Name: Lindeman's

Variety: 100% Pinot Noir 

Region: South Eastern Australia

Country: Australia

Year: 2023

Price: $5.99

Critic Review: Aroma: Cherry, raspberry, smoke, campfire, rubber, oak, graham cracker. Taste: Raspberry, cinnamon, vanilla, smokiness, strawberry, dusty pavement, green herbs. Surprisingly complex for the price. Crisp red fruits with some earthiness and smoke (hopefully not from wildfires). Medium-light bodied with bright fruit and light oak. Great for times when you want a pinot, but don't want to pay a pinot price. Maybe the best under $10 — Chris Rolfes 5/30/23. 

Wine Folly: Pg. 150 Although Pinot Noir is more commonly grown in France and the United States, Australia is the 7th most popular country. According to the book, Pinot Noir is the most popular light-bodied red wine in the world. This wine is typically more acidic and less tannic, and cherry, raspberry, clove, mushroom, and vanilla are common flavors people pick up. Following the book's recommendation, I let the wine decant for 30 minutes. 

My Review: I didn't really like the wine. I didn't get much flavor from it, and I don'y typically like red wines. It tasted very acidic and was more tannic than I was used to as I definitely noticed a dry feeling in my mouth after drinking it. After a couple more sips, I started to get a very slight cherry taste, but overall it tasted very bland and almost like cardboard. In terms of body, I agree with the critic review it was medium-light bodied. I usually like sweeter wines and this was pretty dry. I would not drink this wine again. 

 

Name: White Haven

Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc 

Region: Marlborough

Country: New Zealand

Year: 2023

Price: $10.99

Critic Review: A nose-full of Savvy B right here. This is a bombastic bottling bursting with grass, green bell pepper, and a basket of tropical and passionfruit. It's not quite as zippy on the palate as the nose suggests, the acidity tamed by a whisper of residual sugar, but it's a highly fruity, fun little number for drinking ice cold. — Christina Pickard 12/31/24

Wine Folly: Pg 165 - Mentioned that the Sauvignon Blanc has herbaceous flavors. It also states that the compound that makes the flavor is found in bell peppers. I can taste a slight similarity to a bell pepper. The book highlights that this wine is made mostly in France with New Zealand being the next country with most acreage. However, Sauvignon Blanc is the most important grape in New Zealand, with Marlborough standing out as the premier region for its cultivation. I am really enjoying this wine and can definitely understand how this region has become renowned for producing this variety. 

My Review: I thought the wine was good. I liked it a lot more than the Chardonnay I had last time. It has a very smooth texture and was fruity. There are some more earthy flavors to it too. Although the wine is fairly acidic, the very slight sugary taste makes up for it. I remember our lecture videos mentioning how along with France's Loire Valley, New Zealand is world famous for their Sauvignon Blancs and that they make them a little more aggressive there. I also recall the lecture videos mentioning that if they're from New Zealand, the taste somewhat resembles cat pee. At first, I didn't pick up on this taste, however, as I kept sipping, I could see how people compare it to that. Overall, I enjoyed it and would drink it again. 

Tasting Josh Cellars Chardonnay

Name: Josh Cellars Chardonnay

Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Region: Hopeland, CA

Country: USA

Year: 2023

Price: $6.99

Critic Review: "An all-around well-balanced wine, this offers notes of lemon, lime, jasmine blossom, white peach and nectarine. The palate is driven by a solid dose of acidity, assisted by a slight spritz that adds the needed energy."- Stacy Briscoe 12/31/2023

Wine Folly: Pg 97 - Mentioned that the chardonnay produced in Santa Maria, CA has a tropical fruit and ripe apple flavor. They also have a buttery and creamy texture. I agree that the texture is very creamy, but I don't taste any tropical fruit flavor. 

Pg 96 Discussed how this wine pairs well with creamy and buttery flavors. I drank the wine with fettuccini alfredo and it was really good.

My Review: I thought the wine was good. It had a very buttery texture which I liked a lot. It was very acidic and I tasted some citrusy flavors. It was a little more dry than I thought it was going to be, but it paired well with my meal. It did like how it was light.

First Blog Assignment

So far in my life, I have not had that much experience with wine. For a while, I would only drink Barefoot Wine, specifically the fruitscato mango one. I started drinking this the summer before college started and would have it every once in a while with a meal. At the time, I really enjoyed the fruity taste of it. However, earlier this year I started drinking more sparkling wines like Prosecco. Prior to this, I've had champagne at celebratory events like weddings and also at brunches. However, earlier this year I found that I really liked Prosecco. I liked how it had a very light taste to it. When I went to Italy over winter break to study abroad, I ordered a Hugo Spritz which has Prosecco in it, and it was one of my favorite drinks I got there. 

I have had a few white wines before, but only a couple sips here and there. I definitely like sweet wines over dry wines. In terms of red wines, I never tried any until I went to Italy a few weeks ago. We went to a winery called Castello di Verrazzano in Chianti, and we did a wine tasting of three red wines and a dessert wine. We also got to taste the wine with a plate of cheese, meats, and bread. We were taught how to properly swirl and taste the wine, and we all noticed lots of differences in the wine we tried. Similar to what we talked about in this course, we tasted the wine in order of alcohol percentage starting from lowest and ending with highest. This experience got me to appreciate red wine a lot more, and I really enjoyed the first table wine I tried. I believe the first two were tables wines, the third was fortified, and the last was dessert wine. 

Throughout this course, I hope to have a better understanding of wine and be able to follow a conversation about wine. When I am out at a corporate dinner or even with friends or family, I want to be able to participate in conversations regarding wine. I also hope to go to more wine tastings to try more kinds of wines without purchasing a whole bottle. I also have enjoyed learning about the how wine is produced and how each location makes their wine a little different. Another thing I hope to continue learning about are the different tools used to enjoy wine.