WineoftheNewWorldF19

Student blend 2

Uptown Blend was made out of 2 grape varieties, Chardonnay and Riesling. Our last formula and the one we ended up using was a blend of all three wines given to us.

At first we anticipated 90% Chardonnay and 10% Riesling and we were satisfied at the taste of this blend. We also wanted to experiment more blends so we can have for options. We had 5 different formulas at the end. Our 6th and final attempt, we had our winning blend for the menu. The formula is 10% Riesling, 40% 2nd Chardonnay and 50% 1st Chardonnay. The blend looked bright was a pale yellow color. The smell of the blend is fruity with smells of pears, apricots, and oak. The blend was low in dryness and good acidity. When you taste it, you taste the oak from the Chardonnays and the citrus fruit from the Riesling. We believe it is a well balance wine and lingers a little bit. The after taste is smooth and leaves a nice sensation on the tongue. There was one blend that was our least favorite, which was 90% Riesling and 10% 1st Chardonnay. This blend was very fruity and oaky. It followed with an even stronger oak after taste. We anticipated to try 2 blends but instead we used three. This left us with a wine with no vintage.

Diamond John, Jesus Rodriguez

Team #4

As team four on this project, we have the menu item “Beef Jardinière and Duchess Potatoes”. We anticipated a mix of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot Blend would compliment the menu item. Generally a savory, juicy dish with creamy potatoes with of components that brings out a lot of flavor, we wanted the acidity and tannins from the Cabernet Franc to blend with the fruity notes of the Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot, so we anticipated going that 60% Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot and 40% Cabernet Franc would be well complimented in respects to the menu item.

As we started blending for the wines, we started with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot and 40% Cabernet Franc, but we weren’t convinced as it was more tannous than anticipated and the Cabernet Franc seemed to overpower the Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot. Although a very good color, and clean on the nose with a hint of oak, on the palate the acidity wasn’t where we wanted it to be, the tannins were overpowering and had a long finish. We then decided to try 75% Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot and 25% Cabernet Franc. We felt that this blend was more of what we were looking for, more of the fruity notes of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the acidity and tannins from the Cabernet Franc we believed complimented each other making a beautiful tasting wine that had a beautiful color, was clean on the nose still with a sent of oak, but with more intensity and a clear sent of black cherries. On the palate it was clean, the intensity was medium, it was fruity with a taste of black cherries, medium sweetness levels, with good acidity and the tannins wasn’t as overpowering as the first mix. Then, we started to mix in the Merlot. The thought was that we couldn’t leave out the Merlot and wanted to experiment a little before making a final decision. The first attempt was a bland of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Merlot. Immediately we could taste the presence of the Merlot which made the blend very tannous and overly acidic for our menu item. Finally, we tried a mix of 50% cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot, 40% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Merlot. This blend was acidic, high tannins, with a long finish, dirty on the nose, with a strong presence of oak on both the nose and palate. So, we ultimately decided that the 75% Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot, 25% Cabernet Franc blend was the most compatible to go along with the beef jardinière and duchess potatoes.

Overall, this process was what we anticipated it to be, a fun learning experience on the process of making wines, as well as trying to create a formula that would pair well with the menu item. The level of focus and competitiveness showed that we cared enough to create something for the guests that will one day taste our City Tech wine.

Team 2: Georgecel & Matthew

Menu: Basque Style Chicken with Creamy Polenta

The dish that we are pairing our wine is Basque Style Chicken with creamy polenta. This is best described as chicken cooked in a thick, mild vegetable sauce. It makes a warming, hearty dinner for any occasion. The secret to a great polenta is to use the right ratio of liquid to cornmeal. Creamy polenta has a light clean flavor to complement the chicken.

At Red Winery hook we tasted several white and red wines. There were 2 grape varieties that we had agree to pair nicely with the chicken & polenta. We came to the conclusion to choose the first 2018 chardonnay wine and the 2017 Riesling wine. The first chardonnay wine’s grapes were born on a cool climate in there AVA. This first chardonnay and Riesling wines goes perfectly with light and delicate foods like shellfish, chicken, and creamy light dishes. They also go well with creamy vegetable soup. Riesling grapes are usually dry and have some acidity to them. They are greatly paired with earthy, sweet, and savory dishes. We tasted the first 2018 Chardonnay and the 2017 Riesling and we believe that we will like to blend for more menu items. The first Chardonnay was made the traditional way, orthodox, no skin content with good acidity. It had oak and an apricot taste. The chardonnay also had good balance and the alcohol wasn’t too strong. It is a perfect dinner wine and can also complement our dish on its own. We learned that the Riesling wine we were tasting, wasn’t at its fullest potential. The wine needs to be aged for at least 5 more years. The 2017 Riesling was very fruity, which was different from your usual Rieslings that have a little more of an acidic taste. The two wines do lingers in your mouth for a while. We believe adding 10% of the Riesling and 90% of the chardonnay can create a middle grow of both of them to complement the dish. Our results might not be correct, but we are going with this formula to next week and we’ll make changes to create the best wine that the school will ever taste.

Team #3 Janice G. and Craig R.

Menu Item Team #3: Broiled Salmon with Béarnaise Sauce , Pommes Natures and Sauteed Zucchini

Our menu item is a fillet cooked salmon, with a buttery, flaky and crispy skin. The Béarnaise sauce gives the palate a hint of herbs that compliment the buttery, succulent salmon. With the sautéed zucchini and pommes nature potatoes on the side, we had discussed that whatever wine we chose, it has to be smooth, with low acidity to not overpower the buttery flavor from the salmon. We had no idea, if it will be white or red.

During our trip at the Red Hook Winery, we tasted three white wines that we believed were somewhat suitable to be paired with our dish. The first white wine was a 2018 Chardonnay that was fermented with no skin content (traditional method). The color was a light yellow, with a medium viscosity. There was a strong smell of oak, with a hint of fruits. There was a strong acidity content, that left the palate dry and tangy. Second white wine was a 2018 chardonnay fermented with skin content. The color was medium yellow, with a bright finish. Intensity on the nose was light, with a little smoky content. Light acidity on the palate, which gave a refreshing and smooth taste. Third white wine was a 2017 Riesling that had a rich, yellow color. Strong smell of pears and apples on the nose. Intensity on the palate was powerful, because of the strong acidity that was present. A hint of olives also seem to be present on the palate.

We decided that our blend will consist of 80% of the 2018 Chardonnay that was fermented with skin content, 15% of the 2018 Chardonnay that was fermented with no skin content and 5% of the Riesling. We decided on this blend because the Chardonnay with skin content had a refreshing and smooth taste that wouldn’t overpower our buttery tasting salmon. We felt the Riesling wine should be added because it gave us a hint of a green olive taste, that we felt was needed to bring more complexity to the wine. This pairing should balance out with our menu item because of the low acidity, we didn’t want our succulent salmon to be overpowered by the wine.  This blend should be refreshing and smooth on the palate and pair nicely.

Alecia & HamiltonTeam # 1
Wine Blend Requisition

Paring Food: Baked Fish Filet with Tomatoes and Mushrooms.

Baked Fish– Example: Chilean Sea Bass
Seasoned with salt, black pepper, butter, lemon olive oil and minced garlic. Add seasoned bread crumbs on top before serving.
Roasted Vine or Cherry Tomatoes. Served whole but tender. Seasoned with thyme, Oregano and Black Pepper.
Sautéed Oyster Mushrooms with Butter.

Chardonnay Séneca Lake 2018 : more traditional way; juice fermented separate from the skins.
Very clear, bright and crisp
Berries tones. medium low acid and long finish,

Chardonnay 2018: Unorthodox way; fermented with skin
Slightly cloudy granite, clear
Green apple and apricot notes, bit of oak
high acid, hint of oak, balanced, bit tannic at the end, medium low body

Projections :
Light bodied~medium bodied & buttery  ( food should adapt to the wine)
Medium acid (contrast the flakiness of the fish. High fat concentration on the Sea bass. )
Low ~ medium tannin (mediun mouth feel and gum sensation )
Hint of oak or wood (remarks herbs on food )
Hints of fruit ( contrast the acidity on the tomatoes, tomatoes should be caramelized to expand on flavor at first bite )
Medium~ long finish

Chosen wine :
Blend of  Chardonnay- Séneca Lake 2018 only juice fermented (60%) and Chardonnay 2018: Unorthodox way; fermented with skin (40%)

The reasoning behind this ration of blend is simply due to trying to best manage the acidity. The 2018 Unorthodox Chardonnay cane off to be fairly acidic. Though this wine implemented light tannins on the palate at the finish, the wine is still very balance. Having a dish with medium plus acidity, it is essential to have a balanced wine. The reasoning behind using 60% of the Seneca Lake Chardonnay is not only because the acidity is low, balancing out the base wine, but also because the finish is much longer and crisp. A crisp, long and balanced finish would best compliment our dish.

Diamond John, Jesus Rodriguez

Team #4

As team four on this project, we have the menu item “Beef Jardiniere and Duchess Potatoes”. This meal is warming, filling, and savory. The duchess potatoes adds a thick creamy component that soaks up all of that jus from the beef stew. Prior to our visit to Red Hook Winery, we discussed that a meritage wine of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (with a bit of Petite Verdot) would be perfect to go with the stew. We believed the Cabernet Sauvignon would bring the tannous structure that we needed while Merlot would bring fruity flavors, with some acidity. We definitely wanted a wine that had acids with a bit of tannins to cut the fat of the stew and the creamy component from the duchesse potatoes. However, our trip to Red Hook Winery guided us into a slightly different path.

At the winery, we tasted three different red wines. The first red wine that we tasted was a 2018 Cabernet Franc from North Fork Long Island. The wine was medium low bodied with slight tannins to coat the mouth. There was definitely hints of toasted oak with medium acidity. The fruits that came off the palate were currents, and raspberries. This wine had a light finish. The second wine that we tasted was a 2018 Merlot, also from North Fork. This wine was very dry and tannous. You can identify that there was a long maceration from the tannins alone. It was very high in acidity and gave off tobacco and concentrated black cherry on the palate. We believe this Merlot lacked balance. Finally we tasted a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. This wine was very fruity with medium dryness. It had less tannins than the previous wines. After tasting all three wines we came up with our final decision.

Originally we wanted to blend Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot but the Merlot wine was extremely tannous, acidic, and heavy. We thought the combination of the two would over power our dish. Instead we decided that a mix of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot Blend would compliment each other better. The blend would ideally contain 60% of the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot and 40% of the 2018 Cabernet Franc. We want the acidity and tannins from the Cabernet Franc to blend with the fruity notes of the Cabernet Sauvignon. We believe this blend will compliment our menu item well.