Sunday, April 24, 2016

Tasting - Santola Vinho Verde Loureiro and Pederna

Name: Santola Vinho Verde Loureiro and Pederna
Variety: Vinho Verde
Region: Vinho Verde
Country: Portugal
Year: N/A
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Soft and creamy, although with just the right Vinho Verde bite, this is a crisp and clean wine, boasting light pear and pink grapefruit flavors. Off dry and very fresh.

My Review: I enjoyed this wine. It was pretty fruity, but still had a nice intensity and freshness to it.


Sunday, April 17, 2016

Palisades: New World vs. Old World

For dinner on Wednesday at Palisades there were three Chardonnay's paired with three different foods. The first pairing was a shrimp salad served over a leaf of lettuce, and that was paired with a 2014 Meiomi Chardonnay from California. The wine had a gold coloring and smelled a lot like butterscotch when I smelled it. It also had flavors or butterscotch and citrus. I tasted the salad with the wine and the food really brought out the different flavors in the wine.

The second pairing was 2015 Terranoble Chardonnay from Chile. This was paired with Pebre Pan Amasado, which is Spanish for salsa on a piece of toast. This wine was also gold, but was a lot lighter than the first wine. When I smelled it, it smelled like citrus, especially orange. When I tasted the wine it was very fruity, but acidic because of the citrus taste. The salsa on the toast was very spicy and intense, and when drinking the wine after eating the toast seemed less acidic. I think the spiciness of the salsa really affected the flavor of the wine.

The third wine was a 2014 Italo Cescon from Italy. It also had a gold color, and didn't really smell like anything to me. This wine was a lot more tart than the other two, and tasted a lot like a granny smith apple. When eating the pizza the wine didn't really change in flavor that much in my opinion.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Tasting - Fetter Gewurtztraminer 2014

Name: Fetter Gewurtztraminer 2014
Variety: Gewurztraminer
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2014
Price: $8.95

Winery Review: 87 – Wine Enthusiast
A rainy minerality on the nose of this sweet wine manages to cut through the sugared oranges, honeysuckle and ripe, tropical white fleshed fruit, from peach to cherimoya. The palate is full of honeyed apples, white peach and pineapple, but the decent acidity and chalky element stops it short of treacly.

My review: I liked this wine a lot. It was very sweet, tasted a lot like fruit, and had just the right amount of acidity.

Tasting - Maipe Malbec 2015

Name: Maipe Malbec 2015
Variety: Malbec
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2015
Price: $6.95

Winery Review: "The 2015 Maipe Malbec is another 100% Malbec, with a deep purple color and a style similar to the Lexicon, with chocolaty, blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, as well as touches of licorice and earth. It is delicious, soft and round."
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (March 2016), 87 pts - Excellent Wine Values for Under $25
My review: I don't like licorice, so I was not a fan of this wine. Much too bitter for me. 

Tasting - Manoir du Carra Beaujolais Noveau Gamay 2014

Name: Manoir du Carra Beaujolais Nouveau Gamay 2014
Variety: Beaujolais Nouveau
Region: Beaujolais
Country: Portugal
Year: 2014
Price: $4.95

Winery Review: A pretty, floral wine, with a rose petal note underscoring the rich pomegranate and sweet plum flavors. The fresh acidity is balanced, and a light spice note lingers on the finish.

My review: I did not really like this wine. It was too acidic for me.

Tasting - Mapreco Vinho Verde Rose 2015

Name: Mapreco Vinho Verde Rose 2015
Variety: Vinho Verde
Region: Vinho Verde
Country: Portugal
Year: 2015
Price: $7.95

Winery Review:  The cherry color reveals a slightly fizzy wine that is a very fruitful rosé made from the traditional vinho verde white grapes. Adding a splash of red to offer flavors with notes of strawberry, cherry and berries. A delightful twist on the original.    


My review: This wine is great. It was very sweet and bubbly and comes at a reasonable price.

Tasting - Mars & Venus Chardonnay

Name: Mars & Venus Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: 2014
Price: $5.95

Winery Review: A very nice value Chardonnay that comfortably over-delivers vs. its modest price tag. No oak here, just bushels of clean, crisp, Chardonnay apple and stone fruit with a hint of caramelized pineapple.  Juicy and clean, this is a mid-weight white that's just perfect for parties or weeknight sipping.

My review: I really liked this wine. A nice cheap chardonnay, I liked its fruitiness and it is easy to drink.