Wine Tasting #2 - 2/12/14

Wine tasting round two with Meredith!  This time we came prepared with better sensory words (hopefully) to describe what we were tasting and water to cleanse our palates in between stronger wines.  I have a cold this week, so my nose wasn't quite on form.

Wine #1

Name: Alba - Santa Luz Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Valle Central
Country: Chile
Year: 2013
Price: $11, sale for $6.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: Like any good Sauvignon Blanc, this opens with oceanic aromas of citrus fruits, sea foam and minerality. In the mouth, it is juicy and stony, with washing acidity. Flavors of honeydew, lime and a nice grassiness finish firm, with good backbone. Drink this with salads, shellfish and ceviche.
My review: This wine smelled vinegary with hints of grass and pears.  At first, it had a hot apple bite followed by a citrus aftertaste.  I suppose you could describe it as oceanic citrus fruits.  It wasn't too dry, but the vinegary smell continued into the taste.  Color was straw/green.
Paired with: nothing

Wine #2

Name: Riebeek Cellars Collection Chenin Blanc
Variety: Riebeek
Region: Swartland
Country: South Africa
Year: 2014
Price: $10, sale for $6.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: Fresh kiwifruit, green apple and almond notes bounce along, showing a flash of plantain on the friendly finish.  Drink now.
My review: This Riebeek had a very light yellow color.  The nose carried hints of strawberry, honey, and pear.  It tasted more lemony and less vinegary than the Sav Blanc.  Overall tastes: sweet and fruity,  so I see what they meant by a friendly wine.
Paired with: nothing

Wine #3

Name: San Elias Carmenere
Variety: Carmenere
Region: Valle Central
Country: Chile
Year: 2014
Price: $9, sale for $5.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: This medium-bodied red offers roasted plum, kirsch, sage and game notes, with light tannins supporting the spicy finish.
My review: This wine had a dark brown, almost crimson dried blood-like color.  It smelled like spicy earthworms and pepper (aren't I making this sound so appealing?).  Happily, the wine didn't taste at all like it smelled, though it did retain deep, powerful tastes.  Cloves and apple pie spices stole the show and lingered in the mouth, leaving you feeling surprisingly refreshed.  This wine was semi-dry, but actually quite pleasing.
Paired with: nothing

Wine #4

Name: Ilurce Tempranillo
Variety: Tempranillo 
Region: Rioja
Country: Spain
Year: 2008
Price: $14, sale for $5.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: 88 points – Stephen Tanzer.  Dark purple. Zesty, youthfully medicinal aromas of dark berries, licorice and cracked pepper. Juicy and fresh, with smooth texture and sweet cherry and spice flavors framed by dusty tannins. Finishes with a suggestion of slightly roasted fruits and good clinging persistence. Delivers a lot of power and richness for the money.
My review: This was an even browner red than the Carmenere!  It smelled like overripe (read: practically rotting) cherries, other pit fruit, wet gravel, with a hint of sharpie.  It tasted overwhelmingly like a V8 tomato juice with another lingering clove aftertaste.  I'm honestly not sure whether the cloves stuck around from the previous wine or whether they were brought out in the Tempranillo.  It left the mouth dry and, again, tasting like pie spices.
Paired with: nothing

Wine#5

Name: Costal Vines
Variety: White Zinfandel
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2013
Price: $6.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: This White Zinfandel has a beautiful pink salmon color and crisp acidity.  The wine shows juicy fruit flavors of strawberry and cherry, with a tangy sweet finish.  Pairs well with mild cheeses, crab cakes, and spicy Asian cuisine.
My review: This was a rapid change of pace and boasted a cheerful pink color.  I've always had White Zinfandel with communion, but this was an entirely different experience.  The wine smelled like apple juice and rain, and tasted incredibly sweet.  This was an easy drinking wine after the two stronger reds, but it was almost too sweet.  In the two sips I had, my tongue was coated in sugar, but a faint acidity broke through on the swallow leaving an aftertaste of vanilla (from the oak barrel??) and raspberry.
Paired with: nothing

Wine Tasting #1 - 1/29/14

On Thursday, I joined my friend Meredith and we went to a wine tasting at the Vintage Cellar.  They had a fantastic set up for the class, and here's what we tried:

Wine #1 

Name: Fontana Candida
Variety: Frascati
Region: Frascati
Country: Italy
Year: not given
Price: Reg $12, Sale for $5.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: A blend of 60% Malvasia Bianca di Candia, 30% Trebbiano and 10% Malvasia del Lazio. This Frascati, made from grapes grown in volcanic soils near Rome and cold filtered, is a pale straw gold. On the nose it offers light-as-a-zephyr lemon and a hint of grass. On the tongue it is ultra crisp and delightfully flinty, its lemon and clementine flavors as smooth as old silk. At the end of a nice clean finish a dab of ripe pear takes a bow.
My review: Smells fruity and crisp with hints of apple or grape (grape as in grape candy flavoring, not grape as in wine is made from grapes).  Tasted bitter upon first sip, and grew into a vinegar-y flavor.  Not a fan of this Frascati.  I didn't experience the lemon or clementine flavors, and I definitely wouldn't describe it as "as smooth as old silk".
Paired with: nothing

Wine #2

Name: Foxhollow
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2012
Price: $5.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: This Chardonnay’s aromas of tropical pineapple, crisp green apple and citrus are supported by underlying nuances of vanilla. The finish is smooth and creamy yet balanced with enough acidity to accentuate the vibrant fruit flavors with a hint of orange blossoms.
My review: Smells like strawberries or some equally sweet fruit on the nose.  This wine tasted sweet with an almost buttery consistency in the mouth, really pleasant!  The heat broke through mid-swallow, but I enjoyed this wine overall.
Paired with: nothing

Wine #3

Name: B&G Chicken & Turkey
Variety: Côtes du Rhône
Region: Rhone Valley
Country: France
Year: not given
Price: Regular $10, Sale $5.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: 85 Points – Wine Enthusiast.  A blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 20% Carignan. Deep red garnet color with purple highlights. Intense nose of morello cherry, tobacco and liquorice. Good structure on the palate with lots of fruits and a long fruity and spicy finish. A true delight.
My review: Smells earthy and metallic to me, some dregs in the glass (that's a sign of good wine, no?).  This wine has a light red color, like garnet with the sun behind it and tasted great.  Less acidic than many Cotes-du-Rhones I've tried in the past.  The metallic smell resurfaced in the aftertaste.
Paired with: nothing

Wine #4

Name: Fox Hollow Cabernet Sauvignon
Variety: Cab Sav
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2012
Price: $5.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: Rich and supple with juicy plum, blackberry and chocolate flavors and a pleasant sense of sweetness backed up by good acidity and moderate tannins. Offers early complexity and charm with real richness and depth.
My review: This wine was a pinker, more rosy red and also came with a little sediment.  Detected hints of cherry on the nose, which apparently we actually plum and blackberry according to the wine's description.  This had a more acidic taste with a lingering vanilla aftertaste.  Hot mid-palate.
Paired with: nothing

Wine #5

Name: Opera Prima
Variety: Sparkling Moscato
Region: La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: not given
Price: Regular $15, Sale $6.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: 85 Points – Wine Enthusiast.  Flowery and sweet smelling, then round and fairly smooth in the mouth. The bubbles and flavor package of tropical fruits galore is pleasant and shouldn’t offend anyone. Finishes clean and easy. A mango boat of flavor.
My review: Pale yellow in color, great enthusiastic bubbles when first poured.  This moscato smelled sweet and almost minty, crisp with hints of pear.  The wine tasted minty or perhaps herbal (thyme, maybe?) with a hard first taste and a lemony aftertaste.  I tasted herbs, lemon, herbs, in that order.  Refreshing!
Paired with: nothing

Wine & Cheese Pairing #1

Last night, 01/23/15, I hosted my first wine and cheese party.  The guests of honor:

• Hogue's 2012 Gewürztraminer from Colombia Valley, WA
• Château de Ségriès 2013 Côtes-du-Rhône from Lirac, France
• Bricco Del Tati's 2013 Piemonte Barbera from Piemonte, Italy
• French Camembert Suprême 
• French Comte 3 Comtois 
• Point Reyes Farmstead Original Blue Cheese
• Will, Oliver, Maggie, and Sarah

We began the party with a meal of chicken fajitas and potato pierogies (a weird combination, I know).  After everyone had eaten and our palates had a chance to reset, it was time to taste the wine.

Here's our tiny table set up for fajitas followed by wine and cheese.

With the help of the friendly wine guy at Empo Kroger, I chose three wines for our tasting.  A Côtes du Rhône with 14% alcohol by volume and no description on the label.  The label did include, however, the fact that the wine was bottled at the chateau and had the vigneron independant label, so I trusted it would be good.  The second wine was an Italian Barbera with 12% abv.  This wine was suggested by friendly Kroger guy as an easier-to-drink red with fruity notes and a less acidic bite.  The third wine was a Gewürztraminer chosen on the recommendation of the Kroger man as well as for the interesting name.  This 13% abv's label boasted of, "intense aromas and flavors of sweet lychee, rose petal and grapefruit."  Each of the wines were under $10.  The cheeses were purchased at Eats and included a runny Camembert worthy of Zola's descriptions, a hard Comtois that was a buttery cheese somewhere in between a swiss and a parmesan, and a good old smelly blue cheese.

From left: Sarah, Maggie, and Oliver excited to start tasting.

We began with the Côtes du Rhône.  It had a rich garnet color and medium legs (I'm not really good at legs yet, but they struck me as being medium for some reason).  At first taste, I was struck with the biting acidity followed by a sweet lingering aftertaste of cherries or black currants.  It had a metallic mid-palate.  With the blue cheese, the tannins were killed and the wine was much more enjoyable, but bland.  The Comte still reduced the punch of the tannins, but didn't overwhelm the taste of the wine.  The camembert did not pair well with this wine at all as it seemed to accentuate the bite of the tannins and make the wine taste like the rind of the cheese.  If you were looking for a pair which made the wine the most drinkable, go for the blue cheese.  If you're searching to bring out the most flavors, go for the comtois.

Here I am in my pajamas using a fancy aerator to unlock more flavors.

Next was the Barbera.  This wine was darker in color and the legs (if legs are actually how the wine drips down the glass after you swirl it) were dispersed further apart around the glass.  The wine smelled flowery with a hint of a metallic scent.  Upon tasting, I discovered a biting initial taste with a metallic aftertaste, and the heat broke through mid-palate (which I think is normal for a red wine?).  The blue cheese completely overwhelmed my taste-buds for this wine, and the camembert made the wine taste even fruitier to the point of being nearly too sweet for a red.  This wine paired the best with the Comtois, for the combination made the wine taste smoother and the cheese more buttery and smooth rather than Swiss-y.

Will really took the "get your whole nose in there" advice to heart.

We closed with the Gewürztraminer, a pale yellow wine with no real legs to speak of.  This wine smelled crisp and fresh with hints of pear.  It tasted even sweeter with hints of honey and rose and a spicy aftertaste.  I'd say this was a great dessert wine, but it really did not pair well with any of the cheese.  The camembert made the wine taste like vinegar, but left you with an apple aftertaste.  The blue cheese made this already sweet wine even sweeter, but the tastes of the two did not clash as badly as the camembert combo.  The Comtois and the Gewürztraminer effectively cancelled each other out and left a buttery aftertaste.  All in all, this wine is best on its own (or maybe with chocolate?).

Leftovers for the rest of the week!

Wine class!

After a long hiatus, I am back and readier to write than ever. This eagerness to write could, in part, be due to the fact that this blog will now count as part of my grade for wine class, but that's beside the point.  Yes, I am now happily enrolled in an online section of Geography of Wine, a course which will hopefully help me form the foundation of my lifelong wine education, so grab your own glass, give it a hearty swirl and sniff, and get pumped!

My own relationship with wine really isn't that exciting at the moment.  Bacchus's sweet nectar first graced my lips at a 7th grader in communion class, and I remember being appalled that anyone would ever drink this stuff (White Zinfandel) for fun.  As I got older, I still wasn't a huge fan of wine until I studied abroad in France.  As an 18 year old in a wine wonderland, I quickly learned to like the whites and love the reds.  My favorite warm, fuzzy memories from that trip involve a couple of bottles of Côtes du Rhone, a hunk of Roquefort, and a slab of dark chocolate shared with friends on the lawn of the Tour Eiffel.  The weather wasn't all that nice, as I now remember, so maybe the wine had something to do with the warm and fuzzy.  Anyway, a decent bottle of wine cost about the same as a nice bottle of spring water and my hostel's cafeteria served wine out of a juice dispenser for lunch and dinner, so drink I did.  My favorites were Côtes du Rhone, as mentioned before, with its rich, dark flavors, and champagne with black currant liqueur.  After my return to the US, my wine tasting slowed down until I was again of legal drinking age and able to buy my own wine.

Currently, I am not wine's biggest fan.  I really struggle with proper pairing of food and wine, and often bring out the wrong notes with what I try.  I've also developed a tendency to get headaches from drinking just one glass of red (blame it on the sulfites?).  I know that I'm not a fan of Pinot Noir, but I'm hoping I can re-school my palette and enjoy those reds that I loved so much in Paris.  These days I really only drink wine either with a nice dinner or while binge-eating brie and watching Netflix with my best friend.  Drink This Now! says that wine can be integrated into more parts of life than these, and I am ready to learn!  (c)Here's to a great semester!

A healthy dose of perspective

For me at least, life has a way of helping me maintain my perspective.  The whole "look for the good in your life" thing is so cliché, but so true.  When you allow yourself to stop and step back, it's hard not to appreciate how wonderful and cheesy life can be.

Last March, when I'd messed up my ankle(s) and gotten the news that I'd have to stop running for a while and pull two races off my schedule, I was crushed.  I remember that afternoon vividly:  I stopped by Kroger on my way home from the doctor's to pick up some little donut cushions that let me wear shoes with backs without feeling like my heels were on fire, it was raining, and I was doing all I could to keep from tearing up in the grocery store.  As I passed through the sliding doors on my way out of the store, this little old lady stopped me and asked me to bring her a cart so that she could use it to help her walk into the store.  I gladly helped her, and another woman stopped and thanked me for helping her as I walked to my car.  The force of that experience nearly knocked me over and made me take a good hard look at my pity party.  Yes, not being able to run sucks, but helping that woman reminded me that I was totally capable of walking, and that's really something.  

I'm spending my summer in Blacksburg, and naturally I managed to catch a cold immediately.  On my way back from Schiffert, I was trapped under Whittemore by a freak rainstorm/flash flood/tornado watch (typical Blacksburg weather shenanigans).  Lucky for me, I have a friend in town who was willing to rescue me.  I do spend more time alone now that I'm out of the dorms, but I have friends nearby that are down to watch silly movies, run nine miles in the forest, and go on spur of the moment adventures.  This again, forced me to stop feeling mopey about being sick and marvel at the wonderful group of people that surrounds me.

Adventures thus far:

a quick trip home to see my family and my favorite four-legged friends and read as much as I possibly could, moving back to my new home in Blacksburg, lazy river days, a spectacular sunrise hike, a couple of trips to Roanoke, several great dinner parties (I feel so old writing that), classes that are actually stimulating and not overly work-intensive, and a bunch of quality time spent running in the woods.  Life is so very good.

Those storm clouds got me again

If it were about five degrees warmer, this week would have been a prime example of my favorite kind of weather. Dark storm clouds are hanging just low enough to trap all the sunlight and make all the colors of spring look really over saturated, and the wind is strong enough to wreak havoc on any attempts to style your hair. Wild and wonderful and singing of change, just the way I like it.

This kind of weather makes me feel like anything is possible, so naturally I let this feeling overtake me and signed up for the Mountain Masochist Trail Run. This is a 50 mile run in the mountains near spy rock, in case you've been following my earlier adventures. The race actually finishes at the campground I've gone to almost every October since I was little. No, I've never raced anything like this, and yes, I think I've probably lost my mind. But hey, race registration only stays open for a week, and signing up forces me to get started training right?  I also made a pinky promise earlier this semester that I'd do it, and you know you just can't go back on those.  Let the mileage buildup begin!

Other recent adventures include racing bikes with the cycling team, snapping my derailleur and learning a lot about bike maintenance on the fly, figuring out how to swim without using my ankles, and buying a sketchy, sketchy commuter I've named Lady Eleanor (Aliéanor if you're feeling French). I've also noticed that I'm starting to run into the same people every where I go. I spent about two hours chilling on the porch of east coasters while I waited for some parts to be installed on Theo, and I saw at least six people from the tri and cycling teams. I also passed five people during my run at Pandapas today, four of which were members of vt ultra or the cycling team. Does that mean that I'm one of them now, since we all seem to be drawn to the same places? It's a neat thing to think about. When I first came to tech, I didn't imagine that I'd be one to be drawn I bike shops and trail runs but here I am!

God is good.

I am a marveler.  I am constantly in awe of the world around me.  My friends can attest to this-- I frequently stop walking to admire a particularly beautiful daffodil, to acknowledge the silky feeling of the wind on a humid day, and I once spent ten minutes simply watching the water in War Memorial pool ripple and catch the light.  I live in this world where efficiency is critical and time is of the essence, but oh how I am enamored with the world around me.  I revel in the beauty, the complexity, the power of the natural world, and I attribute all its goodness to God.  I can't imagine a world as wonderful as this without thinking of the awesome power of its creator.  Power, that is the key word here.  Power, strength, might, majesty, He embodies it all.  And today, in the aftermath of Boston's tragedy and the remembrance of April 16, his power rings just as true.

I truly believe in the power of prayer.  My God is an awesome God, and he is omnipotent.  Awesome, add that to the list of words that keep reappearing.  He can grant whatever you ask for, so long as you ask for it. How can I doubt the power of the one that created this awe-inspiring world?  Every ant, stone, skyscraper, brilliant idea, and act of kindness stems from Him.  All I can do is sit here and rejoice that my God is so good, and that one day I'll join him in heaven.  It is so easy to doubt, to say that a loving God would never let terrible things happen, that the universe came together of its own accord, that the whole idea of God was created just to make sense of the chaos around us.  For some, this is their truth.  For me, I can't open my eyes without being blinded by God's grace.  I find that his presence is evident in everything around me, the good and the bad.  It is hard to trust that everything is happening for a reason, but I strive to do it.  When I pray for comfort and solace for the families of the 32, I believe that God will grant it.  When I pray for healing for the victims of the Boston Marathon explosions, I believe God will grant it.  When I pray that everyone around me will come to know God's grace and love, I believe that the seed of faith will be planted in their hearts and that, with nurturing, they will also know the joy that I do.

As I sit here on the floor of McBryde, awaiting the start of a class that will probably deal with something as clinical and scientific as wire extrusion or milling, I'm in a daze.  Do you ever wonder what people would leave on your memorial if you were to pass away today?  I'd hope for daffodils if it's spring or zinnias if it's summer, for band-aids, for a mason jar of blueberry jam, for a worn-in pair of running shoes, and a hand-drawn picture of a bicycle.  I'd hope that the life I've lived so far could inspire others to live their lives to the fullest.  I'd hope that I've let God's light shine through me and strengthened the faith of others.  I'd hope that you could find the joy in my passing rather than mourning the space I'd leave behind.

I realize that I'm rambling now, but I just want to impress upon you God's presence in the world around us.  Go outside.  Smile at a stranger.  Pick a flower.  Run, and feel the joy that comes with having your body race along as fast as your mind.  The world we live in is full of beauty, and God is good.