Our main goal, while preparing our wine was to achieve a well- balanced, medium to high acidic level. Our entrée we selected, that we served to pair with the wine we created was a perfect choice for the baked fish filet made with mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Having a background primarily in food and beverage, our team developed a wine analysis of the wine varietals that we were going to blend. It was imperative for our team to understand the wines’ varietals, taste, aroma, and color. Red Hook Winery is known for its great single varietal wines. Chris mentioned that the wine he produces tastes great on its own but he would love to see the different blends the teams could come up with. The two wines we were given to blend was a 100% Chardonnay and a blend of 35% Chardonnay and 65% Sauvignon Blanc.
During the blending process the first step we took in order to create a well-balanced wine was to use a 50/50 ratio of the wines in order to have a baseline to work from. This first blend created a wine that we felt was dull and sweet and would not pair with our dish. The second wine blend had a ratio of 80% wine number one and 20% of wine number two. The wine was grassy, floral and appealing. However, we felt the wine was dirty and lacked balance. The third wine blend was 95% wine number one and 5% wine number two. It was dry and had a long finish. By using this ratio, the wine became very unbalanced and produced off aromas and flavors. Our final blend produced a crisp and well-balanced wine. We used 70% wine number one and 30% wine number two. This wine was intense, rich and had flavors of gooseberries, peach, grapefruit and had a tart short finish. The wine also gave off aromas of peach, white flowers and gooseberries. This was the wine that our team chose to submit for the blind tasting.
