Wine Tasting - Insomnia Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Info

Name - Insomnia

Variety - Cabernet Sauvignon

Region - Califorina

Country - USA

Year - 2011

Price - $8

Most of these cheaper wines are difficult to find credible reviews online.  All I could find was this weird quote from the producer, "Don’t envy those to whom sleep comes easily. They have never experienced the utter stillness of the night, where the edges blur around reality. Colors are brighter; sounds, sharper. The deep night is the hardest time to be alone – but you will know your soul in solitude as you cross that invisible line into the alternate reality of darkness. Join us."  Pretty weird.

I guess I am on my own here on exploring the flavors of this wine.  It is a sweeter red with a spicy taste of cloves on the back end. I ate it with D.P. Doughs which had sausage in it.  I thought they paired well together.  The sausage really brought the spiciness out of the wine.  It was a dryer wine, the tannin's were very heavy.   

Wine Tasting - BELMONDO Pinot Noir

Wine Info

Name - BELMONDO

Variety - Pinot Noir

Region - Pavia

Country - Italy

Year - 2011

Price - $11

Wine Review: "Dark garnet color. Slightly earthy aromas of raspberry yogurt, overripe blueberries, and dried cherries and flowers with a supple, dry-yet-fruity medium body and a tart dried orange, nutskin, and earth driven finish with crunchy tannins. A solid table pinot to serve with game poultry. 85. Tasted on Nov-12-2013. (www.Tastings.com)

That review was pretty extensive, I won't even begin to try and sound like I have the ability to find these different flavors.  I almost find this review laughable, either because it is or I am just not on this reviewers level.  At any rate, here are some of the things I picked up on.  It was more sour with the initial taste with a more tart aftertaste.  I agree that it was fairly dry.  I thought it had a very smooth watery body and a spicy black pepper bite left at the tail end.

Not sure what these wines I have tried would pair with, but I feel you can't go wrong with nice juicy steak.

I am determined to be able to state what I find  in these wines with confidence.  Just gotta keep on tastin'!

Wine Tasting - PineCroft Merlot

Wine Info:

•  Name-PineCroft
• Variety-Merlot
• Region-Livermore & Ripon, California 
• Country-USA
• Year- N/A
• Price- 4$

I could not find much for reviews on this one.  There were random years with low stars online but nothing of a description, but I'm assuming because of the low cost that it isn't the greatest of Merlot's coming out of California.  Only the label it reads "Soft supple flavors of generous red berries abound in this silky wine."

My inexperienced tastebuds picked up on the red berries and the body was silky, so I agree with the description.  I also got some cherry with a dry finish. I truly tried to find other flavors, but I need more practice.  On to the next one.

My Experience with Wine thus far!

Most of my current knowledge of wine came from two different summers since I have been in college.  One summer I learned out of necessity for my job and the other summer I learned for fun.  Both were wonderful starts to my running wine knowledge and I look forward to building on top of that.

The first summer between my Sophomore and Junior year, I was a server at a somewhat high end restaurant in Virginia Beach right on the ocean front.  One of the requirements of servers was to be able to present and open a bottle of wine for a table.  First, to show the bottle to the person who bought it and ensure it was the right wine, then to open it and give a taste to the lady.  We had quite an extensive wine list but unfortunately the restaurant failed to keep it updated, so we would just stick to the most popular.  Working there, I learned about four or five different red varietal wines and four or five different white varietal wines.  Unfortunately, most of my knowledge about what paired well with what is long forgotten.

I started to really appreciate wine over this past summer in Northern Virginia.  I was lucky enough for my brother to offer me a place to stay so I could do a summer internship in Fairfax.  Living with my brother was great for a multitude of reasons, but specially having him as a drinking buddy.  I have always looked up to him and valued his opinion on most everything.  So because he like Cabernet Sauvignon I became a Cabernet Sauvignon drinker.  My brother and his Girlfriend also introduced me to wineries and the tastings that went along with them.  I had a hard time understanding the language they used and frankly I couldn't help but laugh to myself at how they described the wines and what they entailed.  I stuck with "this tastes like wine, so does this! And this one!"  I also learned that you can spend a lot of money at wineries...

What I hope to learn in this class is basically everything that stood out to John Boyer on the first day of class when we gave him feedback.  I think the lectures will be great, but like he said, it is just going to come down to getting out to the tastings and drinking some different wines.