Tasting: Roscato

Name: Roscato Black Cherry

Variety: Red Blend

Region: Northern Italy

Year: No vineyard year given

Price: $15.00

Total Wine review: "Italy - Roscato black cherry is tantalizing with deep cherry flavors perfect for game night, date night, and treat yourself night. When tasting this wine, you'll find distinctive cherry notes combined with hints of almond and vanilla."

Wine Folly: It is said that red in northern Italy are more "elegant, aromatic and earthy" due to the colder climate and I believe that these elements may have been overpowered by the black cherry. It makes sense that a red blend would be from around here because there is a wide range of red grape varieties grown in northern Italy. 

My Review: This was a low alcohol very light red wine which I have never tasted or heard of! The notes of vanilla and almond were great and came through very clearly, and it was a very casual drinking wine that I probably would not have with dinner, but it did go well with a leftover slice of chocolate cake and by itself. It went down easy! Tannins are something that usually ruin the wine for me and this one didn't have many which helped. 

Tasting: Yellowtail Pinot Grigio

Name: Yellowtail Pinot Grigio

Variety: Pinot Grigio

Region: Australia

Year: No vineyard year given

Price: $11.99

Wine Pro review: "Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio is an Australian dry white wine that is both fizzy and refreshing. Sourced from high-quality vineyards in Riverina and harvested at night to conserve pure flavors, Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio is zesty and passionate. It bursts with red apple, pear, and passion fruit flavors and makes the perfect partner on a warm summer evening."

Wine Folly: Australia does not have Pinot Gris noted as one of the wines to explore from this region, instead being more known for tawnys like the one I had in my 3 course meal blog. Nonetheless, yellowtail is a very broad wine company that makes a large variety of wines, and it does say that pinot gris makes up a small amount of the wine produced in Australia. Wine folly has notes of peach, lemon zest, and raw almond for pinot gris, and the only one of those I get from this wine is the lemon zest as it is more fruit forward but has more pear than peach tones. 

My Review: This is the wine I regularly share with my roommate and sadly she moved out this morning to go to her permanent job, so last night we bought a big bottle and talked about old times. This wine is a very simple, cheap, nice drink to have at the end of a long day with snack foods. I love having it with salty foods, tonight was potato chips and tzatziki sauce. A strong note of pear is what makes it so refreshing in my opinion, it's not the lightest wine I have had but it is pretty far up there, which is nice considering its 11.5%. 

Cheese and wine pairing!

 I got together with a couple friends on a Friday and got 3 cheeses and 3 wines from Kroger along with a box of crackers. It was such a fun way to wind down after a stressful week!! We also had chocolate fondue afterwards!

The Cheese:

North Sea Cheese:

A semi-hard cheese from Denmark known for being aged close to the sea-- the salty air does wonders!! Very comparable to gouda because of the nutty and sweet flavors. Also was a bit reminded of parmesan.

Whiskey Maple Gouda:

Exactly as the name suggests, this is a gouda with notes of whiskey and maple. It was too fun to pass up!! Sweeter and a bit softer than the North Sea Cheese, with a creamier taste. 

Double Cream Brie:

I am a lover of brie, but this was not even close to the best one I've had. Was a bit harder than triple cream brie and did not have a lot of flavor compared to others I've had.

The Wine:

Chateau Morrisette Chardonnay:

A 2021 Virginia grown Chardonnay found in the "local" section in Kroger. Was chosen simply because it had a dog on the front, and I haven't had a Chardonnay in a while!

"About Last Night" Storyteller Sauvignon Blanc:

A 2022 Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc. I have seen this brand over and over again and finally decided to give it a try! I wanted another white with a different flavor, so I went with their Sauvignon Blanc since I enjoyed the one I had for one of my wine tastings. 

Yellowtail Cabernet Sauvignon:

A donation from my boyfriend's roommate in exchange for cheese. My new goal now that I'm enjoying a variety of white wines is to start exposing myself to more reds even though I don't like any yet. Doesn't have a vineyard year, but yellowtail is just yellowtail. 

The Tasting!!

I went cheese by cheese during the tasting, having some with each wine, so I'll do the same here!!

Starting with the North Sea Cheese, this was definitely my favorite cheese by itself. I started with the Sauvignon Blanc, and it was okay but a bit overpowering and tart. The next I grabbed was the chardonnay, and it tasted amazing! Definitely the top pairing of the night, I kept going back for more. The red wine with the North Sea Cheese left a lot to be desired, probably because it came right after chardonnay. That mixed with the fact that this red wine is not something I'd buy again, I only had one bite. 

The next was the double cream brie, which everyone had very strong opinions about. Both white wines, especially the Sauvignon Blanc, were absolutely horrible with the brie. It resulted in this rotten milk flavor that made all of us disturbed. The chardonnay had a slightly less punchy version of this flavor but it was still nothing I'd ever attempt to combine again. The best pairing for this wine was the red, which says a lot considering I do not like this red. 

Last, but not least, was the whiskey maple gouda. I liked this cheese, but my boyfriend was not a fan and deemed it "not a wine cheese". I was under the impression that all cheeses were wine cheeses, but to each their own. The Sauvignon Blanc was unimpressive but inoffensive with this cheese. It is nothing to rave about but is perfectly acceptable. The chardonnay was a bit better as I think the sweeter flavor brought out the sweetness of the maple in the cheese. In my opinion the red completely took away the reason you would every buy this cheese- the whiskey and maple flavor. It just tasted like a mild gouda when paired with the red. 

Conclusions:

I really love North Sea Cheese, and maybe having a dog on the label IS a good reason to buy wines because the Chardonnay was delightful! I have not broken through to my red wine-loving self quite yet, but I will keep you updated on that. 

Best pairing: North Sea Cheese and Chardonnay

Worst Pairing: Double Cream Brie and Sauvignon Blanc

Best wine: Chardonnay 

Worst Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon

Best Cheese: North Sea Cheese

Worst Cheese: Double Cream Brie

3 Course Meal, 3 Wines: Feb 14th

The Wines:

Me with all the wine

Me and my boyfriend turned this assignment into a valentine's day date! We love cooking together, so we went ahead and bought three bottles of wine to pair with the courses. 

Wine 1: Italian Prosecco

Name: Lumina Prosecco

Year: No vintage year listed

Price: $9.99

Description: "This sparkling wine is crisp, clean, and delicate with fine bubbles on the palate. Vibrant flavors of apples and peaches lead to a pleasant finish with lingering fruit and floral notes. This Italian wine begins in the hilly area of Valdobbiadene, with glera grapes that undergo a traditional wine vinification"

I chose this because it's a safe choice for me, and it was recommended online to go with bruschetta. 

Wine 2: Pinot Noir

Name: The Stag Central Coast Pinot Noir

Year: 2020

Price: $25.00

Description: "Black raspberry, cedar and wet-slate aromas converge for a compelling nose on this bottling. The wine begins with a softer texture and then tightens up around baked cherry, mace and herb flavors. Matt Kettmann"

I chose this because although I do not like red wine, you can't have steak for a pairing assignment and not have a red wine. It surprised me a little bit but I will not be reaching back for this bottle. 

Wine 3: Port

Name: Victoria Tawny by R.I. Buller & Son
Year: Vineyard year unlisted

Price: $18.00

Description: "DRIED FIGS, CARAMEL, CANDIED ORANGE PEEL

RL Buller and Sons is legendary in Australia for their "stickies" aka dessert wines. For over 75 years, this family has focused on fortified wines. This tawny style has bellowing aromatics of prunes, figs and toffee flavors which follow through to the palate. The acidity punches through on the finish for a bold spicy finish. This is produced in a traditional cask solera system."

I chose this one because I have never tried port 

On the menu:

Appetizer:

Bruschetta with French bread toast

We made some bruschetta with fresh basil, olive oil, garlic and cherry tomatoes and added it to toasted French bread with some balsamic vinegar on top. 

The first tastes of wine were taken with this meal, and I thought that the sparkling wine went best with the lightness of the bruschetta. This was our intended pair for this because of a cookbook that has wine pairings in it suggesting it. Prosecco is also a well-known apéritif so this is the perfect time to have it! Them together was very light, refreshing, and the brightness of the cherry tomatoes made the prosecco pop after eating it. 

The worst pairing with this was the red wine. I fear I may be pretty biased because I have learned I really don't like many red wines because of the feeling the tannins give, but my boyfriend agreed that the flavors completely clashed. It almost gave the tomatoes a rotten flavor.

The port with the bruschetta just felt wrong, but wasn't the worst thing I've ever had. The cherry tomatoes were very sweet, which is why we add balsamic vinegar, so a sweet wine wasn't a terrible match, but the rotten tomato flavor was still kind of there and having such a strong heavy wine during an appetizer was not good.

Main Course:

Steak au poivre

Strip steaks seared in butter, rosemary and garlic topped with a sauce consisting of the steak drippings, cognac, and heavy cream. The intentional pairing for this course is the pinot noir because red meat notoriously goes well with red wine. I see why the red wine is paired with the red meat; the red wine was most drinkable for me while eating this. The tannins still bothered me, but much less. 

The prosecco was completely and utterly overpowered by the flavor profile of this main course. I think that the only reason to pair these together is if you don't like wine and don't want to taste it. The only thing I could read while having these together was the carbonation, which did not go well with the cream sauce. 

The port with this was surprisingly okay. I think I may just really like this port, and the sweetness was clashing a bit with the cream sauce, but I could still taste pieces of both. I did not go back and drink this one again after the initial tasting with the steak. 

Desert:

Flourless chocolate cake with a black cherry syrup

The chocolate cake is pictures with the cookbook the recipe came form- Sommeliers Cookbook has a bunch of recipes with suggested wine pairings, so we listened to them and made sure to include a port in this tasting. 

The prosecco was overpowered by the strong chocolate flavor and the fruit and acidic nature of the prosecco felt weird in my mouth. I did not like this pairing at all.

The red wine was not as enjoyable with this than it was with the steak but bounds better than the bruschetta. Tannins are much more palatable for me when they are eaten with heavy fat foods, and since this cake has no four and is mostly egg, butter and dark chocolate, it provided that fat to break up that feeling red wines leave in my mouth.

The port was great with this. It was sweet on sweet, but they complimented each other in such a unique way. The notes of cherry and plum in this wine is what really stood out to me while eating it with the cake. I could not drink much of the port, and I could not eat much of the cake, because they were both so rich. But having them in small amounts was absolutely delicious. 

Winning Match ups:

No surprises here!! The winners were the intentional pairings. The cook book we used was really good at giving suggestions!!!

Tasting: Bread & Butter Sauvignon Blanc

 

Name: Bread & Butter Sauvignon Blanc

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: Napa, California

Year: 2023

Price: $12

Vine Republic review: "An expressive Sauvignon Blanc that shines with aromas of lemon zest and a hint of tropical fruit. Lively flavors of fresh citrus lead to a rich texture that is completed by enticing minerality and a clean, refreshing finish. Goes well with fresh vegetables, white protein, seasoned sauces." 

Wine Folly: Page 165- Definitely got notes of grapefruit and white peach. The more tart than sweet side of both of these, although the wine did have a good sweetness. "Herb-flavored sauces" is mentioned which makes me proud I paired this with rosemary chicken!! The notes of apricot and grapefruit make sense for a north-coast California wine as stated on page 292 and it is a less planted grape but still said to make high quality wines. I'm glad I got this one for such a good price!

My Review: Week 3 pt 2! I paired this Sauvignon Blanc with rosemary and lemon chicken with a side of scalloped potatoes, because in one of the Wine IQ videos I remembered it was said that herby chicken goes well with this type of wine. I also had it by itself as I cooked the meal. The fruity notes were much more pronounced when drinking it without the meal, as the strong flavor and aroma of rosemary took over the show once I was eating dinner. Overall a good wine with or without a food pairing!

Tasting: Woodbridge Pinot Grigio by Robert Mondavi

 

Name: Woodbridge Pinot Grigio

Variety: Pinot Grigio

Region: Acampo, CA

Year: Not listed, only est. year (1979)

Price: $9.99, Available for $8 at some stores

Wine Enthusiast review: "Pretty aromas of lemon blossoms and Bosc pear meet nicely structured fruit flavors in this light- to medium-bodied wine. Good acidity gives it a refreshing bite on the palate. It's an amazing bargain that gains much of its interest from small amounts of Vermentino, Colombard and Viognier blended in." — Jim Gordon

Wine Folly: California Pinot grigio's are not mentioned in the text, and the central coast where Acampo is is more known for Chardonnay and pinot noir (page 290). I get some grassy notes but mostly light citrus-floral notes (I really agree with the lemon blossom note in the online review, but would also understand lemon zest). (Page 150- general pinot grigio notes). Nothing gravelly in this one like there was in the cupcake bottle. 

My Review: Week 3!! This wine was shared by me and my roommate, and we actually finished that bottle! For a cheap bottle, this was really delicious on its own. It was not heavy, I liked the citrusy taste that wasn't too tart and it wasn't overly buttery like my last tasting, just perfectly refreshing.  I think this is my first wine where the marketing is based on the guy who blended it-Robert Mondavi. He did a good job!! This is a super super light wine that is inoffensive in every way, not exceptional but very good to get tipsy on with a friend.