Tasting - Barboursville Cabernet Franc

 Name: Barboursville Cabernet Franc

Variety: 100% Cabernet Franc

Country:  United States

Region: Virginia

Vintage: 2020

Price: $28

Winery Review: "Virginia - Dark garnet core, brilliant clarity in the glass. Intense, effusively luscious flavors of ripe red berries with caramelized notes of fig, cherry, and plum, elegantly woven together in barrel. Long-finishing with a remarkably soft palate." - totalwine.com

Wine Folly: The cabernet franc on page 86 had raspberry, strawberry, and bell pepper. I picked up the vanilla that seems typical, as well as some of the dark berry like raspberry. I could not differentiate strawberry though, and I did not recognize any bell pepper. 

My Review: This wine was not very strong in any one flavor area. It was kind of dry, tasted of dark berry, smelled like vanilla, not a whole lot that seemed to separate it from any of the other red wines we have had. After our wine dinner, it feels like this one in particular would be much better with food to pair with the dryness. Not my favorite, but not one I disliked in particular either. 

Tasting - Michael Shaps Viognier

 Name: Michael Shaps Viognier

Variety: 95% Viognier, 5% Riesling

Country: USA

Region: Virginia

Vintage: 2021

Price:  $30

Winery Review: "Michael has been producing this trademark style Viognier for over twenty years. Viognier can sometimes be known for very low acidity, but the use of 100% stainless steel as well as the addition of the riesling helps keep this wine bright and refreshing. The cooler fermentation temperature also keeps a focus on the tropical fruit notes like white peach, banana, and pineapple. The result is a more food-friendly Viognier that retains the classically strong aromatics and full body but with firm acidity to balance the structure of the wine." - Virginia Wine Works

Wine Folly: The general Viognier had apple, tangerine, peach, mango, and rose. I could definitely taste the fruity part, particularly the apple with a little bit of the tangerine and mango. Did not pick up the floral part though. 

My Review: The best way to describe the flavor of this wine was a tart fruity flavor. It was acidic, which I could feel at the front of the mouth, had a long finish, and tasted strongly of fruit. Overall I enjoyed this one. I have been enjoying the white wines more than the red wines, but I will say I still enjoyed the sweet wines we had the most. 

Tasting - Whiskers Blake Classic Tawny Port

 Name: Whiskers Blake Classic Tawny 

Variety: Syrah, Grenache, Muscat Noir, Tinta Madeira

Country: Australia 

Region: South Eastern Australia 

Vintage: 2008 

Price: $16 

Winery Review: Rich tawny color with olive hues. The nose is reminiscent of chocolate with coffee overtones. The palate is smooth and mellow with good length and a dry finish. Classic rancio characters are also evident in this flavorsome wine. - wine.com

Wine Folly: The book mentioned flavors of black plum, dried cherry, chocolate, raisin, and cinnamon. I could smell the raisin and some hints of a dark berry. Got some chocolate taste as well. 

My Review: Overall, I just found this wine overpowering. I could smell and taste a lot of the flavors, but the feel and taste of molasses was too strong. The sweetness as well was a little strong for my taste. I don't have a whole lot more to say on this one. The flavors were just too strong for my taste and I did not enjoy this one. 

Wine Dinner #1

The wine dinner created quite an enjoyable evening. We had a decently large group get together for this. 

For the first course we had a Lima Granite Vinho Verde with a couple of sourdough baguettes topped with melted mozzarella cheese and parsley leaves. 

Name: Encostas Do Lima - Vinho Verde "Granite" 2020  

Variety: Vinho Verde 

Country: Portugal  

Region: Vinho Verde 

Vintage: 2020 

Price: $8  

Winery Review: This mineral-driven Vinho Verde is made from 100% Loureiro. It is a special project by the Encostas da Lima winery that highlights the granite and schist soils of this part of northern Portugal. Intense floral aromas lead into fresh fruit and mineral flavors. (from verrewinebar.com)

Wine Folly: I could taste the crisp apple flavors and could feel the acidity that the book mentioned very well. Also picked up some lemon flavor.

My Review: Without food, I think the sensations in the wine would have been a bit much. It was very acidic, but eating it with the appetizer brought out the fruity apple/lemon flavors and softened some of the bite of the wine. Overall, I enjoyed this wine, and this definitely helps to show how wine should be consumed with food. 

For the main course, we had shepherd's pie with a pinot noir. 

Name: Horizon de Bichot Pinot Noir 2020   

Variety: Pinot Noir 

Country: France 

Region: Languedoc-Roussillon 

Vintage: 2020 

Price: $12

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: When consumed with the entire shepherd's pie, the flavor of the wine got a little lost in the potatoes. However, when eaten with just the beef, the flavor of both the beef and the wine was enhanced just a little bit. It mostly added another sensation to the palate, which made the combination enjoyable. When consumed without food, the bite of the wine is a little unpleasant, but with the food is very enjoyable. 

For our dessert, we had cheesecake with a port. 

Name: Maynard's 10 Years Old Aged Tawny Porto 

Variety: Port 

Country: Portugal 

Region: Porto 

Vintage: 2013 

Price: $22 

Winery Review: Dark chocolate, prunes, figs, raisins, smoke, honey, caramel- savory in one word. Very rounded taste. Long aftertaste. Excellent Port for the price, lots of dark fruit flavours including plum, raisins, fig and fruit cake, with almonds and vanilla too. (vivino.com)

Wine Folly: Some cinnamon and vanilla flavors were easy to detect. Some dark berry flavors as well, like raspberry and blackberry. 

My Review: This wine really added some nice flavor to the cheesecake. It enhanced any vanilla flavors, added a certain sweetness to the cheesecake, and brought about flavors of cinnamon and maple, as well as the dark berry flavors mentioned by the wine folly book. The port really took this from just a cheesecake, to a full enjoyable dessert. It just added so many flavors, and the cheesecake was a very good base for all those tastes to build upon. 

The main takeaway from this dinner is that wine is much better with food than without in a lot of cases. Overall I found the experience much more enjoyable than simply tasting wines by themselves. 

Tasting - High Note Malbec

 Name: High Note Malbec

Variety: 100% Malbec

Country: Argentina

Region: Mendoza Province

Vintage: 2020

Price: $12.50

Winery Review: "Pure, vibrant berry flavors will delight Malbec fans. Date Tasted: 2/3/2021 in our Chicago tasting lab - 94 points out of 100 . A rich, well structured wine that paints a story and you can almost envision the Gauchos with their cattle. Date Tasted: 9/9/2022 in our Chicago tasting lab - 93 points out of 100."

Wine Folly: The general Malbec on page 125. Contains red plum, blackberry, sweet tobacco, and vanilla. Could definitely taste the dark berry and the vanilla. Got hints of something I assume was the tobacco. 

My Review: Tasted very similarly to the other red wines I have had so far. Same dark berry flavors, cannot really tell a difference between types of dark berries. Picked up vanilla, and some hints of tobacco. It felt a little harsh coming back to this after tasting a sweet white wine the previous week. It probably did not help either that I had eaten something sweet a little before tasting this wine. Not planning on eating sweet things before wine tasting next time. 

Tasting - Pizzolato Moscato

 Name: Pizzolato Moscato Sparkling Wine

Variety: 100% Moscato

Country: Italy

Region: Northern Italy - Veneto

Vintage: 2019

Price: $16.95

Winery Review: "Aromas of honeysuckle, ripe apricot, and angel food cake with a round, vibrant, sweet medium-to-full body and a smooth, refreshing, medium-length peach nectar, sweet apple, orange marmalade, and honey finish with no oak flavor. A balanced and floral Moscato that is sure to please fans of the varietal."

Wine Folly: Muscat Blanc on page 138. Could definitely smell the floral and citrus scents. Picked up apricot. 

My Review: This wine was much sweeter and less dry than any of the other wines I have had yet, and it has been my favorite so far by a wide margin. I loved the strong floral and citrus scents, with such a sweet and pleasant feel in the mouth. Had a fruity pear flavor on top of all the other sweet floral scents. 

Tasting - Gewurztraminer

 Name: Treveri Gewurztraminer

Variety: 100% Gewurztraminer

Country: USA

Region: Columbia Valley, Washington State

Vintage: 2021

Price: $17.00

Winery Review: While not as well known as chardonnay and pinot grigio, it is typically very affordable and pairs well with spicy, flavorful foods. The predominant nose and flavor is lychee—a sweet, tropical fruit. It is higher in alcohol than comparable white wines. Gewürztraminer is like the grown-up version of Moscato. - The Summit Winery

Wine Folly: Page 115 had grapefruit, tangerine, ginger, and rose as some of the top flavors. I could definitely smell the rose and grapefruit. Tangerine makes sense too with the fruity taste, but I couldn't make out the ginger.

My Review: First sparkling wine, and first sweet one. I enjoyed this a lot more than the reds I had tried before. The rose smell and grapefruit and tangerine tastes were very noticeable. Felt like I picked up on some apple as well. Definitely loved having the residual sugar in this drink, which made it much more enjoyable. The strong fruity taste and floral scents were quite enjoyable as well.

Tasting - Chianti Classico

 Name: Famiglia Castellani Chianti Riserva 2017 Classico

Variety: Sangiovese

Region: Chianti

Country: Italy

Year: 2017

Price: $12.55

Wine Review: It is subtle and elegant, expressing more flavors at mid-palate and on the finish than at the front of the mouth (which is more typical of New World wines). As with all fine wines, Chianti Classico improves with bottle aging, up to 15 or 20 years in the better vintages. - Wine Review Online

Wine Folly: On page 250 of Wine Folly, it listed cherry, balsamic, and some weird ones like dried salami. I could easily taste and smell the dark berry flavors, and the balsamic made sense in the aftertaste. 

My Review: Tasted this wine of the Cotes du Rhone and Pinot Noir, and since I have not had much wine before, they all tasted very similarly to me. I could definitely pick up on some of the cherry, and what tasted like blueberry. I tried it with some simple shredded parmesan cheese, but didn't really get the pairing. Also got some more citrusy smells and some other smell that I couldn't identify.