Vertical Tasting: A wine tasting that has a range of wines from different years from one estate or vineyard.
Horizontal Tasting: A wine tasting that has a selection of wines from the same vintage but from different estates or vineyards.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
2009 Falesco Merlot Italian Red
This is a nice little wine, easy to drink. I would suggest you let it breath for awhile. Nose smelled of young ripe berries, on the palate it has a nice silky texture and lots of dark fruit, finishes strong with a small dose of spice. Overall, a very nice wine for the money. I served it with sweet, sticky BBQ ribs and actually it paired very well. I think it would also pair well with pizza!
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The Falesco Winery, owned by the brothers Riccardo and Renzo Cotarella, both oenologists and deeply rooted in this territory between Lazio and Umbria regions, was established in Montefi ascone (Lazio, Viterbo province) in 1979.
Monday, July 4, 2011
2010 Crios Torrontes (Argentina)
2010 Crios Torrontes, 100% torrontes grapes AKA the white wine of Argentina.The first smell is very perfumed and floral, we had this wine once before and remembered that we liked it so we purchased another bottle. I had alomost forgotten the bright citrus floral smell that plays with your senses.
It may not be what you expect when you taste, a bit like viognier and Savigion Blanc but perhaps a tad more delicate on the palate. Juicy and bright with hints of peach, white flower and pear with a long fruity finish and the smell is amazing!
I think this wine would pair excellent with mild to medium cheeses and seafood.
Crios Vineyard story:
In a country dominated by male winemakers, Susana Balbo stands out not only for her gender, but for her incredible skill and experience. She has been making wine since she earned her enology degree in 1981, and she has probably produced a wider variety of wines than any other winemaker in Argentina. Susana was the first Argentine winemaker to be hired as a consultant to make wine outside of Argentina. She has made wine in Australia, California, Chile, France, Italy, South Africa, and Spain, and she spends a month each year in a different wine region of the world studying with local winemakers and growers.
It may not be what you expect when you taste, a bit like viognier and Savigion Blanc but perhaps a tad more delicate on the palate. Juicy and bright with hints of peach, white flower and pear with a long fruity finish and the smell is amazing!
I think this wine would pair excellent with mild to medium cheeses and seafood.
Crios Vineyard story:
In a country dominated by male winemakers, Susana Balbo stands out not only for her gender, but for her incredible skill and experience. She has been making wine since she earned her enology degree in 1981, and she has probably produced a wider variety of wines than any other winemaker in Argentina. Susana was the first Argentine winemaker to be hired as a consultant to make wine outside of Argentina. She has made wine in Australia, California, Chile, France, Italy, South Africa, and Spain, and she spends a month each year in a different wine region of the world studying with local winemakers and growers.
After twenty years of producing wines for others, Susana decided it was time to apply her education and experience to her own wines and put her name right on the bottle. Susana strives for balance in her wines, with layers of complexity coming from the individually fermented varietals. She wants people who drink her wines to feel that every sip from the glass is as exciting as the first.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Kalin Cellars 1998 Semillon (dry white) Honey in a glass
What can I say, "awesome!" This wine is like honey in a glass! Kalin Cellars 1998 Semillon. We drank this wine tonight, it is a nice golden honey colored wine with layered buttery textures, excellent complex structures with honey and sweet grass, and a smooth round finish. Drinks well by itself, in fact we drank almost the entire bottle before we had Tilapia fish tacos with mango salsa. Not sure that is a good pairing but this wine is excellent alone and requires no compliment of food. This is our 2nd bottle, won't be our last!
Purchased at Palate Wine and Provisions in Branson Missouri around $30 a bottle! Well worth it! Best chilled but slightly above refrigerator temps.
Kalin Cellars was founded in 1977 and is located in Marin County - just north of San Francisco. It is owned and operated by Terry and Frances Leighton. They are the only two people between the grape and the bottle - there are no assistant winemakers, cellar workers, etc. - just a little help from their friends.
The grape source is the Wente Estate Vineyard located near Livermore. The vines were planted in the 1880s from the original Chateau d'Yquem cuttings brought to this region by Charles Wetmore. The potential of the Semillon grape to produce superior dry white wine has not been realized in California due to the proclivity of this variety to overproduce when grown on all but the poorest soil types. The combination of ninety year old vines, and the perfect soil and climate for this variety, insures a wine of substantial depth, complexity and style. Whoa. Success!
Purchased at Palate Wine and Provisions in Branson Missouri around $30 a bottle! Well worth it! Best chilled but slightly above refrigerator temps.
The grape source is the Wente Estate Vineyard located near Livermore. The vines were planted in the 1880s from the original Chateau d'Yquem cuttings brought to this region by Charles Wetmore. The potential of the Semillon grape to produce superior dry white wine has not been realized in California due to the proclivity of this variety to overproduce when grown on all but the poorest soil types. The combination of ninety year old vines, and the perfect soil and climate for this variety, insures a wine of substantial depth, complexity and style. Whoa. Success!
Wine Overload
So you are into wine, overwhelmed, confused?
The World of Wine can be overwhelming and confusing. Sometimes the most knowledgeable Wine connoisseur has difficulty making sense of it all. I will use myself as an example. I have been into wine about 20 years. While I am not a professional, I feel I can describe myself as an intermediate learner to say the least. That's precisely why I am writing this blog: to enhance knowledge for myself, others like me and for new wine lovers!
Lets start with the basics:
You're in a wine shop looking for that "special" wine to serve or take to a dinner party. Before you walked in, you had at least an idea of what you thought you wanted, but now, as you scan the shelves, you are overwhelmed. There are so many wines and so many different prices you don't know what to buy. So take a deep breath and collect your thoughts, are you looking for a red or a white wine, perhaps a Zin. Do you prefer sweet or dry wine? What price range are you at? If you can answer those three questions it will help you find the wine you are looking for. I would suggest you ask the store patron for some advice, although they may have asked you already if you need any help, say 'Yes" and let them make a few suggestions and by all means ask questions. Most nice wine shops offer wine tastings everyday, perhaps they will ask you if you want to taste some wine. If not do not be afraid to ask if they have wines available for tasting. Some shops may have a small fee for wine tasting but it is worth it and I definitely think you should try it.
You know how to drink wine but do you really know how to taste wine?
Wine tasting is not the same as drinking it. To experience the true flavor of a wine requires that you slow down and pay attention to your senses of sight, smell, touch as well as taste. A wine glass should be clear and the rim of the glass should bend inward to help funnel aromas to the nose and allow you to swirl without spilling.
OK so you have the wine in your glass for tasting and you are wondering what to do next. If there is more than one wine open for tasting they possibly have white and red wines and will pour White's first as you go from lightest to heaviest wines. This allows you to adjust your palate so you can enjoy each wine in the series. A drink of water in-between tastings will help clear your palate as well.
Sight: Look at the wine in daylight if possible, the best way is to slightly tilt the wine in the glass and hold it up to the light or look at it against a solid background. What do you see? Is the wine clear or cloudy? The color will vary according to what type wine it is. Younger wines will be lighter in color, while the older wines will be darker in color.
White wines range from pale green to yellow to deep golden almost honey colored or brown.
Red wines vary greatly in color. A young red is typically bright-raspberry color. You might see hints of reddish brown around the edges. An older red wine might be mahogany to brick-like in color.
Swirl: Firmly hold the stem of the wine glass and gently swirl the glass in tiny circles for 10 to 20 seconds, this allows oxygen to penetrate the wine and aerate the wine to release vapors, evaporating from the sides of the glass for you to smell. As the wine coats the sides of the glass, it releases it's bouquet. Observe the streaks of wine (legs) as they roll down the side of the glass. The legs can help you determine the body of wine.
Examples: Tears or thin rivulets indicate light body
Cathedral windows indicate medium body
Sheets indicate heavy body
Smell or Sniff: This is the most important part of wine tasting! 80% of your sense of taste is actually in your nose. Tip the glass up and stick your nose in it (this is not rude) and inhale, you might want to take a few small whiffs and get a feel for it and then really inhale and let the smell linger in your nostrils. What do you smell? That all depends on the type of wine. White's you may smell pear, peach, white flower, citrus, butter or honey. Reds you may smell leather, smoke, woodsy smells, dark fruit such as black cherry, raspberry, clove and cinnamon to name a few and that is just a few. Everyone will smell different smells in wine.
Sip and Taste: This is the final step and should be done only after you've used your other senses. Now sip the wine, letting the wine spread across the tongue from front to back and side to side before swallowing.
So these are a few observations on wine tasting, more to come.
The World of Wine can be overwhelming and confusing. Sometimes the most knowledgeable Wine connoisseur has difficulty making sense of it all. I will use myself as an example. I have been into wine about 20 years. While I am not a professional, I feel I can describe myself as an intermediate learner to say the least. That's precisely why I am writing this blog: to enhance knowledge for myself, others like me and for new wine lovers!
Lets start with the basics:
You're in a wine shop looking for that "special" wine to serve or take to a dinner party. Before you walked in, you had at least an idea of what you thought you wanted, but now, as you scan the shelves, you are overwhelmed. There are so many wines and so many different prices you don't know what to buy. So take a deep breath and collect your thoughts, are you looking for a red or a white wine, perhaps a Zin. Do you prefer sweet or dry wine? What price range are you at? If you can answer those three questions it will help you find the wine you are looking for. I would suggest you ask the store patron for some advice, although they may have asked you already if you need any help, say 'Yes" and let them make a few suggestions and by all means ask questions. Most nice wine shops offer wine tastings everyday, perhaps they will ask you if you want to taste some wine. If not do not be afraid to ask if they have wines available for tasting. Some shops may have a small fee for wine tasting but it is worth it and I definitely think you should try it.
You know how to drink wine but do you really know how to taste wine?
Wine tasting is not the same as drinking it. To experience the true flavor of a wine requires that you slow down and pay attention to your senses of sight, smell, touch as well as taste. A wine glass should be clear and the rim of the glass should bend inward to help funnel aromas to the nose and allow you to swirl without spilling.
OK so you have the wine in your glass for tasting and you are wondering what to do next. If there is more than one wine open for tasting they possibly have white and red wines and will pour White's first as you go from lightest to heaviest wines. This allows you to adjust your palate so you can enjoy each wine in the series. A drink of water in-between tastings will help clear your palate as well.
Sight: Look at the wine in daylight if possible, the best way is to slightly tilt the wine in the glass and hold it up to the light or look at it against a solid background. What do you see? Is the wine clear or cloudy? The color will vary according to what type wine it is. Younger wines will be lighter in color, while the older wines will be darker in color.
White wines range from pale green to yellow to deep golden almost honey colored or brown.
Red wines vary greatly in color. A young red is typically bright-raspberry color. You might see hints of reddish brown around the edges. An older red wine might be mahogany to brick-like in color.
Swirl: Firmly hold the stem of the wine glass and gently swirl the glass in tiny circles for 10 to 20 seconds, this allows oxygen to penetrate the wine and aerate the wine to release vapors, evaporating from the sides of the glass for you to smell. As the wine coats the sides of the glass, it releases it's bouquet. Observe the streaks of wine (legs) as they roll down the side of the glass. The legs can help you determine the body of wine.
Examples: Tears or thin rivulets indicate light body
Cathedral windows indicate medium body
Sheets indicate heavy body
Sip and Taste: This is the final step and should be done only after you've used your other senses. Now sip the wine, letting the wine spread across the tongue from front to back and side to side before swallowing.
If you feel comfortable doing so, carefully slurp some air through puckered lips. This slurping of air (aerating) will help to release flavor and aromas. Assessing the wine by taste should confirm the conclusions drawn from the appearance assessment and the smell assessment.
The tip of the tongue detects sweetness
The inner sides of the tongue detect sourness and/or acidity
The outer sides of the tongue detect saltiness
The back of the tongue detects bitterness and/or alcohol
At this point you can either spit it out (especially if you are tasting several wines) or simply drink it, but be sure to experience the aftertaste (the finish). Professional wine tasters will not swallow the wine, but immediately spit it out (you might see buckets for this purpose).
I will be writing reviews from my perspective on wines that i have purchased and enjoyed. Don't be discouraged, just get out there and taste some wine! Feel free to comment and ask questions!
So these are a few observations on wine tasting, more to come.
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