Tasting - Grand Veneur - Cotes Du Rhone

 Name: Grand Veneur Cotes Du Rhone by Alain Jaume

Variety: Shiraz/Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, Grenache

Region: Rhone Valley

Country: France

Year: 2020

Price: $16.15

Winery Review: A complete wine, rich and elegant, thanks to the harmony of all the elements which make it up. Review: "A very serious Cotes-du-Rhone with deep forest-fruit aromas, as well as hints of smoke and dried herbs, the full, soft tannins filling out the full body very neatly. Nice, spicy and earthy depth at the long finish. - Timeless Wines

Wine Folly: Some of the flavors from page 156 that I noticed were the raspberry, baking spices, and lavender. I could see the blackberry as well.

My Review: I noticed that I was able to more easily smell and enjoy the smells that came from this wine that the Pinot Noir I tried. It smelled spicier, probably because of the baking spices. The gouda cheese we tried with it was very good but did not feel like it complemented the flavor of the wine quite as strongly as with the Pinot Noir. Got the nice scents of raspberry, rosemary, and lavender as well. 

Tasting - Angeline Pinot Noir

 Name: Angeline Vineyard Pinot Noir

Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Country: USA

Region: North Coast California

Vintage: 2021

Price: $11.65

Winery Review: Vivid notes of black raspberry, fresh pomegranate juice, with wild blueberry, sassafras, subtle licorice, toasted oak an earthy backbone, and grippy tannins.

Wine Folly: The Pinot Noir on page 150 had cherry, raspberry, and vanilla that I was able to notice. The berry flavors were the main ones but the vanilla was a more subtle one. Noticed the light body, especially compared with the medium and heavy bodied ones we tried later. 

My Review: Interesting first experience with wine, had to get past the initial taste before I could start to make out and appreciate flavors. Got to make out and enjoy some small red berry flavors, like cherry and raspberry, with a hint of vanilla. The book also said there was some mushroom in there, which I could not make out, but at the same time I could see it. Pairing with provolone took off some of the edge and brought out some more of the flavors. I think I will still need to get used to the taste, but a good first experience I think. 

 My experiences with wine so far have been little to none. Drinking wine is not something I have done at all yet. The extent that I have seen wine in my life is the occasional drink my parents will have. I know of people who love wine, I know of people who like it alright and will drink it for special occasions, and I know of people who hate it and will have nothing to do with it. I understand that it is an acquired taste, and as such it is something I want to get some experience with. 

One of the main things I want to get out of this class is an education in wine. I currently know next to nothing about different types of wine, wine taste, and pairing foods with wine. I want to experience what all the excitement is about and see how to enjoy wine. Learning about different types of wine and being able to definitely say whether I will enjoy the occasional wine drink should be a very valuable experience for me. 

My tastes lead me to believe that I could enjoy wine, at least as a novel taste. In general, there is very little in the way of tastes that I do not like. I prefer not to eat certain citrus fruits and onions, but that is about it as far as the limitations. Otherwise, I can enjoy all kinds of spicy, sweet, sour, bitter, and other kinds of flavors, at least within moderation. If nothing else, I want to expand the knowledge of my own tastes, and probably expand my tastes in this class.