Category: Team 3, Melissa

Wine Name: A Brooklyn’s Blend

Grape Varieties & Vineyards:

• 57% Cabernet Sauvignon (North Fork, Long Island)
• 29% Cabernet Franc (North Fork, Long Island)
• 15% Skin-Fermented Chardonnay (North Fork, Long Island)

Tasting Notes:
This light-medium-bodied red blend offers ripe black cherry and blackberry aromas, accompanied by subtle earthy undertones. On the palate, there’s slight acidity balanced by a hint of residual sugar, with a smooth finish and a touch of spice at the end. The skin-fermented Chardonnay adds a layer of complexity, making this wine both refreshing and layered.

Food Pairing Suggestion:
Its vibrant fruit flavors and balanced acidity make it a great match for dishes with poultry or grilled vegetables.

At the beginning of the blending session at Red Hook Winery, I went in with the expectation of creating a dry red wine to pair with my Braised Beef Jardinière and Duchess Potatoes. We started by tasting the base wines, which included three whites—Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and skin-fermented Chardonnay—and three reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.

Initially, I wanted to use all three red wines in my blend, as each had the qualities I was looking for. The Merlot was medium-bodied with a flavor that I tend to gravitate towards, the Cabernet Franc had the full body and tartness I wanted, and the Cabernet Sauvignon had the color, aroma, and some tartness I aimed for. By combining the Cabernet Franc with the Cabernet Sauvignon I believed that it would create the dryness and mouthfeel that would pair perfectly with my dish.

When we started blending, though, the process didn’t go as I expected. My first blend was 50% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Cabernet Franc, but I didn’t like it. The vegetal notes from the Cabernet Franc overpowered everything so, I removed the Cabernet Franc and increased the Cabernet Sauvignon to 50%. Unfortunately, this made it worse—the salinity increased, and the flavor reminded me of Lay’s chips.

For my third blend, I decreased the Merlot and made Cabernet Sauvignon the dominant grape. I replaced the Cabernet Franc with Sauvignon Blanc to maintain some dryness. This blend was the best of the three, but it still lacked complexity. Finally, I returned to my original idea of having Merlot as the dominant varietal. I made a blend with 55% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% skin-fermented Chardonnay instead of Sauvignon Blanc. That’s when I realized that the salinity was coming from the Merlot.

In my final blend, I used 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Cabernet Franc, and 15% skin-fermented Chardonnay. The taste was different than I expected, but the aroma was close to what I had envisioned. I wanted the classic black cherry and blackberry notes typical of Cabernet Sauvignon, and I think I achieved that. The taste had a light-medium body with slight acidity and residual sugars, which wasn’t what I had planned for my dish, but it turned out to be a wine I would enjoy drinking on its own.

In the end, my wine was identified as the second best of the red wines that were blended that day among my peers. Professor Goodlad had created an excellent red blend that I would pair my dish with instead of the blend that I had made, however, I enjoyed this experience even though my results differed from what I had expected. 

During our winery visit on Monday, we tasted various wines, including white, red, and orange wines, most of which were sampled straight from the barrel. Some of the white wines were aged in neutral barrels, yet they still had subtle hints of oak in both aroma and flavor. The last white wine we tried had very prominent oak notes, as it was still aging. The oak flavor overshadowed the other flavors, but the aging process would lessen the oak and allow the other flavors to shine through. All the white wines had a crisp tartness similar to green apples, likely due to their bright acidity. Additionally, we also tasted a couple of red wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Sauvignon had the aroma and flavors of dark fruits like black cherry. Alongside the Merlot within the wine, it reduced the acidity, making the wine lighter than the usual robustness of a cabernet sauvignon. The Cabernet Franc had vegetal notes in the aroma and flavor that reminded me of green peppers. 

The braised beef jardiniere and dutchess potatoes assigned to my team have prominent flavors of beef, vegetables, and herbs from the braised beef. In contrast, the duchess potatoes have prominent flavors of potatoes and butter. 

Taking this dish into consideration, I may blend cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc, with most of the blend being cabernet sauvignon. Making Cabernet Sauvignon the dominant grape in the blend will allow the wine to hold up well against the hearty meal while still providing a balanced structure. The green pepper and vegetal tones from the Cabernet Franc would provide a contrast to the dish, while the Merlot would lighten the acidity from the cabernet sauvignon.