notes of citrus and lime. When I tasted it, I felt that it was fresh, crisp, and acidic, more specifically malic acid. 

The last wine is a 2021 Chenin Blanc from Le Pallet, France. This white wine is a varietal Vouvray, and has 12% alcohol by volume. It smells sweet and of pear, and tasted sweet, fruity, and a little bit of honey. This was my favorite out of all three, as I tend to favor sweeter wines.

The five cheeses we had were a smoked cheddar, smoked gouda, honey goat cheese, dill havarti, and cranberry cinnamon goat cheese. Pictures of the packages and cheese can be seen below, along with how we arranged the cheese on a plate!

For ease of reading, I will describe the wine and cheese pairing by each wine, starting with the Vinho Tinto. The first pairing was with the cranberry cinnamon goat cheese, which I did not enjoy. The cranberry goat cheese was very sweet and too fruity for this wine, and overpowered the wine. I also felt this cheese made the wine taste more tannic and bold. The second cheese was the dill Havarti, which I enjoyed. The Havarti brought out more of the oaky flavor from the wine, and neither really overpowered the other. The third cheese was the smoked cheddar, which was my least favorite with this wine. The cheddar made the wine very tannic and bold, and the wine really overpowered the cheese. The fourth cheese was the smoked gouda, which was my favorite with this wine. It complemented well with the buttery flavor of the wine while also bringing out the oaky flavor. Neither overpowered the other and I thought it was well balanced. The final cheese was the honey goat. It made the wine less bold, but got rid of the buttery flavor from the wine. 

Next I will describe the cheese pairings with the Vinho Verde. The first cheese was the cranberry goat, which really brought out the acidity in the wine. It made my tongue feel tingly and fizzy and brought out the green apple flavor. The second cheese was the dill Havarti, which brought out a lot of herbal flavor from the dill. I got less fruity notes from this pairing and the acidity was still pretty strong. The third cheese was the smoked cheddar, which was really balanced. The cheddar made the acidity go away in a positive way, and I could differentiate both the wine and cheese from each other. The fourth cheese was the smoked gouda. I definitely tasted more of the cheese with this pairing, with some fruit coming through from the wine, and I wasn't a big fan of this pairing. The last cheese was the honey goat, which was my favorite with this wine. I thought that the sweetness from the cheese and acidity from the wine cancelled out each other, which brought out the honey from the cheese and fruity notes from the wine. The tingly/fizzy feeling on my tongue wasn't present anymore.

The final wine pairing was with the Vouvray/Chenin Blanc. The first cheese was again the cranberry goat, which was sweet. I liked this pairing and thought that the cheese brought out the fruity/sweet flavors of the wine. The second cheese was the dill Havarti, which again brought out a lot of herbal flavor from the dill. I thought it was alright, as the cheese cancelled a lot of the fruity/sweetness from the wine. The third cheese was the smoked cheddar, which I wasn't a big fan of. I thought that the smokiness and sweetness didn't compliment each other. The fourth cheese was the smoked gouda, which unlike the cheddar paired well. It made the wine seem more smooth and buttery, but got rid of the fruit flavor. The last cheese was the honey goat, which was almost a sweetness overload to me. I got way more of honey from this than any notes from the wine, and it tasted very creamy together.

Final verdicts: 

My favorite pairing with the Vinho Tinto was the smoked gouda.

My favorite pairing with the Vinho Verde was the honey goat.

My favorite pairing with the Chenin Blanc was the smoked gouda.

Overall favorite pairing was the Vinho Verde and honey goat.

Overall favorite wine was the Chenin Blanc.

Overall favorite cheese was the smoked gouda.

First Blog Assignment

I've been drinking wine since the first time I had alcohol, albeit that first time was cheap box wine at a college party. It was a traumatizing experience that causes me to shiver every time I see box wine at a grocery store or gas station. After that, the next wine I tried was a cheap bottle of Barefoot which has also traumatized me, and made me stay clear of wine for over a year. My first "real" bottle of wine was a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc I shared at a friend's apartment, and this time I actually enjoyed it. I think a combination of a more relaxed atmosphere and also better quality wine made the experience much better, and sparked my interest in wine.

On my quest to find more wines I enjoyed, my friends and I would start having wine nights about once every few weeks. Each wine night we would all bring a new bottle that we never tried before, ranging from whites, reds, rose, and sparkling wines. Some of my takeaways from these wine nights is that I preferred whites over reds, and that I also enjoy sparking wine. Every now and then I'll get a bottle from Food Lion or Aldi, although I tend to stick with wine I've had before and know I enjoy.

One thing my friends and I didn't do often with our wine nights was pairing wine with food. I've had wine with food on other occasions, but never really thought much about it or really appreciated it. This is something that I'm really interested in exploring through this class and being able to blog and document my experience. I do have one picture of a wine pairing, where I had peach wine and tacos together. I'm looking forward to actually pairing food that will be enhanced or enhance the flavor of the wine I'm drinking.

My interest in trying new drinks has been growing this past year, and wine is no exception. I'm hoping that this class will give me a better understanding and appreciation for wine, and help me find new wines to enjoy. Additionally, geography has interested me