Posts

wine & cheese!

Image
                  For my first wine and cheese pairing, I paired a Robert Mondavi with a blueberry honey goat cheese. This wine is a Chardonnay with a vintage year of 2020, coming from California, has an ABV of 11%, and cost about $16. This wine is buttery and medium-bodied. This wine is low in tannins and has a more smokey aftertaste. The fruityness and sweetness of this wine toned down the smokiness of the wine.  For my second wine and cheese pairing, I paired Clean Slate with a Smoked Cheddar. Clean Slate is a Riesling coming from Mosel, Germany. This wine has a vintage year of 2020, an ABV of 13%, and cost about $13. This wine has flavors of peach, lime, and subtle mineral flavors as well. I aimed to pair this wine with a smoky cheddar that would pair interestingly with the sweet, fruity, and crisp wine. This was a great pairing and I enjoyed it a lot.  For my final wine and cheese pairing, I paired Cavicchioli U. & Figli wi...

wine dinner number two!

Image
For my second wine dinner, I tried a new variety of wines and foods.  wine pairing one:  For my fist pairing of the dinner, I paired Santa Julia Pinot Grigio with a classic caesar salad. The wine used in this pairing is a wine wine made from Pinot Grigio. The vintage year of this wine is 2021, it originates from the Mendoza region of Argentina, has an ABV of 13%, and cost around $11. I chose to pair this wine with a caesar salad topped with parmasean and a plant based caesar dressing.   I found this pairing to work very well together. This white wine delivered tropical flavors along with a slightly floral aroma. The fresh finish of the wine paired well with the freshness and creamyness of the salad.  wine pairing two:  For my second wine pairing of the dinner, I paired Basic Riesling with pasta primavera.  The wine used in this pairing is a riesling from Germany with a vintage year of 2018 and an ABV of 11% and cost about $14. The pasta paired with thi...

Tasting - Stella Rosa Red Apple

Image
Another wine I tried this week was Stella Rosa's Red Apple wine. This white wine comes from Italy and has a vintage year of 2020. This bottle cost about eleven dollars.  This wine was reviewed by Drizly -  "Try one of America’s most popular semi-sweet, semi-sparkling wines today! Born from the hillside vineyards of the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, Stella Rosa Red Apple is crafted in the small village of Santo Stefano Belbo. The Riboli Family has created this special blend of several aromatic Italian grape varietals including Moscato Canelli. Serve chilled by-the-glass, pour over ice, or mix with your favorite spirit for an all-natural, fruit-forward cocktail." (https://drizly.com/wine/champagne-sparkling-wine/other-sparkling-wine/stella-rosa-red-apple/p89504)  Stella Rosa's Red Apple wine is a light-bodied wine (Wine Folly 14). This wine is very sweet, with little to no taste of tannins (Wine Folly 17). This wine is pretty acidic as well (Wine Folly 21). In addi...

Tasting - Pacific Redwood

Image
                 This week, I tasted Pacific Redwood. This organic red table wine comes from the Pacific Redwood Valley in California. This bottle cost around twelve dollars with a vintage year of 2020.  This wine was reviewed on Drizly -  " This is a firm, tannic and flavorful wine, showing again that dense, red varietals tend to hold up better without added sulfites than others. Earthy, spicy, meaty aromas lead to ample black-cherry and cranberry flavors, while the tight tannins leave an astringent finish." (https://drizly.com/wine/red-wine/cabernet-sauvignon/pacific-redwood-organic-cabernet/p38626) Pacific Redwood is a medium-bodied wine (Wine Folly 14). It is a semi-dry wine that comes with a slight tannin taste (Wine Folly 17). This wine has a pretty low acidity level compared to other I have tried thus far (Wine Folly 21). In addition, this wine had an ABV of 12.7%, making it on the higher side (Wine Folly 22).  I was uns...

wine dinner number one!

Image
  wine pairing one:  For my first pairing of the dinner, I paired Soave Denominazione Di Origine Controllata with a charcuterie board. Specifically, I focused on the pairing of the wine with brie.  The wine used is a white wine made from Garganega grapes. The vintage year of this wine is 2020, it originates from Italy, has a ABV of 12%, and cost around $11. I chose to pair this wine with a baked brie drizzled with honey.  I found this pairing to work very well together. This white wine delivered tastes of green apple, pear, and a strong mineral flavor. This mineral flavor paired nicely with the brie by enhancing the flavors of each of them more.  wine pairing two:  For my second pairing of the dinner, I paired The Little Sheep of Napa Valley wine with a salad.  The wine used is a Chardonnay from California with a vintage year of 2018 and an ABV of 14.1%.  The salad I used to pair with this wine was made up of fresh romaine lettuce, chopped brussel...

Tasting - Baby Prosecco

Image
This week, I also tasted Baby Prosecco. This wine comes from the Northern region of Italy and cost around ten dollars. This sparking wine is composed of the Glera grape and this specific bottle's vintage year is 2020. Siema Wines offered a review of their wine -  "It's a semi-sparkling wine with a pale straw yellow color. Delicate bouquet with typical notes that remind of wild apple, honey and flowers. On the palate the taste is fruity, fresh and crisp with fine bubbles." (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/597bf334725e2562b8a03e3d/t/6092d978fa6855094c376298/1620236664764/BABY+Prosecco+Frizzante.pdf) Baby Prosecco is a medium-bodied sparkling wine (Wine Folly 14). It is also a semi-sweet wine that does come with a bit of a taste of tannin, which gives it a sweet yet somewhat bitter taste (Wine Folly 17). I do think that this wine is pretty acidic compared to past wines I have tasted (Wine Folly 21). In addition, this wine has an ABV of 11%, making it pretty averag...

Tasting - Bonarda

Image
This week, I tasted Colli Piacentini Doc Bonarda Amabile. This wine is made completley from Bonarda grapes and comes from the Trebbia Valley region of Italy. The vintage year of this wine is 2020. This bottle cost about twelve dollars.  Vinino reviewed this wine as being "A very good smooth sparkling that is bold as traditional Italian frizzante that is pleasant and easy to drink." (https://www.vivino.com/US-VA/en/bonelli-bonarda-frizzante-amabile/w/1782264?year=2019) Bonarda is a medium bodied wine (Wine Folly 14). I would describe this wine as being semi-sweet. It was not as sweet as a few other wines I have tried, but it was very close (Wine Folly 16). I could not taste tannin in this wine, so there was no real bitter taste to this one (Wine Folly 18). This wine had a medium acidity level as well (Wine Folly 21). The ABV of this wine is 9.5%, which is in the medium range for red wine (Wine Folly 22). This is my favorite wine that I have tried thus far. This is a semi-sweet...