Tasting - Beaujolais Rose

 

Name: Beaujolais Rose

Variety: Gamay

Region: Beaujolais

Country: France

Year: 2021

Price: $19.99

Winery review: "simple Beaujolais in name and in price, Dupeuble’s rosé (and red . . . and white, for that matter) should not be mistaken for a basic bottle of wine. Sure, it is supremely thirst-quenching, as any self-respecting rosé should be, and it is darn fun to drink—we are talking about Beaujolais, after all. But consider that the Gamay vines here are up to seventy years old, and they grow in an intricate mix of granite, clay, and sandy soils. The outcome is a wine of real substance, with an extra dimension of depth along with an array of delightful flavors and textures."

Wine Folly: According to page 113 of wine folly, it is stated that Gamay is a low sweetness and a medium-high acidity. The type of glass recommended is an "aroma collector", and it says that the wine should be decanted for about half an hour and served at around 55-60 degrees. It also states that outside of France, it has a small but very devoted following. Also, stating that the wine should have notes of violet, clay pottery, pomegranate, etc. 

My review: This wine was, for me, a step out of my comfort zone; I usually tend not to really like rose wines, and I feel that this followed that trend. Maybe I need to continue stepping out of my comfort zone and experimenting with wines more, as I feel that my opinion on the wine here quite influenced how much I could enjoy it. It felt more like a science experiment, looking for tastes. tasting this wine un-decanted was honestly not for me. Decanting this wine at least made it a little softer. This Wine made my mouth almost numb. Sadly I did not enjoy this wine very much. Maybe pairing it with food like a herby chicken may allow the other flavors to rise above the very chemical taste. But alas, I drank this wine on its own. 

Dinner - Simple meal

 

Welcome to my first wine dinner blog. The three wines acquired to accompany the 3-course meal were:

Course one: Charcuterie Board

Wine 1: Spanish Rioja

• Name: CVNE Rioja
• Variety: Tempranillo
• Region: La Rioja
• Country: Spain
• Vintage: 2019
• price: $14.35
• Label Description: CVNE is committed to respecting nature and the environment. This wine is produced from handpicked tempranillo grapes using organic farming practices

This wine was chosen for this first course as it is a semi-dry wine with medium-high acidity. This was important as it was paired with cheeses and meat. The acidity of the wine cuts through the fats of the cheese and meats.

Charcuterie board contents:

• Sliced homemade french baguette
• Cheese
• Cheddar (I haven't delved into the realm of cheese, so I started off with a simple cheese)
• Butterkase (A german cheese 
• Meat
• Uncured beef salami
• Proscuitto

Personal tasting notes

The wine in general: I chose to decant this, following the tips given in the wine folly textbook. Trying this wine before decanting, you get red berries like cherry. I didn't get a lot of the vanilla notes mentioned in the text until it was decanted, allowing you to really see through the initial acidity and access those softer undertones.

The wine with charcuterie: To be honest, I did not really enjoy the wine with the cheddar. It made everything taste sour and acidic. With the butterkase, as it is more of a fatty cheese, the wine became very smooth. It also made the cheese taste incredibly creamy

Second Course: Grilled chicken with garlic roasted potatoes

Wine 2: New Zealand Sauvignon blanc

• Name: Sea Pearl
• Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
• Region: Marlborough
• Country: New Zealand
• Vintage: 2022
• price: $13.45
• Label Description: This  Sauvignon Blanc is full of fresh aromas and flavors of citrus, passion fruit, and grassy notes. Its medium body and crisp acidity allow it to pair well with a variety of dishes, including summer salads, spicy Asian cuisine or grilled fish &seafood.

This wine was chosen for this course as the citrusy notes really emphasize the herbs in the potatoes and chicken. Though it is also extremely light so it doesn't overpower anything only adds to it

Main course contents:

• Roasted chicken
• Oregano 
• thyme
• salt
• pepper
• Maple garlic roasted potatoes
• Vanilla infused maple syrup
• oil
• oregano
• pepper 
• garlic

Personal tasting notes

The wine in general: This smelt great, tasting the wine on its own while I was cooking this meal got me extremely excited. On the nose, it really gave me the same vibes as my backyard, Fresh cut grass, as well as sour tropical fruits and berries, mostly lime and passionfruit (my favorite fruit by the way) . Drinking the wine it is very acidic, but not in a bad way. I find the wine extremely balanced and delicious, this wine may be a go to in the future for me. 

Wine with the meal: Immediately drinking this wine with the food, it is almost magical to me, i don't know how else to explain that. The acidity and fruitiness of the wine really dances with the herbal nature of the actual dish, making the wine a lot more mellow, and brings all of the passionfruit. It also makes the chicken taste delightful. 

Third course: New York style cheesecake

  Wine 3: tawny port

• Name: Maynards Aged Tawny porto
• Variety: Touriga Franca
• Region: Oporto
• Country: Portugal
• Vintage: 20 year old
• price: $33.25
• Label Description: Honouring the ehistory of Walter Maynard, this fine aged tawny shows deep amber hues in the glass. Enjoy its silken texture and long, rich nut-laden finish lightly-chilled as a pre-dinner drink or indulge in a glass when the occasion warrants.

Personal tasting notes

The wine in general:  Main notes of this wine was raisin, and a bit of vanilla on the nose. The taste is more reminiscent of ripe apricots and raisins, I don't get much vanilla or caramel on the taste.

Wine with the meal: When drinking this wine with the cheesecake, it almost tasted like a completely different wine. The caramel and vanilla are really accentuated by the soft cream cheese from the cake. The wine becomes this super wide open palette to allow for the food to dictate where it goes, though it is not entirely submissive.

Me and the winner of tonight's tasting!

Thank you for reading!

Tasting - Inniskillin Icewine Vidal

Name: Inniskillin Icewine Vidal

Variety: Vidal blanc

Region: Niagra Peninsula

Country: Canada

Year: 2019

Price: $62.89

Winery review: Inniskillin Icewine, Recognized as one of the world's great wines, is truly winter's gift to wine lovers. Harvested at the pinnacle of Canada's crisp winter, the grapes are naturally frozen on the vine. Only a few drops of luscious nectar can be squeezed from each bunch, which is then expertly guided through fermentation to achieve this rich and alluring specialty wine known as Icewine,

Wine Folly: Page 121 Ice Wine - I do still get the Apricot and pineapple. The wine is very sweet and quite acidic. This wine is very different from the previous ice wine I reviewed as it is made from a different grape that is found over here in the Americas. 

My review: As mentioned before, this is a similar wine to the one reviewed previously on my blog. Though it is also an ice wine, it is made from vidal blanc grapes. I feel that this wine leans more into the sweeter side compared to a riesling ice wine, which is something that I quite enjoy. In this wine, I get a lot more of the peach as well as a sweet tangerine flavor. There is just so much character to this wine, making it extremely versatile, whether I drink it on its own as a perfectly good dessert
, or with rich pairings. Though this wine is quite a bit more expensive than other wines in its category for me, I would go for this over the other options. 

Picture of me as requested :)