My Review: Yummy! I usually don’t like white wine because in my experience, they’re too sweet and/or too acidic, but this was quite nice because it wasn’t too sweet or harsh on my palette. I paired with a handful of pretzels. Each sip was bright, balanced, and reminded me of summer. What I did the swirl and sniff, I smelled fruits for sure. Namely, I smelled a lot of apple juice. I could drink this any day.
Winery Review: “Inspired by the ‘Apotheca’ a mysterious place where wine was blended and stored in 13th century Europe, Apothic Red offers a truly unique wine experience. A masterful blend of rich Zinfandel, flavorful Syrah and smooth Merlot, creating layers of dark red fruit complemented by hints of vanilla and mocha.” (Apothic Red)
My Review: A dark, delicious wine. Swirl and sniff: I smelled cherry, wood, and Hershey’s dark chocolate. Other than the sweet taste of dark cherries, I also tasted hints of vanilla. I see how others might call this a balanced wine because the sweetness was balanced by a high tannic structure. I paired this wine with mini dried raisin bread. I would drink this one again over dinner.
Winery Review: “Gorgeous and soft ruby red in color. The nose is beautiful and sweet with hints of red raspberry. A slight hint of fizzy fun dances across the palate, delighting the senses. The effervescence lingers at the throat, creating a zippy experience. The taste is sweet, clean and fresh with hints of red raspberry and cream soda. The flavor finishes clean and is most pleasant!A refreshing wine made from grapes blended with natural raspberry flavor. Best serve chilled or over ice. Great as a cocktail mixer!”(https://www.wvfruitandberry.com/raspberrywine)
My Review: A dessert wine! Swirl and sniff results: I smelled raspberries first and a bright acid. This smells like candy to me, an aged glass of candy. Smooth, fruity feel. I think sugar definitely tipped the scale here. I don’t think I would buy this myself, or drink this again given multiple options because it didn’t taste like a quality wine.
Winery Review: “Crush on blush! Rosé is Barefoot’s love letter to the pink-tinged classic. Juicy cherries mingle with cool watermelon in this sweet Rosé wine . Sweet lime and a hint of fizz join in for pure magic under sunny skies or starry nights. ” (https://drizly.com/barefoot-rose/p63314)
My Review: Sickly sweet. Not to hate on my peers, but this is definitely a college girl wine. Having the glass near your face brings scents of strawberries and maraschino cherries. I love the bubblies in this though. I wouldn’t buy again with my own money, but would drink again if it was around. Would be great to crack open on a fun summer day!
Winery Review: “Our Moscato sangria is inspired by the sweet California laid-back style. It is light-bodied, sweet and bursting with fruit flavors of ripe peach nectarine – the best sangria for California style Tapas, including ahi tuna tacos, sweet and spicy chicken wings, and a mango chili pork tenderloin.” (https://www.sutterhome.com/wines/moscato-sangria/?age-verified=69a9219dca)
My Review: I love this! My friends prepared this moscato in a pitcher with a ton of different fruits, such as apple, orange, pear, and blueberries. Perhaps I’m partial to sangria, but I had so much fun drinking this! I tasted the juicy fruit of peach alongside honeysuckle. The balance may be off because sweetness was stronger than the other side of the scale. I countered the sweetness by pairing with crackers and hummus. Easy to drink, low acidity, and light on the palette. I would drink this any day.
First, a little about me and my experiences with wine. My experiences with wine expand to a handful of family gatherings and a smaller handful of restaurant settings. With family, my first experience with wine is probably at home with my parents. I don’t know how much of the technical stuff they know about wine, and they always likes to drink wine paired with a homemade dinner, and they can voice what they like and dislike. And at that age, what else would you give to my parents? So every birthday, every Christmas, every Mother’s Day, every Easter and really every party that we host, people always walk through the door bearing wine. A few Christmases ago, one of my amazing cousins got my parents a whole shebang of wine goodies. A big set of gifts that included more than just glass bottles of red fluid. It included an electric wine opener and also one of those terrible semi automatic wine openers that I now have learned is trash. It also included a couple of wine stoppers for storage. My personal favorite, though, was the aerator. It’s a pretty neat tool, it aerates your wine and I’m so happy that I could learn more about it in this course.
Now about my smaller handful of experiences in restaurant settings. I’ll admit it like the next girl over that I’ve been on a few dates where wine was involved. When wine was in conversation, a pinot noir was always ordered for me. I distinctly remember someone telling me when I was about 18 years old, “Oh you’ll like this pinot noir. It’s easy to drink since you’re a beginner.” I remember thinking, ‘Yeah of course I’m a beginner. I’m not even legally allowed to drink yet, genius. And also that’s kind of an insult: easy to drink! Is it sweet or especially tasty or something?” The glass of red wine wasn’t even tasty! I don’t understand why people like wine. The bitter taste, the acidity that overwhelms my throat– it’s pretty gross.
You question my sanity. “Gross??” How dare I say that wine is gross when wine is basically the blood that has run through human civilization’s veins for centuries. I get it, I get it. I simply haven’t learned enough to enjoy wine, but I’d like to. I do believe that there’s something to learn here. The languages and technicalities and “oak barrel” descriptions on wine labels are intimidating! I have no idea what anyone is talking about when they say dry or full-bodied. However, I promise I’m not terribly hopeless. I have a refined palate from trying and continuously eating foods from many different cultures featuring a wide variety of flavors. I love to try new things, and especially look out for flavors I enjoy. For example I know that I like spicy food, I have a horrible sweet tooth especially for sour candy when I’m stressed out, and I savor foods that have the perfect flavor of umami.
I know what I like, I know what I dislike, and I’m here with an open mind. I hope this course teaches me not only how to enjoy wine but also how to speak about wine with my family and friends. I no longer want to feel like a bumbling fool walking through the aisles at the grocery store, choosing a rose based on how beautiful the bottle is. Speaking of rose, I want to be able to fight for how tasty rose is. Maybe it’s the color but I’ve met a lot of men who swear off rose because it’s “too sweet”. I want to be able to buy the things I like and be able to justify them. Boyer, let’s learn about wine.
Here I write of my vinous discoveries. Lead by the infamous John Boyer for Geography of Wine at Virginia Polytechnic and State University. Thanks for joining me!
First we eat, then we do everything else. — MFK Fisher
Somm Manifesto 