Bug Juice - Rinaldi Moscato d'Asti

 

Hello Everyone! This week I tasted the Bug Juice Moscato d'Asti by Rinaldi winery. This wine is made of the Moscato grape variety from the Piedmont region of Italy, vintage 2009. This vintage is quite old which could be seen in the color of the wine and smell. The color wasn't brown but it wasn't the typical shade of white that I associate with Moscato variety wines (26, "Wine Folly"). The smell included smells of metal and syrup. The flavor profile was thick and honey like and strangely syrupy. The wine felt viscous and thick with low acidity and not dry. 

I believe this wine was perhaps a little over aged or exposed to sunlight such that the wine oxidized. However, the Spirits & Spice website describes this wine as having the following characteristics: "Straw-yellow color. The bouquet is delicate and intense with aromas of fruit (apple, peach) and spices (sage). The palate is sweet and smooth with lingering aromatic persistence. A refreshing and pleasant wine, perfect for brunch, picnics or poolside" (https://spiritsandspice.com/products/rinaldi-moscato-di-asti-aka-bug-juice?srsltid=AfmBOoobkWq-yo32UIgZQ1r3sMHIAv2ySpT097RcFywah7FtUGr6tdAj). 

Moreover, the Wine Enthusiast gave this review of the wine: "Despite its strange name, Bug Juice is a soft, plush, sweet Moscato with musky notes of soapy flower and scented candle. It shows beautiful elegance and careful craftsmanship" (https://www.wineenthusiast.com/buying-guide/rinaldi-2010-bug-juice-muscat-moscato-moscato-dasti/?srsltid=AfmBOopVgTOsAvkWr2I0pOXbFCxqraMkof0_Z_cpeeWGrkMNDyar_hfu). With a rating of 87, meaning it is "Very good...Often good value; well recommended" by their standards (https://www.wineenthusiast.com/buying-guide/rinaldi-2010-bug-juice-muscat-moscato-moscato-dasti/?srsltid=AfmBOopVgTOsAvkWr2I0pOXbFCxqraMkof0_Z_cpeeWGrkMNDyar_hfu).

 Thank you and have a great rest of your weekend everyone!

Menage a Trois - Exotic Blend

 Hello everyone! Today I tried the Exotic Blend by Menage a Trois!

 

This wine was $10.99 and is a Menage a Trois is a winery founded in St. Helena, California. The grapes for this bottle were grown and combined from vineyards in Monterey, Santa Barbara, and Mendocino, California. The wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Moscato, and Chenin Blanc grapes. 

First looks at this wine, it was lightly viscous and looked like a medium bodied white. The smells I noticed included floral scents and smelled quite sweet. 

Tasting the wine brought out a fruity pineapple flavor. It did not taste dry and definitely tasted sweet along with the fruitful flavors of the wine. On the back end, I tasted earthy or mineral or lightly bitter notes which I believe to be a product of the California Chardonnay grapes. I am also a fan of beer, so to me, I tasted notes of hops which is a plant with floral aromas and flavors. 

Wine on Sale gave the following description for the wine in this blog: "This exotic blend from California offers a vibrant and fruity profile, with flavors of tropical fruits, red berries, and a hint of spice. It’s medium-bodied with a smooth finish, making it a delightful choice for sipping on its own or paired with a variety of dishes" (https://wineonsale.com/products/menage-a-trois-exotic-blend-750-ml?srsltid=AfmBOoqRXc9ww9wFBW54Rh8tcbgpkZDOPAw4JEfVhtS8f9VuJz3-EE1Q).

 Thank you everyone and I'll be back later this week with another tasting!

Wine and Cheese Pairing Number 1

 Hello everyone! This past weekend my parents also came to visit me! During this time, my friends and I had a wine and cheese pairing with them that was a super enjoyable experience to share with everyone! We had a couple of wines paired with cheeses recommended by the "Wine Folly" book on page 60. These wines included a Rose Sparkling Brut, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Rioja. Their respective cheeses paired with them included a blueberry goat cheese, smoked and non-smoked Gouda, and Manchego cheese.

Firstly, the Sparkling Brut:

This Sparkling Rose was a Brut which meant it was dry and not very sweet. The grapes themselves include 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Gamey grapes from Burgundy, France. The wine is aged for 12 months before being bottled and then carbonated. The above pictures include the wine, my mom and I, and the plated blueberry goat cheese. This cheese was chosen because both sparkling and rose wine can be paired with salty, crumbly cheese (60, "Wine Folly"). Although, the goat cheese was not salty per say, it was crumbly and the blueberries balanced the mild saltiness of the cheese. Alone, this cheese is a burst of delicious fruitful flavor on a cracker, would highly recommend making a part of your cheese plate to add in some "wow" factor.

The wine smelled citrusy and had nice bubbles with light foam. My parents who have much more experience with describing wine than I do, said the wine had a light perlage and light mousse. Which is to say that the bubbles were stringy like pearls and held a distinct and uniform shape in the wine. The mousse is referring to the foam or froth from the wine. Since both of these were light and the bubbles themselves were consistent, light, and not overpowering of the flavor, I was able to greatly enjoy this wine. It did not feel like sparkling water or a soda in my mouth but softer. I tasted dry lemon, citrus, and mineral notes throughout the upfront to back end of each sip. This was truly an enjoyable celebratory wine to share with friends and family. Once with the cheese, the wine and cheese complimented each other in a whole new way. At first the wine made the cheese taste creamier and really brought out the fruitful flavors of the blueberry as the citrus interacted with these flavors. Next time, I would choose just goat cheese so the blueberry or fruit flavors don't overpower the combination of cheese and wine so much.

Natalie MacLean gave the following review and a score for this wine of 90/100: "Dry, crisp and refreshing yet with the softening aromas of fresh field strawberries. Terrific value: unbeatable for rose sparkling wine!" (https://www.nataliemaclean.com/wine-reviews/louis-bouillot-perle-daurore-brut-rose-cremant-de-bourgogne/224304).

Next, we tried the Cabernet Sauvignon with smoked and regular Gouda cheese.

This Cabernet Sauvignon is vintage 2020 and from the California based wine-brand called First & Local. They pride themselves on their vineyards being owned by family-owned farmers. Their wines are produced and bottled in Hopland, CA. This winery is north of San Francisco and more inland from the coast, wines from this region are known for their lush black fruit flavors with layers of cedar, dusty minerality, and tobacco-laced tannins (288, "Wine Folly"). We paired this wine with the Gouda cheeses because of full bodied reds ability to bring out the flavors of fruity, umami cheeses (60, "Wine Folly"). At first scent, the wine brought a spicy and dark cherry scent to the table. The initial tastings without cheeses included notes of cherry and tobacco-filled tannins on the back end with a dry but ling finish. There were also light notes of vanilla that could have been from the bourbon aging barrels this winery ages their Cabernet Sauvignon in. The last flavors included mineral notes that I couldn't quite place but were earthy.

After eating the Gouda and tasting the wine again, the Dutch Gouda tasted sweet with the wine and was creamier as well. I love Gouda so this was very enjoyable and a more fruit-like flavor was also brought out in the wine from the cheese. The tannin finish was lighter this time most likely due to the fat content in the cheese. The smoked Dutch Gouda tasted far smokier in the mouth with the wine, almost like the tobacco flavors or spicy flavors from the bourbon barrels came out far more with this cheese. It is truly spectacular how two of the same cheese can bring out such different flavors in the same wine. 

Lastly, our wine and cheese pairing led us to a Rioja with Manchego cheese. The rainy day outside helped keep us cozy inside and enjoying the wonderful conversations surrounding the delicious flavors and aromas we were tasting with the wine! This one was probably our favorite of the tasting.

This wine of La Rioja region in northeast Spain was quite delightful (280, "Wine Folly"). This bottle is vintage 2021 and is the Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España (CVNE) Viña Real Crianza wine. It is made from 90% Tempranillo grapes and 10% Garnacha and Mazuelo grapes. This wine smelled of a darker fruit and a lot of spices. Of these spices, I mainly earned notes of vanilla and nutmeg. The taste was very balanced, smooth, and tannin rich leaving a long finish and leathery feel in the mouth. The flavor was full of smokey, jammy, spicy tastes. Having the Manchego alone, this cheese was crumbly and not very creamy, more salty and much dryer. Just crumbled in my mouth. The Rioja was paired with the Manchego due to the medium body of the Rioja (60, "Wine Folly"). The flavor brought out by the wine was more spicy and smokiness than before. Less berry flavor, this was more muted with the cheese. However, I felt as though the wine dampened flavors or interacted strangely with the Manchego flavors. However, trying the Gouda with the Rioja brought out a significant smoky flavor that was quite enjoyable, but maybe I just really enjoy Gouda. This was a wonderful introduction to Spanish wine and I really hope to return again soon to this region with a Tempranillo. 

Thank you everyone and this was a great experience!

 

 

Cavit - Pinot Grigio

 

 

Hello everyone! This week I tried a Pinot Grigio from the Cavit Collection that I purchased at Walmart for $15.99. It is certified by the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) which is an Italian wine classification that means "controlled designation of origin". The DOC wines are made in a specific area and meet strict production standards. 

This wine was drank with friends of mine as it was a 1.5L bottle, not for one, if you ask me at least but no shame! A light body wine which smelled of citrus, mineral aroma, and pear (149, "Wine Folly"). To me, this wine did not smell appealing. It tasted like it had high acidity but light notes of apple, pear, lemon, and maybe a little tartty. The back end was quite fruitful in the flavor but did not have a long finish. It certainly was crisp but reminded me of what I might drink if I was a freshman in college. Although, it was not sweet in flavor whatsoever and was more tart and dry in taste and feel. Having this bottle chilled was the right way to serve it (149, "Wine Folly"). Has the light flavor of crushed gravel which was interesting to me to taste in a wine (149, "Wine Folly").

Jon Rogers of the Honest Wine Review said: "For some reason, I always thought Cavit was a “cheap wine” with little appeal. I wasn’t aware of its Italian history and stewardship of this varietal until tasting this wine.

It’s aroma and flavors are certainly straightforward. But with that said, I certainly enjoyed this simple, though crisp and tasty wine.

Given the reasonable price for this imported wine, I think it would make a nice companion to a warm weather backyard picnic. Or even just a simple end of day sipper."

He also went on to explain the aroma as "light aromas of citrus and crisp green apple." He described the flavor as "tasted a tiny bit of green apple." He explains that this "may have been more of a mouthfeel sensation as I wrote down “An apple juice tingle” while tasting this wine" (https://www.honestwinereviews.com/cavit-pinot-grigio-review).

Thank you and I hope y'all have a warm and safe week ahead!

 

Coastal - Chardonnay (Trader Joe's)

 Hello everyone! I hope y'all are doing very well this week and I hope y'all had an especially wonderful Valentines Day!

 During this past week, I tried the Chardonnay by Coastal from Trader Joe's, courtesy of my friend visiting town from an area that has Trader Joe's. Blacksburg does not have one unfortunately :(

This bottle was vintage 2023 of the white grape variety, Chardonnay. These grapes come from the Coastal vineyard of the Central Coast town of California. The owners of this winery is The Bronco Wine Company and they supply many of Trader Joe's private-labeled wines. The price of this wine was $7.99 which is quite easy given its taste.

My experience with this wine started out with having a few friends over who were visiting from the working world as they're alumni! Chilling the wine in the fridge for a few hours first left the wine quite crisp and cool. We were all looking forward to trying this wine!

 After the pour, smelling the glass, I noticed some upfront scents and aromas. These included apple and citrus, almost lemon-like (97, "Wine Folly"). Tasting this beverage gave me flavors of lemon. I could not taste much else besides this but the wine was crisp and clean in its finish. It kind of had a high acidity in its flavor and was not dry. This wine was un-oaked so I was not expecting any of the usual California vanilla/oak flavors that come along with California Chardonnay's (97, "Wine Folly"). But I wish it was aged in an oak barrel. I do prefer the complex profile of those Chardonnay's. A lot of the flavors I was expecting felt removed or non-existent in this wine. The body of the wine was light and had very low tannin feel to it.

The Club Trader Joe's website described the taste of this wine as follows: "There are some clues on the back label for this wine... mention 'melon and peach notes on a crisp clean finish'. When I smelled and tasted it, I definitely got some of that but it was not overly aromatic... I could feel the acid and it had a pretty good mouthfeel. But, when I swallowed it the flavors I expected were muted. You can tell that in the vineyard they are growing more grapes per acre than other high-quality wines. This dilutes the flavors... I think there are better wines in under $10 a bottle of wine that Trader Joe’s sells" (https://www.clubtraderjoes.com/trader-joes-coastal-chardonnay-wine-review/)

 Thank you to those reading these posts and I look forward to my next wine tasting with friends and/or family.

 

Bogle - Petite Sirah

 Hello Everyone! Hope you are doing incredibly today!

Date: 2/9/2025

This wine is vintage 2021, a Petite Sirah, and of the Bogle Family Vineyards. Trying this wine with friends was an incredible experience. Full bodied reds are some of my favorite wines because of their dryness, chewiness, and aroma of flavors. This one had rich notes of black fruit flavors and bold tannins (147, "Wine Folly"). This wine exemplified the typical low sweetness, high alcohol, lighter acidity, and full body of the typical Petite Sirah and was nicely balanced to my palate (147, "Wine Folly").

The initial aromas I smelled form a glass of this red included a wonderful upfront raspberry aroma, delicious! The flavors and feeling in the first sips were magnificent. The wine was dry and chewy, aggressive/heavy tannin. Made my mouth feel very rubbery, had front end of vanilla and a back end of black cherry which made the entire experience feel like an adventure. Along with the aftertaste was an earthy almost black pepper flavor.

This California wine was reviewed by the Wine Enthusiast and was only $11 with a rating of 91 meaning it is "excellent" and "highly recommended." Tony Pitts explained it as such: "This wine is rich, concentrated with aromas of blackberry, cumin, dried herbs and florals. The palate offers black cherry, peach, clove and white grapefruit intertwined with mineral, earth and a dry finish. Pair with your favorite burger" (https://www.wineenthusiast.com/buying-guide/bogle-2021-petite-sirah-california/?queryID=157ce805f724b935f6a4754131214d40&objectID=wine#447386&indexName=PROD_WINEENTHUSIAST_REVIEWS).

I would highly recommend this wine to friends and family any day. Please enjoy and have a great day!
 

Black Stallion - Cabernet Sauvignon

 Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well! Date: 2/9/2025

 

 

This wine tasting included a $20 Cabernet Sauvignon of the 2021 vintage called Black Stallion of the Estate Winery. The grapes used were harvested from the Napa valley is a full bodied red with balanced and layered flavor. This flavor included rich notes of tannins, plum, dark cherry, and some baking spice. Following these flavors, the wine has a balanced amount of acidity that goes wonderfully with burgers. At least that is what the back of the bottle explained. 

I myself at first smelled wonderful notes of raspberry and maybe a little minty or herbal scent (89, "Wine Folly"). Which was incredibly welcoming and inviting. The first tastes unleashed a lovely array of a spice flavor with dark cherry which were complimented wonderfully with a light tasting acidity (88, "WIne Folly"). Overall, the wine was chewy and dry but I really enjoy full bodied reds so this was great to me. Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley, California area are known for their minerally character, which I could taste on the back end of this red (89, "Wine Folly"). 

From the Wine Enthusiast, this wine was rated a 92, meaning it was "excellent" and "highly recommended." Tonya Pitts of the website described this wine as the following: "This wine is rich, with aromas of dark plum, Bing cherry, blackberry coulis, dried florals and bittersweet chocolate. Flavors open further to sour cherry and molasses, interlaced with dried tobacco, orange rind and a dry finish with gripping tannins. Pair with grilled Wagyu beef" (https://www.wineenthusiast.com/buying-guide/black-stallion-2021-cabernet-sauvignon-north-coast/?srsltid=AfmBOooKHCTHKEWTeZ_mQ6oyd5Jj2wZY3DKdxuSfVfV5bp0kvTrtG-Rj)

 

Thank you for this experience and the wonderful time enjoying this delicious glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.