Tasting - Peter Mertes Sweet Red Dornfelder

Name: Peter Mertes
Variety: Sweet Red Dornfelder
Country: Germany
Region: California
Year: 2014
Price: $6.95 (regular $12)

Wine Critic Review:
The trademark German red grape varietal Dornfelder has a lovely purity of soft red berry fruit. Integrated soft tannins combined with forward fruit flavors make for a perfectly balanced everyday sipping wine. Great with grilled red meat, sausage and chicken. Best served slightly chilled.

My Review:
I was extremely surprised that I liked this wine, as I am not usually a fan of reds. This was much sweeter and fruitier than most red wines I've tasted. This wine had a fruity, sweet smell, almost like raspberries. It was a very well-balanced, lighter taste. I really like that the fruity, sweet notes came through not only on the nose, but also on the taste. 
I tasted this without food.

Tasting - Castello Sonnino Chianti Montespertoli

Name: Castello Sonnino
Variety: Chianti Montespertoli
Country: Italy
Region: Chianti
Year: 2010
Price: $8.95 (regular $15)

Wine Critic Review:
A blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Trebbiano and Malvasia del Chianti. Rich and modern, with a dark, saturated color and aromas of graham cracker and lemon rind. A juicy palate packed with plum and raspberry is carried by a creamy texture that’s rather toasty in terms of flavor. The finish is round, full and chocolaty.

My Review:
This wine smelled highly like alcohol, but also had a woody nose. I really didn't like this wine. It had was a very full-bodied, creamy wine. That was too much for me. It definitely had a slightly fruity taste, you could definitely taste the berries. It was kind of acidic, and I wouldn't drink it again.
I tasted this without food.

Tasting - Bolla Bardolino Magnum

Name: Bolla
Variety: Bardolino Magnum
Country: Italy
Region: Bardolino
Year: 2013
Price: $9.95 (regular $18)

Wine Critic Review:
A blend of 60% Corvina, 30% Rondinella, 10% Molinara this bright ruby red wine has hints of black cherry on the nose.  It is soft and fruit-forward, with black-fruit flavors followed by a bright and fresh finish. Serve it as the Italians do – young and lightly chilled. Pairs perfectly with fleshy fish, beef, lamb, red-sauced pastas and pizza.

My Review:
This wine had an extremely earthy smell. While it had a hint of a darker fruit smell, it also smelled kind of like coffee. This wine had a fruitier taste than I expected. You definitely got a hint of a darker cherry taste. I really didn't care for this wine as it was too dry for me, and reminded me of cough syrup.
I tasted this wine without food.

Tasting - Tenuta le Velette Orvieto Classico

Name: Tenuta le Velette
Variety: Orvieto Classico
Country: Italy
Region: Orvieto
Year: 2011
Price: $6.95 (regular $18)

Wine Critic Review: (88 -- i-winereview)
The Berganorio Orvieto is a subtle wine with a bright palate. It shows white flowers on the nose and light citrus notes in the mouth. Its neutral character means it can accompany a wide range of foods. A blend of 30% Trebbiano, 30% Grechetto, 20% Malvasia, 15% Verdello, and 5% Drupeggio. The estate has 103 hectares on the hill opposite the hill town of Orvieto.

My Review:
This wine had a very sweet, fruity smell. I smelled citrus with a hint of berries and peaches. It had a very light, fruity taste, while not overdoing it like many sweet wines I've tasted. This wine almost had a little bit of a sour finish to it. Overall, I really enjoyed it.
I tasted this wine without food.

Tasting - Aveleda Praia Vinho Verde

Name: Aveleda Praia
Variety: Vinho Verde
Country: Portugal
Region: Vinho Verde
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95 (regular $10)

Wine Critic Review: (92- Wine & Spirits)
A blend of 40% Arinto, 30% Loureiro, 20% Trajadura and 10% Azal.

Full of fruit, a lasting peach flavor targeted with laserlike acidity through the finish. It has the bite of salty ocean air and a lot of zing. For langoustines.

My Review:
This wine had an extremely fruity and floral nose. It had a citrusy smell to it. It had a very fresh, slightly sweet taste to it. It was very light and fruity and definitely had an acidic, slightly tart finish.
I tasted this wine alone without food. 

Wine and Cheese Pairing #1

All of our wine and cheese
pairings!

The Sutter Home White Zinfandel
is from California.  This medium-
sweet wine goes great with spicy
foods such as Asian or Latin. A
750mL bottle is $6.00.

This week, my roommate Charlotte, who is also in our class and I decided to do a wine and cheese pairing. Since I supplied the wine for our wine and dinner pairing last week, her mom supplied us with wine and cheese for our tasting this week! It was nice to have someone's mom pay for it for us, so thank you to her! We chose to use the tiny bottles of wine, in case we didn't like it so we wouldn't waste any. We paired them with the Sargento tasting size cheeses because they were the perfect size to taste with those little bottles of wine.

The first pairing we did was Sutter Home White Zinfandel with Sargento Bruschetta Jack cheese. The wine by itself had a very sweet smell, and floral. It smelled like a walk through the garden. This wine had a very sour taste. The taste while both sweet and sour had a berry like taste. I have tasted White Zinfandel before and really didn't like it, so I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet and sour taste. The cheese had a very creamy texture, however the overwhelming taste I got from the cheese was a tomatoey flavor. After tasting the cheese, I sipped some more wine to see how the cheese affected the taste of the wine. The cheese made the wine's taste much less pungent. It really cut the sweetness of the wine. I think the cheese was a little bit too flavorful for this fruity wine, however I did enjoy the fact that it cut the sweetness a little bit.

The Sutter Home Moscato
is from California's Central
Valley.  This sweet wine pairs
well with light cheeses.  A
750 mL bottle is $6.00.

Our second pairing was the Sutter Home Moscato with Sargento Garlic and Herb Jack cheese. The wine had a lightly sweet smell, but much less sweet than any other moscato I have had. It had a very earthy smell. The wine didn't taste very sweet, which surprised me because most moscatos are almost overwhelmingly sweet. The wine had a very earthy taste. It had a strong grape like taste. The cheese had an overwhelming taste of garlic, but it was also very creamy and delicious. I thought this cheese brought out the sweetness of the wine. It made the wine taste much sweeter, more like what I would expect a moscato to taste like. I thought this cheese accentuated the grape tastes of the wine.

Third, we paired Barefoot Chardonnay with Sargento Aged Vermont White Cheddar cheese. The wine had a very buttery smell. It smelled like it would be slightly bitter. When I tasted the wine, it had a very buttery, creamy taste. It had a bitter finish and was slightly dry, but not too dry. The cheese was extremely creamy, but also slightly bitter. I was not a fan of this pairing because after tasting the cheese, drinking more of the wine I found that it brought out the dryness of the wine. This cheese brought out the bitterness of this wine. I am not a fan of bitter, dry wines, so I wouldn't pair these together again.

Barefoot Chardonnay is from
California.  This medium-
bodied wine pairs well with
fresh fruits and light seafood.
A 750mL bottle is around $6.50.

I had a really good time doing these pairings. I think we learned a lot about how to pair cheeses and wines because we now have a better idea of what types of cheeses go well with what types of wines. I think the Chardonnay and White Cheddar pairing taught us that we shouldn't pair wines and cheese of similar flavors and textures because they surprisingly conflict. I thought the more flavorful wines went better with the more flavorful cheeses.