Wine and Beverage Management

We’re finally in the United States to study wines outside of California. I didn’t know that all 50 states makes wine nor did I know that we are ranked 4th among the big boys for most wines. One thing I don’t like is that United States are  little too lenient on their labeling. They can put anything, such as “reserve” and it doesn’t have to mean anything. Also I wish they would also use AVA in their labeling to show that they’ve done all the trouble to get a special area to grow grapes.

Region: Finger Lakes, New York

Producer: Harvey Estates   Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Riesling

The color on this wine was pale yellow with hints of green and no viscosity. I smelled pears but others added oranges, orchids and clean. Once tasting it, I knew I found another wine that I would buy. It had low acidity, which reading from the wine label it had low percentage of alcohol. It also tasted like peaches and had residual sugar. This could be a good starter wine for. It can be paired with a creamy cheesy seafood casserole. I could introduce this to my little sister.

Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon AVA

Name: The Four Graces    Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Pinot Gris

My first Pinot Gris. Not bad it was okay. The color of this wine was very transparent with low viscosity. The smell was very much like apples but others added white peach, Asian pears and keylime. The taste was much like apple juice that just about turned and tart. This can be paired with oysters or Chilean sea bass.

Region: Columbia Valley, Washington State AVA

Producer: Eve     Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

The color of this wine was yellow, hay-like and daybright. I immediately smelled apricots with very subtle vanilla due to the oak. This wine was full-bodied, apple juice that has turned a week ago and pears. Interesting taste. This can be paired with chicken with cream sauce or pasta alfredo. I’ll take wine with the foods.

Name: Indian Wells

Producer: Chateau St. Michelle    Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine was purple maybe dark cherries. It smelled of oak, dry cherries, pomegranate, black peppers, rosemary, thyme and hints of caramel. Interesting combination. This wine was very full-bodied, very dry. It also has some spice, green peppers, pomegranate, oak and sour plum. I didn’t like this wine much. It was pretty sour but it can be paired with a pepper steak.

Region: Virginia    Vintage: 2008

Name: Lord Boretourt Red  Williamsburg Winery

Grape Variety: Cabernet Franc

This wine was intense and had the color of eggplant with medium viscosity. The smell to me had green peppers, oak, pomegranate and dry cherries. It tasted like spice, maybe black pepper and green peppers. I can be paired with a hamburg with gruyere cheese with shake shack sauce, lettuce and red pepper. This wine was okay but not my favorite.

We have finally reached the mecca of American wines, California.

Name: Julian of the Seasons

Region: Sanoma County   Vintage: 2009

Grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc

The color of this wine was yellow-hay with hints of green and pale. The smell of this wine was mouthwatering. It had green apples, unripe peaches, grapefruit, rosemary and thyme. The taste, though was pretty tart but I was able to get grapefruit on the palette. This can be paired with roasted potatoes, lemon chicken.

Producer: Kenwood     Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

This wine was also pale and yellow-hay. To the nose, there was some apricots, pears, hay and oak. From tasting it, I noticed there was some vanilla from the oak, pears and pretty acidic.

Name: Mac Murray

Region: Sanoma Coast

Grape Variety: Pinot Noir

The color of this wine was brick red, black cherry and intense. The smell was much like black cherries, oak and dried prunes. The taste was also black cherries and vanilla from the oak. This can be paired with pasta with cream sauce and a lot of garlic. The wine sounds good with the meal.

Producer: Carina Cellar    Vintage: 2007

Region: Central Coast AVA

Name: Sibylline

Grape Variety: Rhone Varietals: 55% Marvedre, 33% Grenache, 12% Syrah

The color of this wine was brick red, black cherry and intense. The smell was musky, herb-like and peppery. The taste was more like cranberries, black pepper, star anise. It can be paired with steak with steam broccoli.

Region: Lodi    Vintage: 2009

Name: Klinker Brick Winery   Zinfandel Oldvine

This wine was the color of magenta or purple red. It smelled like raisins, blackberries and oak. From the second taste, I got grape jam, vanilla, plums, ripe blackberries and blueberries. This wine was not bad.

Region: Napa Valley

Name: Slingshot    Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

The color of this wine was purple red. The only smell I got for this wine was green peppers. When tasting it, I got blackberries, unripe cherries and very dry. almost cotton like. This can be paired with venison.

So far, I haven’t found a wine that made me feel like the shiraz from Australia. But fortunately, California make a lot of wine and I am sure I will find one that I will like.

Country: South Africa    Vintage: 2010

Producer: Savanha

Grape Variety: Chenin Blanc

The color of this wine was light and transparent. It was thin, light yellow and haylike. The smell was apples, peaches and pineapple. I couldn’t get any type of notes for this wine but maybe apples as an after taste. This can be paired with shrimp.

Country: New Zealand        Vintage: 2010

Region: Marlborough

Grape Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

The color of this wine was pale yellow with hints of green. I really liked the smell of this wine. It was pineapple and grapefruit. I thought it would be pretty fruity but instead it tasted sour with high acidity but I did taste the grapefruit and pineapple. This can be paired with steam tilapia with spicy vegetable sauce. Didn’t really like it.

Name: Tohu     Vintage: 2008

Region: Marlborough

Grape Variety: Pinot Noir

The color of this wine was cherry red and pretty translucent. It smelled like vanilla, almonds and black pepper. This had high acidity, oak and pomegranate. This wine wasn’t bad.

Country: Australia

Region: South Australia     Vintage: 2010

Name: Unwooded Yalumba

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

The color of this wine was pale yellow with hints of green. The smell was lemon lime with green apples. The taste was really tart and green apples. It can be paired with grilled chicken. It was okay.

Region: Barossa Valley    Vintage

Name: Earth Works

Grape Variety: Shiraz

Finally all these weeks of tasting wine and I finally find something that I really really like. How exciting. I would definitely buy this wine. The color was purple red and opaque. The smell was dry prunes, raisins, tobacco, anise, cinnamon, it was intense and full bodied. The taste was more like cherries, anise, black peppers and cinnamon. So good. This can be paired with steak, stew, pasta with spicy red sauce. Australian shiraz is good.

My wine destinations so far has been an interesting experience. I really like how this class is not focused on local wines from the U.S. We are taking into consideration that other countries are taking the initiative to dive into this industry and succeed in it.

Country: Argentina      Region: Salta

Grape Variety: Torrontes     Vintage: 2011

Name: Finca el Origen

The color of this wine is pale yellow with hints of green, an indication of a young wine. Has low viscocity. It smelled like pears, mango (something new for me), passion fruit and cucumber. Fresh and clean are words that were thrown to finish off the smell portion. For me, it tasted very tart and bitter. I definitely tasted green apples and lemon zest, very different from what was said for the smells. I didn’t really like it because it was bitter to the taste.

Region: Mendoza      Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Malbec

Something that I thought was cool about this wine is the color for a young young. So far the young wines had tinge of orange or brick red. The color for this wine was opaque, deep red to eggplant color. The smell was dry currents, black cherry and black cherries. Upon tasting it, I immediately thought of peppers and it dry. It also had dry cherries and high acidity. This can be paired with a barbecue steak. I’ll take that!

Country: Chile    Vintage: 2010

Region Rapel Valley     Grape Variety: Carmener

Name: Santa Caroline Riserva

The color for this wine was dark purple with low viscosity. It smelled like plums, annise (yuck!), dry roses and bay leaf. From the taste I got plums and black pepper. Surprisingly this wine wasn’t bad even though it had the smell of anise. This can be paired with grilled chicken with barbecue sauce, empanada (yum!) or venison. I’ll definitely take that.

Name: Faustino V Riserva        Vintage: 2005

Country: Spain         Region: Rioja

Grape Variety: Tempranillo

Spain is considered an old world country where it focuses on their laws and keeping with those standards. The color of this wine was opaque and brick red with medium viscosity. The smell was plum, oak, cherries and pomegranate. So far smells good. The taste was more like sour plums, sour cherries and oak. This wine was okay. It can be paired with steak with a dark sauce or paella.

Country: Portugal

Name: Periquita Riserva       Vintage: 2010

The color of this wine was garnet. This is the first wine that I have come across so far that has almonds. It also smelled like vanilla, rosemary and green peppers. The taste was definitely oak and cranberries. This can be paired with spaghetti and meatballs or maybe a beef stew.

Country: Brazil     Vintage: 2010

Name: Aurora Brazilian Soul

Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

The color of this wine was brick red and rust. The smell was roasted chestnuts which I thought was pretty cool. The taste was very thin tart. Professor Goodlad said that this would be a good summer wine.

Latin America has been interesting but not enough for me to want to buy any of these wines. Off to my next destination. Woo Hoo!

I was very excited to finally get to Germany because I really like their rieslings. I have been having a hard time looking for a specific one, so I was very happy to see that we were going to learn different types of ripeness and hopefully maybe find a new favorite.

Region: Pfalz

Producer: Valckenburg     Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Gerwurztraminer

This wine was yellow straw-like with hints of green and no viscocity because it is a young wine. The smell was different from other wines I have from the past. Instead of a lot of fruits, their were a lot of flower notes, such as orchids, orange blossoms and white tree flowers that you see in the spring in Central Park. The taste was light, more like the flower notes. This can be paired with spicy foods. This was a good start on my German adventure.

Region: Mosel

Producer: S. A Prum

Name: Essence

Grape Variety: Riesling         Vintage: 2007

I was very excited to see this producer because this is the one that I can’t find. So to see it, I now know that I am not making it up. Professor Goodlad had asked to me analyze this wine. Was not ready for that but gave it a shot anyways. The color was canary yellow and translucent. It smelled a lot like apricots and pears. From others, they also pointed out pears and steel? When tasting it, I wanted it I wanted to be excited but unfortunately that did not happen. I tasted apricots, peaches, little tart and acidity. But there was nothing that would want me to go out and buy it. This wine can be paired with a greek salad, mussels or oysters. I would not give up on finding my wine, but know that I don’t like this wine.

Producer: Selbach-Oster   Vintage 2010

Grape: Riesling Kabinet (ripeness)

Vineyard: Zeltinger Sonnenuhur

This wine was yellow with greenish hints to it. To the nose, it smelled like peaches and mandarin orange. From the taste, all I got was peaches and low in acidity, which is weird because from class I learned that Kabinet’s usually have high acidity. Maybe I have a higher tolerance for acid’s. I kind of liked this one because it was light and crisp. A good summer wine.

Region: Mosel

Producer: Jon Jos Prum (brother to S. A Prum)    Vintage: 2009

Pradiskatswein (ripeness): spatlese

The color on this wine was pale yellow. The smell was different from the other rieslings. This one smelled like earth, must and dirt. To the taste though, it was peachy, with apricots and little acidity. Definitely not like the kabinet. This can be paired with sushi, Thai or Indian foods. I like this one as well because it was a little more fuller than the kabinet and can be paired with spicy foods.

Region: Mosel     Vintage: 2007

Producer: Graff

Grape variety: Riesling

Pradiskatswein: Auslese

The color of this wine was yellow with hints of green which I though was a little weird because the wines that I have seen with hints of green are usually young wines. To the nose it had notes of honeysuckle and orchids. Upon tasting the wine, I thought it was very sweet, not fruity. Like someone dump a whole bunch of sugar in the batch. But underneath all the sugar are some peaches and apricots. This can be paired with bread and olive oil and oysters. This pairing I thought was good because the foods can cut through all that sugar.

I was happy to find other rieslings that won’t probably drive me crazy to find.

Name: Colle Del Re   Vintage: 2010

Producer: Umberto Cesari

Grape Variety/DOCG: Albana di Romagna

Region: Emilio-Romagna

My first wine from Italy. The color of this wine was  pale yellow with hints of hay and low viscocity. When I first smelled the wine, I got a whiff of lemons, but not from the juice maybe from the rind. It was intense lemon smell. As I was tasting it, again I got lemons, maybe Italy is known for their lemons? Also this wine was a little tart, semi-dry. This can be paired with a lobster roll. Not my favorite.

Producer: Alta donna

Grape Variety: Grillo  IGT       Vintage 2010

The color of this wine is yellow, green and intense. The smell I got from this wine was apricots. But from others, they said honeysuckle and white lily’s. Once tasting, I thought it was pretty tart, definitely tasted flowers, apricots and again with lemons. Can be pair with chicken piccata. Not my favorite.

Region: Campania     Vintage: 2010

Producer: Monte Faleisi

Grape: Greco di Tufo

The first thing I noticed was the color, which was green, bright yellow and gold. I really liked the smell, which had honey, apricots, strawberries, peaches and passion fruit. Very fruity. The taste was tart, lemony and had hints of passion fruit. This wine was light and okay, buy it for my sister.

DOCG: Chianti Classico     Vintage: 2006

Region: Tuscany

Producer: Cappineto

Grape: Sangiovese      Riserva-age for 3 yrs.

This is the kind of wine I would buy for my mother. It had a ruby red, brick red color. It smelled of toasty oak and dry cherries. To me, it tasted kind of dry and sour. My mom is not a big wine drinker, but I know she will like this. This wine can be paired with a beef stew, sausage and peppers.

Region: Piedomont       Vintage: 2006

Appellation: Barolo

This wine was the color of brick orange which I thought was a little surprising because I thought wines from this vintage would have more of a deeper red color. Immediately smelling this wine, I caught pomegranate and something else that I could’t place. Professor Goodlad said that their is some tobacco smoke like smell to it. It also had dried prunes and figs. From the taste, I noticed dried prunes and the smokey taste. After taking another sip, I realized that I like this wine. Maybe the smokiness and the dried prunes work together. This kind of wine could be something you drink at night, recapping on what happened during your day. It was a tough day and this drink helps you unwind.

Region: Veneto      Vintage: 2007

Amarone

Producer: Cesari

The color of this wine was black cherry with medium low viscocity. It smell like prunes, chocolate, cocoa, raisins and surprisingly leather. It tasted like cherries to me. Others pointed out that they can taste prunes, figs, raisins. I liked how it was a little tart and not so dry. This wine was okay but not my favorite.

Italy has been an interesting experience with the notes of leather, smoke, tobacco and chocolate. Would definitely revisit.

Region: Bordeaux    Vintage: 2006

Appellation: Passac-Leognon

Name: Chateau Coucheroy

Producer: Andre Lurton

My first wine from France. Pretty exciting. So this wine’s color was brick red with some orange. The viscocity was medium, partly because it had time to age. The smell to me had like a dark berry fruit, maybe a pomegranate and cherries. The taste was definitely cherries with some plum. Professor Goodlad said that it had some cocoa in it too. I didn’t really get that but she’s an high end master compared to me. This wine was okay.

Appellation: Pauillac       Vintage: 2006

Producer: Chateau Batailley    Grand Cru Classe 1855

The color was dark red with medium high viscocity. I smelled plums, definitely was mustiness and the class said rasberries. All I know is that the wine was super dry and had a peppery spice for the after taste. This wine is too advanced for me.

Region: Burgundy   Vintage: 2010

Appellation: Beaujolais

Producer: A. Bourgeois

Grape Variety: Gamay

The color of this wine was garnet and pretty translucent and low viscocity. It smelled of plums and blackberry jam. The class pointed out that their might be some pomegranate, gooseberries, a touch of oak lavender and violets. The taste was pretty high in acidity, not very dry and fruity from the cherries.

Appellation: Bourgogne   Vintage 2009

Producer: Joseph Faiveley

Grape Variety: Pinot Noir

This wine was translucent with the color of ruby red and medium viscocity. It smelled of pomegranate, plums, oak, coconut and hazelnut. The taste was oakey, with cherries, pomegranate and it was dry. Not my favorite.

Region: The Rhone Valley

Appellation: Crozes Hermitage

Name: Les Jalets

Producer: Paul Jaboulet Aine

For this wine, the color was deep ruby red with hints of purple. From the class’s point, they smelled annise, cardomen, pepper and dates. I really hate annise cardomen and dates in my food so I thought I would really hate this wine. Fortunately, this wine tasted like cracked pepper, cardomen and thyme and I absolutely loved this wine. Maybe it was the spices that went well with the drink as opposed to foods. I’ll see if I can find this wine.