Tasting- Dona Sol Shiraz, Petite Syrah and Symphony

Name: Dona Sol Shiraz, Petite Syrah and Symphony
Variety: Blend
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: Non-variety
Price: $6.95

Winery Review: Shiraz has a unique jammy fruit character that is well represented in the Sweet Red. Both on the nose and on the palate, jammy fruit, like strawberries, cherry pie and red licorice, entices the senses and pair well with cheeses and desserts. 

My Review: The first sip of this wine was shocking, my palate was not prepared for the amount of sweet that occurred. Subsequent sips however were much better and my palate became acclimated to the sweet taste. This wine had a berry smell and a warm citrus taste. More specific flavors I could taste were crisp orange, cranberry and pomegranate. I would drink this wine again, but I would probably only be able to have one glass.

Paired with food: Not at this tasting, but I would be curious to experiment with pairings because this could be a dessert by itself!

Tasting- Avery Quinn Zinfandel

Name: Avery Quinn Zinfandel
Variety: 100% Zinfandel
Region: Santa Rosa, California
Country: USA
Year: 2013
Price: $15

Winery Review: Lightly spicy aromas and rich, soothing fruit flavors make this an attractive, lovable and classically proportioned wine. Cherry and raspberry flavors rest on a lightly tannic but smooth texture, and linger on the finish.

My Review: My favorite wine at this particular tasting by far, so much so I actually bought a bottle! Smells offered a rose like hint, and the taste was incredibly smooth. Slightly sweeter and lingered with a smokey flavor at the end. Delicious!

Paired with food: Not at this particular tasting, but I am pairing it with broiled pork medallions, artisan bread and Gouda cheese tonight because I loved it so much!

Tasting- Finca del Castillo Tempranillo

Name: Finca del Castillo Tempranillo
Variety: 100% Tempranillo
Region: La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: 2015
Price: $4.95

Winery Review: Vivid ruby. Spice-accented red and dark berry aromas show good clarity and a hint of fresh rose. Juicy and seamless on the palate, offering lively currant and bitter cherry flavors that become sweeter with air. Clings with good tenacity on the energetic finish, which repeats the floral note and shows no tannins.

My Review: Getting to reds now which I have slightly more experience in, yay! Upon tasting this red wine I deduce berry and fruity flavors, though again, my palate is not trained enough to be able to specify those berries or fruits. This was a dry wine with a potentially tannins feel.

Paired with food: No, still a free tasting!

Tasting- Pieter Cruythoff Chenin Blanc

Name: Pieter Cruythoff Chenin Blanc
Variety: 100% Chenin Blanc
Region: Swartland
Country: South Africa
Year: 2015
Price: $9

Winery Review: "A wonderful nose of bananas, oranges and melons jumps from the glass of this 100% Chenin Blanc, which is finished with a screw cap. Another great value from South Africa, this wine is medium-bodied, fresh, lively, and a terrific dry white to drink over the next year."

My Review: Still my first tasting here so be patient with me regarding the review, eventually I will get better! This white wine was the second one I tasted, and I preferred this over the Verdejo (see my previous tasting post). Still a light wine, but I would dare to say more medium bodied, and definitely not as dry to me. This definitely had a fruity and a hint of a floral taste as well as smell, though I cannot name exact fruits. Finally, though not a sweet wine by any means, it had a hint of sweetness which made it enjoyable.

Paired with food: No, just a free tasting for now!

Tasting- El Cortijillo Verdejo

Name: El Cortijillo Verdejo
Variety: 100% Verdejo
Region: La Mancha, Spain
Country: Spain
Year: 2015
Price: $4.95

Winery Review: "Golden straw color. Bright, attractive, tropical aromas of creme brulee and fruit tart with a silky, bright, dry-yet-fruity light-to-medium body and a smooth, intriguing, snappy lime and apple finish with crunchy, fruit tannins and light oak. A super smooth and pure white sipper."

My Review: Upon my first "sniff and swirl" I will admit I did not gather much other than it smelled like wine. Perhaps this combined with my lack of experience with white wines lead me to a lack of descriptions, even with the help from the wine wheel. Regardless, here goes nothing... This wine is definitely light and has a hint of fruit though my palate is not mature enough yet to determine which kinds. It was a very dry wine and a great place to start though personally it was not my favorite. However, if you know you prefer whites this would be a great one to start with, especially if you're on a budget!

Paired with food: No, just a free tasting for now!

Hello, My Name is [Insert Wine Here]

My first experience with wine... hmm. I don't recall my very first encounter with wine, other than I was probably sitting at either Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with my family. It was probably only a sip, or maybe I had a glass to myself with just a splash in it for a high school girl to taste. I do remember how strong and bitter it was, some kind of red, I'm not exactly sure. It was good, but wow was there rubbing alcohol in that one little sip??

Flash forward to college and I was addicted to Moscato and any kind of pink wine. Because it's my favorite color of course, so naturally it would be my favorite alcoholic beverage. If we're being honest, one too many glasses doesn't make anyone feel too good, especially with how sweet these wines were. Luckily, my soul was saved by a three week trip to Italy with my family and grandparents. Let me tell you, starting to learn about and taste wine in Italy is a luxury!

Low quality picture of a traditional Italian meal (including wine) with my family from Livorno 

We started in Rome and worked our way around to Livorno, Florence, Venice, Capri, Anacapri, Cinque Terre, Lucca, and Positano, just to name drop a few places. Now I didn't have wine at all these places because my parents limited my consumption, but at dinner all bets were off! I drank only red, and in Italy there are no sulfates in the wine (still not sure what exactly that means) but from what my Nonna told me, it is significantly better than wine we can get in America. After this adventure and exposing my taste buds to "higher quality" wines, I was hooked. I have become an amateur wine connoisseur and drink red wine anytime I am home with my mom over breaks. We like 14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon, anything Bogle (my mom especially likes Phantom which is a specialty only available in the fall.) When I go to a restaurant I typically get a house Merlot or Cab because let's face it, they are cheaper for the college kid and still offer a delicious taste.

I am really a red girl and I hate anything with bubbles (carbonation), so I'm not sure how I tolerated the Barefoot Moscato. I am so excited to begin sipping wine while taking this Geography of Wine class with Boyer and hope to learn how to identify tastes, and how to describe those tastes to others. I would like to learn how to not look like an amateur when ordering from a restaurant, and I want to be confident and able to branch out and try new wines and not be afraid of disliking them. I would say one of my main goals after taking this class is being able to select an appropriate wine as a hostess gift. I want to select something the hostess will like or will enjoy trying, and I want to have knowledge on whatever wine I choose. I have to say I am not well versed in wine, my main exposure is with red so I would also like to be more competent in whites as well as further my knowledge on reds.

All in all, I am so excited to start pairings and tastings! Maybe we could all even meet each other in Italy!