week 2 - karl-josef piesporter michelsberg riesling kabinett

Name: Karl-Josef Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling Kabinett

Variety of Grapes:Riesling Kabinett

Region/Country Of Origin: Mosel, Germany

Price: $18

Vintage Year: 2020

Shop: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/karl+joseph+piesporter+michelsburg+riesling+kabinett+bernkasteler+mosel+germany/2020/usa-va-y

Shop Review: "Juicy lime and gooseberry notes abound in this very fruity, easy drinking kabinett. Off dry and blossomy in style, it's a bold, primary sip with just a hint of slaty minerality on the finish for elegance. Anna Lee C. Iijima" - 87/100, Wine Enthusiast

Wine Folly's Notes: An aromatic white variety that can produce white wines ranging in style from bone-dry to very sweet. Germany is the world’s most important producer of Riesling. 

Off-dry Riesling wines make a great pairing to spicy Indian and Asian cuisines and do excellently alongside duck, pork, bacon, shrimp, and crab

It has notes of lime, green apple, beeswax, jasmine, petroleum. 

My Personal Review: smoky smell, sour, do not taste the apple here, dryer

This wine smelt a little smokey and a hint of apple. It tasted quite sour and more dry than the previous wine. I think this did have a hint gooseberry like the website description.While I did not like this as much as the previous one I tried, I do think it would pair well with certain foods and it has a time and place in wine. I would definitely drink this again. 

I paired this with the same spicy sandwich with the mango habenero sauce and it tasted good with that too!

week 2 - chateau ste michelle riesling harvest

Name: Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling Harvest 

Variety of Grapes: Riesling Grape

Region/Country Of Origin: Washington

Price: $8.99

Vintage Year: 2021

Shop: https://www.totalwine.com/wine/white-wine/riesling/chateau-ste-michelle-riesling-harvest/p/109676750

Shop Review: Washington- Loaded with fresh Jonathan apple-flavored fruit, the sweetness is nicely balanced by the fresh, natural acids. Highlights of cinnamon and caramel add further pleasure to a wine with wide appeal.

Wine Folly's Notes: An aromatic white variety that can produce white wines ranging in style from bone-dry to very sweet. Germany is the world’s most important producer of Riesling. 

Off-dry Riesling wines make a great pairing to spicy

Indian and Asian cuisines and do excellently alongside duck, pork, bacon, shrimp, and crab

It has notes of lime, green apple, beeswax, jasmine, petroleum. 

My Personal Review: It has an apple and grape flavor when initially smelling it. It is a sweet wine with a strong apple note. It also has a sour flavor that I think is reminiscent of limes, but I think that might be a stretch. It is more sweet than dry. We did not decant this like the other red wines we tried since that was Wine Folly's recommendation, but as I was writing this and sipping the wine over time, the smell and taste definitely got better. I really like this one, and I'm super glad I got to try it. 

I paired this with a sandwich that had a really spicy sauce (mango habanero) and it was really good! I would definitely try this with indian food in the future like how wine folly suggested.

week 1 wine review: dear mom - oregon rosè

Name: dear mom - oregon rosè

Variety of Grapes: 50% Malbec and 50% Syrah

Region/Country Of Origin: Oregon, US

Price: $4.50 for 1 can (I purchased this as a 4 variety sampler mystery set from Vintage Cellar for $17.50)

Vintage Year: Not Vintage (blend of wines)

Shop: Vintage Cellar 

Shop Review: We wanted our rose' to represent our commitment to making "wines of the south." In this case, the southwest Oregon. This delicious wine is certainly more representative of a rose' you might find in Cahors or thereabouts. 

The rose' is 50% Malbec, and 50% Syrah grown in the incomparable Applegate Valley. The darker fruit of Malbec and Syrah produced a richer pink complexion, and the wine is less an exercise in austerity than last year - this wine is all about fruit. 

The rose’ is 100% dry but the first thing you notice is the presence of a mouthful of bright fruit. The nose shows fresh picked strawberries with the stem still attached. Vibrant with a subtle floral tone. The palate is bright with characteristics of strawberries and watermelon sorbet. The acidity on the finish is 100% refreshment and makes you wish for just one more sip.

Wine Folly's Notes: n/a (doesn't have one specifically for rose)

My Personal Review: Visually, it is a very very faint salmon color, and not as appealing as a true white/red wine, but it wasn't unpleasant by any means. The smell was milder than the previous Cabernet Sauvignon that I tried, and it had immediate strawberry and floral notes that I picked up on in my initial sniff after swirling it around in my glass. I also did taste the sourness of the strawberries, although very dilute. I didn’t taste any of the fruity notes, but that was also an issue I had with the last wine I tried, so I think that will simply come with practice. 

If this was my only wine option in the future, I would drink it, but it is definitely lower down the list than I would like to rank it. I didn't try pairing this with any foods.

week 1 wine review: freakshow - cabernet sauvignon

Name: Freakshow - Cabernet Sauvignon 

Variety of Grapes: a cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc

Region/Country Of Origin: Geyserville, California, US

Price: $5.50 for 1 can (I purchased this as a 4 variety sampler mystery set from Vintage Cellar for $ 17.50)

Vintage Year: 2020

Shop: Vintage Cellar 

Shop Review: The fruit for this brute of a Cab comes from the original super freak, Michael Phillips vineyard located only a medicine balls toss away from the winery. Surprisingly nimble and elegant, showing great balance, strength, and poise. This Cabernet has a bouquet of dark cherry and roasted spices. Full bodied and mouth filling with gobs of blackcurrant, blackberry, charred oak, vanilla and cassis. Mild tannins with a mellow, long finish.

Wine Folly's Notes:

• Black cherry
• Black currant
• Cedar
• Baking spices
• Graphite

My Personal Review: It has an incredibly pretty and aesthetically pleasing deep red color that I can truly appreciate. The smell after swirling the wine is very 'traditional' for a red wine - if I were to imagine what a red wine would taste like, this would be it. A very flavorful wine, and in my opinion, I hold that to a fault. Because of the intense flavor you get when you first sip the wine, I found it close to impossible to actually discern any sort of notes and the only thing I could sense was that it was incredibly full-bodied and dry. It had a very sour taste to it, and if I really thought about the taste I could probably swing by it being berry like, but I am not sure if that is because I looked at the notes listed in the Wine Folly text beforehand. After letting it sit for roughly 50 minutes, the strong, almost pungent smell subsided, but it still was unpleasant to drink. 

I didn't intend to pair this with any food but ended up experimenting with goldfish and some taco bell hot sauce, and it honestly improved my experience with this wine by a lot. I think that the strong spicy flavors from the hot sauce cancelled out the stronger unpleasant notes from the wine perfectly. I know, from the Wine Folly book, that this is not the typical pairing you would do with a full-bodied red wine, but I can't say I wouldn't do it again if given the chance.

my personal expeirence and thoughts about wine

Hello! I'm Sheena, a senior in Computer Engineering, and I decided to take this class to learn more about a drink I frankly know next to nothing about, and force myself to carve some time out to spend some social time with my friends out of my busy schedule.

I grew up in the Middle East, and because the country I lived in was ruled by an Islamic government, the rules for alcohol consumption were incredibly strict. The only times I saw wine consumed in public was during mass in the international church my family was a part of, and even that was a very watered down red wine to save on costs. My parents do not consume any alcohol at all either,.

As you can probably imagine, I have absolutely no knowledge on wine thus far. I only recently turned 21 last December and bought my first bottle of red wine the week following my birthday. I was so overwhelmed by choice that I just picked one with an interesting looking label and was on sale that week (it was the Artie Cabernet Sauvignon - I had to look it up) to split with my friends, which was probably not the best idea since none of us liked the wine and we ended up not finishing the bottle. I've since tried a glass of white wine at my uncle's place for new years which I didn't like either since it was really bitter.

Because of my very limited experience with wine, I don't really know what I would like. From talking to friends who like wine, I think I might like something sweet and fruity, and considering I don't really like carbonated drinks, I think I would prefer still wines. I still want to take the weekly wine tasting as an opportunity to try out all kinds of wine - I'm super open to finding out a favorite outlier! 

Here's to hoping this class broadens my palette ~clink~!