Tasting - "Opera Prima Sparkling Moscato"

Name: Opera Prima Sparkling Moscato
Variety: Muscat Rose A Petis Grains
Region: Castilla La Mancha
Country: La Mancha, Spain
Year: 2014
Price: $15

Wine Review: "A great value and a crowd-pleasing pour, Opera Prima Moscato presents an intense aroma of fresh grapes, fruit syrup and hints of white flower petals. Delicate bubbles caress the palate offering a silky and pleasant sweetness, balanced by a crisp, refreshing finish. Ideal on its own, as an aperitif or with all types of sweets and desserts. Serve well chilled." -WorldMarket

My Review: This wine has a sweet, fruity smell and a light taste that reminded me of Sprite. There was little to no aftertaste and was not strong. Overall this wine was very good and really sweet.

I enjoyed this wine without food.

Tasting - "B&G Chicken & Turkey Cotes Du Rhone"

Name: B&G Chicken & Turkey Cotes Du Rhone
Variety: 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Carignan
Region: France
Country: Rhone Valley, France
Year: 2012
Price: $10

Wine Review: "A winning wine with solid, substantial Syrah aromas and flavors. Leather, fruit, spice and game on the nose. Ripe cherry and cinnamon flavors with briary accents. Nice mouthfeel and fairly robust, with some complexity. Balanced and appealing; can still improve. Best buy." -W.E.

My Review: This wine had  a sweet, flowery aroma. The taste was light and dry with not much of an aftertaste. This wine was pretty bland overall and lacked much taste at all in my opinion.

I enjoyed this wine without food.

Tasting - "Foxhollow Chardonnay"

Name: Foxhollow Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: USA
Country: California, USA
Year: 2012
Price: $5.95

Wine Review: "Aromas of nougat, apple puff pastry, and peach custard with a silky, fruity-yet-dry medium body and a tangy kiwi and lime finish. Nice acidity and structure for seafood or sipping." -tastings.com

My Review: Delicious! I immediately purchased this wine after tasting it because I liked it so much! This wine had a very sweet but slightly alcoholic smell and a buttery almost flowery taste. The taste of the wine also seemed to linger after finishing it.

I enjoyed this wine without food.

Tasting - "Fontana Candida Frascati"

Name: Fontana Candida Frascati
Variety: 60% Malvasia Bianca di Candia, 30% Trebbiano, 30% Malvasia del Lazio
Region: Italy
Country: Frascati, Italy
Year: 2012
Price: $12

Wine Review: "A light, tasty wine with a dry, crisp finish that's built on a zesty citrus backbone." -Banfi Vintners

My Review: This wine was pretty good. It had a light taste and a slightly bitter aftertaste however all in all there wasn't a whole lot of flavor to it. It also had a slightly sour smell.

I enjoyed this wine without food.

Tasting - "Flip Flop California Pinot Grigio"

Name: Flip Flop California Pinot Grigio
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Region: USA
Country: California, United States
Year: 2014
Price: $5.89

Wine Review: "This brightly acidic, clean wine doesn't appear to have any oak influence. What you get are pure, ripe orange, Meyer lemon, lime and peach flavors that finished honeyed, yet dry. It's an easy wine to drink with many foods." -S.H.

My Review: This wine has a grape juice smell and a pretty bland taste. The after taste is alcoholic, bitter, and slightly fruity--tastes a little bit like apple. I don't really like this wine very much but it's not very bad. It was a little too bitter and bland for my liking.

I enjoyed this wine without food.

Tasting - "Dog Point Savignon Blanc Marlborough"

Name: Dog Point Savignon Blanc Marlborough

Variety: Savignon Blanc 

Region: Marlborough

Country: New Zealand 

Year: 2014

Price: $20

Wine Review: "Bright, pale straw-yellow colour with slight green hues, pale on rim. The nose is full and voluminous with full, evenly presented aromas of white stonefruits seamlessly melded with flinty lees and reductive complexities. Subtle herb and green stonefruit elements unfold in the glass. Dry to taste and medium-full bodied, tightly bound flavours of white stonefruits, herbs, minerals and flinty lees form a strong core. The flavours open up, softly filling the palate. The mouthfeel is very fine, with a chalky texture and soft acidity, and is thirst-quenchingly dry. This flows smoothly with good drive and energy, carrying through to a long, lingering flinty, lees-influenced finish. This is an elegant but mouthfilling Sauvignon Blanc with complex stonefruit and flinty mineral and lees flavours. Match with herb-marinated seafood, poultry and veal dishes over the next 2-3+ years."

My Review: This wine had a strong floral aroma and no taste of alcohol. For some reason this wine tasted like green peppers to me and had a fresh, crisp aftertaste. This wine was a little too bitter for my liking however seemed as though it would taste better with food than without. 

I enjoyed this wine without food. 

Tasting - "Masseria Surant Ares Rosso"

Name: Masseria Surant Ares Rosso 

Variety: Primitivo 50%, Negroamaro 30%, Cabernet Sauvignon 20%

Region: Puglia 

Country: Italy

Year: 2012

Price: $15

Wine Review: "Intense ruby red color. Red fruits. black-cherry on the nose. Sapid, balanced acidity, soft tannins, medium-bodied."

My Review: This wine had a strong perfume aroma, a smoky flavor, and a dark red color. I really liked this wine! It was the perfect amount of bitter and sweet. 

I enjoyed this wine without food. 

Tasting - "Rueda Basa Blanco"

Name: Rueda Basa Blanco

Variety: Verdejo

Region: Rueda

Country: Spain 

Year: 2013

Price: $10-$30

Wine Review: "Here's a sizzling summer Spanish white from 92% Verdejo and 8% Viura from old head-trained vines - called "Basa" in Spanish.  Big aromas of tangerine, apricot and lemon with just a hint of summery mint.  The flavors are just as big - juicy pineapple, stone fruits, and tangy lemon  making you mouth water as it turns up in a smile.  The finish goes on and on with citrust and stone fruit flavors dancing together.  Great sipper or match for fish."

My Review: This wine tasted a lot like white grape juice to me. It tasted a little bit alcoholic but had a sweet aftertaste. I really liked this! It was light and fruity. 
                                                 I enjoyed this wine without food. 

Tasting - "Domaine Descroix Beaujolais Nouveau"

Name: Domaine Descroix Beaujolais Nouveau

Variety: Gamay

Region: Burgundy

Country: France

Year: 2014

Price: $4.95

Winery Review: “A light-bodied red, with good focus and balance, featuring a core of wild cherry and strawberry flavors layered with tangy acidity and abundant ground spice accents. Zesty. Drink now. 560 cases imported. —A.N.”

My Review: Better than other cheap wines but not my favorite. This wine has a rich fruity aftertaste, metallic alcoholic taste, and is violet in color. Slightly too bitter for my liking; I was hoping for a bolder fruity taste. 

We paired this wine with hickory cheddar cheese, turkey summer sausage, onion and chive cheese, and honey pineapple mustard. The honey pineapple mustard and summer sausage made the wine taste bitter where the smoked cheddar made the wine taste sweeter. 

Tasting - "Rubus Wine Selections Rosado Prieto Picudo"

                                                 Name: Rubus Wine Selections Rosado Prieto Picudo

Variety: Rose  

Region: Other Spain

Country: Tierra De Leon, Spain

Year: 2013

Price: $3.95

Winery Review: “Lurid pink.  Deeply pitched red berry and candied rose aromas are lifted by a note of white pepper and pick up a hint of smokiness with air.  Fleshy and broad on the palate, showing a refreshingly bitter edge to its redcurrant and rhubarb flavors.  Surprisingly dry given its weight, finishing with good cut and echoing spiciness.” –Stephen Tanzer’s IWC

My Review: Really good! This wine is light, has a hint of strawberry aftertaste,  is pink in color, has a floral aroma, and is balanced in acidity and sweetness. There is a surprising lack of alcohol warmth considering it’s 13% alcohol content. 

We paired this wine with hickory cheddar cheese, turkey summer sausage, onion and chive cheese, and honey pineapple mustard. The wine paired well with the onion and chive cheese, honey pineapple mustard, and summer sausage, however didn't pair well with the smoked cheddar. 

First Blog Post

The older I get the more I've been leaning towards choosing wine over beer or liquor. My family never ever drinks wine or liquor, so although I have been allowed to "sip" a parent's beer while growing up, I have never grown up familiar with the taste of wine or any knowledge whatsoever of wine. Thus, when I started choosing what drinks to drink, I pretty much always chose beer; I even joined the home brew club at Virginia Tech and began dabbling in making and tasting beers on my own outside of the usual well-known, light beers that come along with a college experience. It wasn't until my super close friend whom I drank with often, discovered her gluten allergy and took this Geography of Wine class at Virginia Tech that I began trying wine because of her obsession.

My friend was always into the more bitter red wines that she insisted we "let breath" and "drink at room temperature". Although I was always happy to have a glass of whatever she paid for I never really enjoyed red wine. During my internship in Washington, DC this past summer, I learned how to properly order a glass of wine I enjoy as I attended several happy hours and social events with the company that almost always offered drinks. All I know at this stage is that I like white wines, and tend to lean more towards Pinot Grigio.

I would love to learn more about wine and how it is made since I really only know anything educational about beer and nothing about wine--except of course that wine is made from grapes, duh. It would also be nice to personally know how to pick out a bottle of wine at the store other than just basing my decision on "okay, that seems to be the cheapest bottle". Knowing the actual difference between Chardonnay versus Pinot Grigio, and Pinot Noir versus Sauvignon Blanc, etc. is something I look forward to learning about in this class. I also hope to understand the difference in flavors based on region, which I'm sure would be helpful in choosing a bottle of wine from the store.