Wine & Dinner

For this dinner time I have chosen one meal and two sides. Mac & Cheese, A chicken salad and an alfredo pasta. The chosen wines were a Red Blend, Riesling and a Pinot Noir.

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Name - KungFu Girl

Variety -  Riesling

Region - Washington

Country - USA

Year - 2022

Price - $13.99

Wine Critics - "White stone fruit, white peach, apricot, cool and delicious. Think Fuji apple, Shiro plum, lime leaves. Focused with a very long, minerally finish." - Vivino Website

Food Critic - The food itself was simple and it was pretty tasty. It had a good amount of spicy. While the same spices are used to marinate the chicken as are used in the breading of the spicy chicken sandwich, without the buffering of the breading, it’s much stronger. I like it, but I also like it with the creamy salsa dressing. The vinaigrette is too acidic on top of spice for me. - 8/10 Rating

Wine Critic - On the nose, I got hints of pear and green apples. Upon tasting, the acidity of the wine powered the fruity aroma that I initially got. It think it would've tasted better if it was chilled. - 7/10 Rating

Pairing Critic - This was a nice pairing. The acidity of the wine and the salad combined to make a much more fruity flavor for the salad. The bits of chicken was a nice touch and masked the taste of acidity of the wine  - 7/10 Rating

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Name - Dark Horse

Variety -  Riesling

Region - Washington

Country - USA

Year - 2022

Price - $13.99

Wine Critics - "The Dark Horse Red Blend brims with bold, juicy notes of red cherry and raspberry underscored by toasted oak and mocha. Aromas of black tea rise from the glass, leading to rich layers of cassis on the finish." - Vivino Website

Food Critic - The mac and cheese was okay, since it was store bought It did not taste as good as you would expect. It was creamy, it was cheesy, nothing special but still decent - 7/10 Rating

Wine Critic - It was a bit oaky and the smell was pungent, I think I got hints of Blackberry? Im not sure but a dark fruit. On the palatte it had a short finish but did not have much notes of the fruits. It think it would've tasted better if it was chilled. - 6/10 Rating

Pairing Critic - This was a nice pairing. The acidity of the wine and the mac and cheese combined to bring out a slight taste of fruits for the wine. The cheese was much more flavorful and masked the taste of acidity and oaky ness of the wine of the wine  - 7/10 Rating

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Name - La Crema

Variety -  Pinot Noir

Region - Sonoma Coast

Country - USA

Year - 2022

Price - $23.99

Wine Critics - "Aromas of red cherry, raspberry, pomegranate and sweet tobacco. Multi-layered flavors of red, blue and black berry fruit, plums, cherries and a hint of blood orange underpin subtle layers of exotic spice and toast. Fine tannins and balanced acidity drive a long finish.." - Vivino Website

Food Critic - The alfredo was homemade. It had good enough of cheese and it was creamy. I felt like it might have needed more flavor or  saltiness but I could not complain.- 8/10 Rating

Wine Critic - On the nose it smelt a lot like raspberries but it was not overwhelming. On the palate it had a lot of berries and it coated my tongue in a nice velvet. It almost made me feel a bit warmer than normal - 8/10 Rating

Pairing Critic - I really liked this pairing alot. The acidity of the wine and the pasta combined to bring out the sweetness of the wine and the cheesiness of the pasta. The pasta overpowered the pasta but not too much. It made the experience much better than anticipated  - 9/10 Rating

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Final Thoughts

My ranking for this dinners wine was; Riesling, Pinot Noir and Red Blend. I felt that the Riesling was the most refreshing while the Pinot was nice for the longer finish.

  

Winery Tour - District Winery

Metro Ride

So for this winery visit I went to the District Winery in DC. It was the nearest winery closest to me and the easiest to go to. First things first, I had to catch the red like and transfer to the green line. It was a little chilly out but the day was still beautiful. There was a lot of people going into DC so it was busy. I got off the Navy-Ballpark metro stop and walked around 10 minutes to get to the winery. 

Lobby & Tasting Bar

I signed in and was told to wait in a really nice lobby. The building was section off by restaurant, the actual winery and the tasting bar which was in the front. The funny thing is that I did not get ID'd which was hilarious to me. It seemed like I was the only one for the 12:30 winery tour but a group of three you late 20s adults joined me for this visit. We walked to the winery entrance and the tour began. Our guide began by telling us about a portion of the winery, that was closed, and how the grapes are dropped onto a conveyor belt for the workers to hand pick any stems or sediment. Then the grapes are sent to this shaky thing (I forgot the name) to finish the job. We could not get into the drop due to the fact that the grapes are already being fermented and would not open that part of the winery until July-august. We were then lead into the room where the wines are stored into barrels and where the wines are placed in the large metal containers.

White wine Containers

Red Wine Containers

The guide told us that the difference between both of the containers are the size and the type of wine they put in each. The smaller container shown at the top are for white wines with the bigger containers are for the red wines. Currently they are not using the red wine containers since they recently have already barreled the wines while the white wines were still in the metal container. You can tell by the way the bottom of the container is condensed and dripping. 

Tour Tasting in the Barrel Room

Wine Notes, Dont mind my handwriting

Our next part of the wine tour is tasting five (+one bonus wine) wines that they produce at this site. They have a variety of wines from Blanc de Blanc to Cabernet Sauvignon. Here are the tasting notes:

2017 BLANC DE BLANCS 

Their notes: apple, pear, brioche, minerality.

My Notes: crisp apples, short finish

2021 ALBARIÑO 

Their notes: nectarine, salty, rich texture.

My notes: long finish, cheese, vanilla, orange

2021 ROSÉ

Their notes: guava, watermelon, subtle texture.

My notes: floral, some sort of summer fruit

2018 BARBERA

Their notes: pomegranate, orange peel, rosemary, mince pie

My notes: cherries, pomegranate, vanilla

2016 CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Their notes: bold, luscious fruit, supple tannins.

My notes: high tannins, puckery

2018 CABERNET FRANC 

Their notes: cranberry reduction, chocolate, herbal.

My notes: chocolate, Smokey, floral smell but punchy taste

Barrel Storage

They had us trying a lot of their wines and surprisingly I liked it a lot. Maybe I was wasted by the end of it but They were nice. At the end of the tour they allowed to see the barrels up close. A lot of the barrels were from 2017, I could not see if there was any older barrels. They have said that even though they are not vineyard, they still get their grapes from all over the US, mostly from California, Sonoma Valley or from up north, Finger lakes.

Comparing Merlot from California (Left) and Virginia (Right)

After the tour was over, they allowed us to try samples at the tasting bar. I tried the their orange wine, their fortified desert wine and the merlots. The difference between the both is the Californian Merlot was more fruitier than the Virginia Merlot, it was much more earthy than what you would expect but it had a significantly longer finish than the Californian Merlot. As you can tell, I cannot pass up "free" alcohol and was having so much fun. Since I was by myself and the other group of three knew little or nothing about wine, they let me join up with them and chat for a bit. I was able to tell them the bits I know about wine and told them I was taking this course for the fun of it. It was definitely an experience I never thought I would have by myself but It was fulfilling to know I had a blast with Randoms. After this, I drunk called my friends and told them they should come with to the same winery during the summer months (LOL). 

Ratatouille Moment Part 2 - Wine & Cheese

Again, This is my moment to recreating that one scene from ratatouille, the combination of cheese and flavors. For this wine and cheese pairing, I choose three cheeses; Pepper Jack, Gouda and Sharp Cheddar and three wines; Pinot Noir, Merlot and Moscato. 

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Cheeses

This is a quick rundown on the cheese by itself. Since there were several types of cheeses, I narrowed down each cheese critique with the most amount of flavor:

Pepper Jack: Spicy, earthy. Its my favorite cheese so I will find it the best flavor out of all of them.

Gouda: The taste was Smokey but it was creamy. The transition from smooth to bitter was evident.

Sharp Cheddar: Bitter, but the cheese was very creamy. The bitter was tolerable nothing like other cheeses, it was also slightly our. 

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Pinot Noir

Name:  Smoking Loon

Variety: Pinot Noir

Critic: The aroma was fruity with tune of oak. It had hints of cherries and smelled strongly of strawberries. It had a nice spicy finish. 

Pepper Jack: Since the pinot was just a tad bit spicy, the creaminess of the cheese subdued it and the cherries were a very nice touch. 

Gouda: The gouda was nice and flavorful. It was able to mask the taste of spice and the cherries were the most noticable.

Sharp Cheddar: The cheddar was bitter but with the wine it made it much more sweeter. It tasted even more tolerable compared to when it is by itself.

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Merlot

Name:  Blackstone

Variety: Merlot

Critic: Layers of spice with hints of blackberry. It had a medium body, but a short spicy finish. I also got hints of BBQ.

Pepper Jack: It made the cheese much more spicy than needed. I was slightly worried having a spice wine and a spicy cheese combined together. The taste of fruits were not as strong as the spice.

Gouda: The gouda went really well with the wine. It hint the spiciness of the wine and left the blackberry and smokiness of it.

Sharp Cheddar: The bitterness of the cheese balanced with the spice of the wine. It did not get enough fruits though and I got more of a cheesy feel.

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Moscato

Name:  Shutter Home

Variety: Moscato

Critic: For aromas, pear and green apple with a firm and crisp taste. Had a crisp sweetness which made this wine the easiest to digest. It did not linger much though.

Pepper Jack: The complete taste of spice and habanero was gone. I tasted the wine more than the cheese. The flavor and the crispiness of the wine was more pronounced than I anticipated.

Gouda: This was a nice pairing. The smokiness  and the bitterness of the gouda did not last long made the cheese taste more sweet.

Sharp Cheddar: Since the Moscato was very sweet, the bitterness of the wine was not prevalent. It made it silky and taste even more like cheese.

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I think the Merlot had the most variation of taste between the cheese and the wine. While the Moscato was able to mask the bitterness of each cheese. My favorite pairing from all of them was surprisingly the Sharp Cheddar and the Moscato. The Pinot Noir pairing were not bad, they were a better pairing than the Merlot. 

Week 13 - Apothic Red

 

For this weeks selection, I chose an Aphotic Red that my older brother has tried to convince me to try, I had it before but I was not too convinced and tried to give it a try with a new perspective from being in this class.

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Name - Apothic Red Winemaker's Blend

Variety - Red blend, Syrah/ Merlot/ Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel

Region - California

Country - USA

Year - 2018

Price - $12.99

Wine Critics - "Apothic Red is a rich Zinfandel-led Red blend with red silky, smooth layers of black cherry, boysenberry and black pepper. Syrah and Merlot add intriguing notes of ripe blueberry and boysenberry, while a mix of other red varieties add dimension and depth with hints of spice." - Apothic Website

Wine Folly - https://winefolly.com/lifestyle/family-gallo-wine-brands/ I used the section that talked about Gallo wines. Although this did not help give the wine a rating, it gave an insight on how wines from this company are not valued as much to wine enthusiasts but are a good beginner wines. On the hand from reading this article, I found that the wine did not last long, I wonder if the cheapness of the wine had anything to do with the quality of it. 

My Critic - I thought that this wine was decent. The most appealing of this wine was the label. When the wine was poured and swirling, there were alluring aromas of vanilla and blackberry, it almost seemed tangy. Upon tasting it, it tasted like dark chocolate with hints of some sort red berry. It was slightly spicy but nothing like some previous "spice-y" wines. I definitely liked it better than the first time I had tried it. 

Week 13 - Piazzo Moscato D'Asto

 

For this weeks wine tasting, I picked a sparkling white wine from my parents chilled wine fridge.

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Name - Piazzo Moscato D'Asto

Variety - Moscato

Region - Italy

Country - Italy

Year - 2019

Price - $20.99

Wine Critics - "Straw yellow with golden reflections frequent, brought to life by a subtle liveliness which intensifies the fragrance. The aroma is fruity and aromatic, with notes of grape origin, rose petals, yellow peach, honey and lime blossom." - Vivino Website

Wine Folly - https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/the-magic-of-moscato-dasti/ I used an article from wine folly that talked or describe the beauty of Moscato D'Asti. The section wrote about how flavors such as citrus and pears were prevalent. That is true with this wine as it tasted a lot like pears. It also called for the drink to be served chilled which It was.

My Critic - I really liked this wine. Like any other Moscato D'Asti, it had a soft fizz with some pear notes. Its a type of wine that would be really good during the spring or the summer. Since it was chilled, It tasted even better and seemed far more refreshing compared to if it was warm. When the cap was opened, the bottle had a nice sweet aroma of citrus. On first taste, it had notes of pear and vanilla throughout, and there was a soft fizzy finish. I would have this again and would recommend it to anyone that likes a lighter wine. 

Week 12 - San Antonio Cardinale

For this weeks wine tasting, I chose another bottle of wine from their selection of chilled wines.

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Name - San Antonio Cardinale

Variety - Cardinal, Variteal

Region - Central California

Country - USA

Year - 2018

Price - $8.99

Wine Critics - "Bursting with rich grape flavor, Cardinale is a refreshing dark red wine perfect for barbecues, dinner parties, or a quiet night in. If you're looking for a fun, sweet red wine, Cardinale is an ideal choice. Serve slightly chilled." - San Antonio Website

Wine Folly - https://winefolly.com/tips/getting-started-with-food-and-wine-pairing/ Used the pairing section of the website I had a last dinner when one of these day and I decided it was a nice time to try this new wine. I had a andouille sausage and a baked potato. The website suggested to pairing two distinct flavors to balance the pair. The slight spiciness and the highly dense carbohydrates of the potato faired nicely to the wine. 

My Critic - I really liked this wine, the wine was served chilled. The first few hints of the aroma were mostly cherry and strawberry. Upon smiling the smelled just a tad bit stronger. The taste alone was very nice. It tasted more like cherries rather than strawberries. Once it was paired with the dinner, it had tasted completely like cherries and nothing else. It was a longer finish than other cheap wines and left a slight dryness at the end. I would personally try this again. I think it was very good chilled and would recommended this wine to other beginning wine connoisseurs, 

Week 12 - Stella Rosa Red

For this weeks wine tasting, I chose another bottle of wine from their selection of chilled wines.

Name - Stella Rosa Red

Variety - Varietal

Region - Italy

Country - Italy

Year - 2022

Price - $12.99

Wine Critics - "This wine is more on the sweet side but it's so good! I'm a light weight and don't really like to drink but when I got introduced to this wine, I could actually drink it without feeling overwhelmed and just leaving it. Its my to go to now. It's so good and not so strong that you can drink it easy." - Some random reviewer  on Goody Goody

Wine Folly - https://winefolly.com/wine-regions/italy/ Used the Italy section of the website to get an sense of the region of the wine. Warm days and cool nights in Piemonte create a high range which is the key to high acidity and delicate, floral aromas in the wine. When I did smell the wine, I did smell more pungent that other cheaper wines.

My Critic - I think it was a decent wine. The smell was mostly of a strong strawberry and slightly sweet. When the sniff and swirl were done the smell seemed to be stronger than before. The wine states of a soda, it was more on the carbonated side. This wine would be good for a quick, "I'll just get this wine because of the design of the label and the taste is good too." Personally not a big fan of soda-sparkling wines but I would recommend it for someone who likes sweeter, carbonated wines.

Week 11 - Barefoot

For this week, I had a little wine night with a a couple of friends. This blog will talk about Barefoot Rose.

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Name - Barefoot

Variety - Rose

Region - California

Country - USA

Year - 2023

Price - $6.99 (Deal)

Wine Critics - "A love letter to an oh-so-refreshing, classic favorite, our rosé is a sweet blend of juicy cherries and cool watermelon for a smooth finish. Finished with zesty lime and a touch of fizz, our rosé is the perfect pairing for savory quiches, strawberry cobblers and the very best of brunches." -  Winemaker's notes

Wine Folly - https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/complete-wine-color-chart/ Used the Wine Color section of the website to get an insight on colors of Rose. The colors of Rose typically range from Deep Copper to a Deep Pink. The color of the wine gave a pale salmon color.

My Critic - When the bottle was opened and the wine was poured and swirled, it gave whiffs of strawberry but it was very faint. It still smelled sweet. The taste of it was also sweet but just a medium amount of acidity. It was one of my favorites of all of the wines my friends and I bought. It only left a small finish. This is good if you just want a table wine that is not going to break the bank.

Week 11 - Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc

 

For this week, I had a little wine night with a a couple of friends. This blog will talk about Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc.

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Name - Barefoot

Variety - Sauvignon Blanc

Region - California

Country - USA

Year - 2023

Price - $6.99 (Deal)

Wine Critics - "The wine is full of the flavors of ripe summer fruit. Sweet notes of honeydew melon, juicy nectarine and white pear. It's bursting with flavors like honeydew melon, nectarine and peach. Pear and lime notes meld into a soft finish." - Vivino Website

Wine Folly - https://winefolly.com/grapes/sauvignon-blanc/ Used the Sauvignon Blanc section of the website to get an insight on flavors. The Sauvignon did have the scent of green apples and a citrusy aroma but it was very faint. The taste of wine was slightly acidic upon tasting but nothing compared to other ones of the same variety.

My Critic - This is a good wine if you want to cheap wine. It is a typical wine you would get for a group gathering. It tasted slightly like a lemon and left a slight tartness in the mouth. It did not last long though, It was disappointing for its short finish. For the price, I would get it again but would not prefer it against other flavorful Blancs.

Week 10 - Root:1

  

For this weeks wine tasting, I tried the most artistic bottle from my parents wine shelf.

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Name - Root:1 Carmenere

Variety - Carmenere

Region - Colchagua Valley

Country - Chile

Year - 2022

Price - $14.99

Wine Critics - "Carmenere is a deep red color with gentle tannins and rich flavors of plum, blackberry and spice." - Vivino Website

Wine Folly - https://winefolly.com/grapes/carmenere/ I used the Carmenere section of the Wine Folly Website. One of its primary flavors is Paprika and Bell Pepper, which is incredibly interesting to me because before searching up the wine, I definitely tasted and and smelled the spice. 

My Critic - Upon smelling, it gave a strong whiffs of a spicy or smokey substance and finally ended with a raspberry smell. The spiciness of it overpowered the smell of fruits. After the whiffs and the swirls, it was more acidic than anticipated. It tasted even more like peppers than it smelled and ended with a cherry flavor. It left an extremely short metallic finish. It almost tasted like blood? It was very confusing, I was not the biggest fan of it, maybe if it was chilled I would enjoy it better but it was still a very different taste than other wines that I've had.

Week 10 - Black Ankle

 

For this weeks wine tasting, I tried the most expensive bottle from my parents wine shelf.

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Name - Black Ankle Passeggiata

Variety - Red Blend, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon

Region - Fredrick, Maryland

Country - U.S.A

Year - 2020

Price - $44.99

Wine Critics - "Our lightest style red that may or may not be entirely all red. I don’t know what this wine is made up of, but does seem to be a tiny bit “bigger” than previous iterations and is definitely a bit more fruity with lots of cherry-berry-plum going on.  I think this is the best Passeggiata in recent memory. More fruity but has plenty of oomph along with it." - Black Ankle Website

Wine Folly - https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/complete-wine-color-chart/ I used the color chart section of the website to get an insight on the color of wine. The wine had a medium ruby color. Since this has been in our possession since 2021, the color might've been a darker, richer color.

My Critic - I had this wine without food and without decanting. Upon smelling, it gave a strawberry and cranberry as its primary fruits. It also gave an earthy scent but it was not too strong. The wine was surprisingly smooth with a moderate amount of tannins and it was slightly tight as well. It had a long finish but I would try this again especially with a meal that is light and bitter as well.