Tasting- Bera

Name:Bera
Variety: Asti
Region: Neviglie, Piemonte
Country: Italy
Year: 2011
Price: $9.95
The Winery Review: Bera is a soft and plush wine with creamy foam, lemony mousse and loads of fragrant peach blossom, honey and sweet almond on the bouquet.  You'll love the intensity of elegant, fresh, rich flavours and vibrant acidity
My Review:   To me this whine was nothing special.  On the nose it had the gerneric typical whine smell that you would get from every whine.  The taste would be really the only redeemable quality.   The taste was sweet with a lemon peal taste.  The other nice part was it was bubbly and who does not like bubbles.  This Whine was rated 90 pts, Decanter Magazine, But I would not go so high I would give this whine a 7 out of 10.

Tasting Tarima

Name:Tarima
Variety: Monastrell
Region: Alicante
Country: Spain
Year: 2013
Price: $9.95
The Winery Review: Bright purple.  High-pitched red and dark berrry scents show good clarity and pick up a licorice nuance with air.  Tangy and focused on the palate, offering juicy black raspberry and spicecake flavors with an exotic touch of candied violet.  Closes spicy and long,  with silky tannins building slowly and adding gentle grip.  this is a fantastic value.
My Review: This whine did not start the best of because on the nose I could smell the aclohol with a little bit of cherry.  The taste of the whine was not to bad with a earthy dry taste that had some spices blended into it.  This whine was rated 90 pts, Stephen Tanzer but I would give this whine a 7 out of 10.

Tasting- Coreto

Name: Coreto
Variety: Tinto
Country: Portugal
Year: 2013
Price: $6.95
The Winery Review: Caladoe, Alcante Bouschet, Castellan, Pinot Noir, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional.  Great as an aperitif, is a perfect wine for the day-to-day.  Excellent addition to dishes with meats, stews, roasts, barbecue, pasta, pizza, vegertarian dishes, Mexican food, Chinese, Thai and cheeses.  Excellent with food by itself.  You can follow for example, roasts, barbecue, pasta and vegetarian dishes or made of cheeese.  Serve at a temperature of 14-16 degree celsius which enhances the fruity, also being much more enjoyable in warmer weather, on a terrace or a party.
My Review: The smell of this whine was a little different because besides having a dry fruity smell, it some how had a vap smell like an early morning fog for some reason.  The taste of it was not bad with the dry cherry taste with a pinch of spice.  I would give this whine 7 out of 10.

Tasting- Tarima

Name:Tarima
Variety: Blanco
Region: Alicante
Country: Spain
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95
The Winery Review: (70% mereseguera, 20% viura, and 10% moscatel): Light yellow.  Perfumed aromas of Meyer lemon, melon and white flowers show good clarity and a hint of ginger.  Juicy, open-knit citrus fruit and peach flavors are firmed by zesty mineral quality and a touch of white pepper.  The melon note repeats on the clinging but slightly warm finish.
My Review: On the nose this whine had a nice fruity pear smell to it.  I actually really enjoyed this whine because it had a nice sweet dry taste to it which I am starting to realize I am liking more and more.  It also had a lemon peach taste to it. I would give this whine a 8.5 out of 10.

Tasteing- Dom de la Condemine

Name: Dom de la Condemine
Variety: Macon-Peronne "Le Clou"
Region: Burgundy 
Country: France
Year: 2012
Price: Normally $19
The Winery Review: Made from 100% Chardonnay.  Sustainable agriculture: very low use of chemicals.  Their philosophy is to produce a wine in the traditional style of Macon, with minimal intervention and not use of Oak.  The soils is made of Clay and Limestone (Argilo-Calcaire) and the parcels are located right next to Vire Clesse Appelatio. A light golden hue, floral aromas.  Intense, clean and fresh on the palate.  Citrus notes, bold acidity.  Excellent match to seafood with butter or cream sauces or rich blue cheese.
My Review: I want to first start off and saw my tasting post for this week may seem a little of because when I did this tasting I just finished a test and I was running on a few hours of sleep.  On the nose this wine had a floral woody smell.  The taste of this whine was sweet and crisp with nothing much else to it.  I would give this wine a 6 out of 10

Spaghitte Wine Dinner

Me and my roommate had a wine dinner this week.  In the dinner we had an appetizer of Breakfast chicken dip, an entree of spaghetti and meatballs, and for dessert we had chocolate mouse pie.

Me and my roommate getting ready for dinner.

Me and my roommate set up a deal where he cooked and bought the food and I bought the wine and cleaned.  

Just a picture of dinner without us.

The three wines we had with the dinner was Brut, Torre Castillo, and Castle Rock we opened the castle Rock and the Torre Castillo 2 hours before dinner in order to let them breath.  We did not do that with the brut because it was a champagne and we did not want to loose the bubbly.

I was able to get a picture of most of the wines we drank besides the Brut because after dinner me and my roommate decided to try and finish the wines and we accidentally through the bottle away

Here is a close up picture of the Chicken breakfast dip.

This is the second wine dinner I did and from my first one I learned a few things like one have a glass for each wine so I don't have to rinse out the glass in between. Second was it was easier to pair with I pair all the wines to one food at a time instead of the wine to each type of food.

This is what I was talking about with the tasting set up.

Now for the paring:

Castle Rock: Castle Rock is a Sauvignon Blanc.  

Initial: On the nose it had a fruity floral perfume smell.  The Taste was sweet and crisp apple with some acidic heat at the end.

Appetizer: The appetizer made the wine more tart and add some extra acidic heat.  It felt like it dulled the sweetness

Entree: It was kind of like the appetizer where it increased the acidic heat but just lesson the sweetness instead of dulling it.

Dessert: The man difference with the dessert that I did not have with the other 2 like increasing the acidic taste and making it less sweet was it tasted a little more dry.

Torre Castillo: The Castillo was a Cosecha Monastrell.

Initial: On the nose it had a oak woods plum smell.  The taste of this wine was dirt with some cherry that was a little bitter.  One thing I like about this red was that it was not completely dry but just a little where it was just the right amount.

Appetizer: It gave the wine a more dry oak taste

Entree: the entree surprisingly brought some sweetness like a sweet cherry.  One thing i like is that it lessen the oak taste.

Dessert: The dessert brought out a nice chocolate taste to the wine, but the trade off was it made it a more dry cherry taste.

Brut: The Brut was a champagne

Initial: The nose had the standard floral perfume smell.  The taste of the Champagne was bubbly with a Sweat Tart taste like the candy with the pinch hint of peach.

Appetizer: This made the wine less tart which was good but it also made the wine more dull all in all.

Entree: All this did to the wine was make it sweeter other then that not much changed

Dessert: This was hard to judge because it felt like the chocolate form the desert kind of overpowered the wine.  The wine felt more bubbly in my opinion and tasted a little sweeter with a tart finish.

All in all this was a good dinner and I am glad he did not mess it up which really shocked me.  He was telling me that the sauce he used on the pasta was a homemade recipe that took him six hours to cook.  My favorite was the Torre Castillo because of how much it changed which some of it was for the better.

Tasting- Jam Jar

Name: Jam Jar
Variety: Sweet White
Country: South Africa
Year: 2014
Price: $8.95
The Winery Review: This Charming, easy-drinking Moscato offers flavors of peach, apricot, lychee and orange blossom.  A lively jolt of acidity keeps it fresh and fruity.  Fancy enough for a special occasion toast, yet sweet-natured enough to enjoy every day, our bright and cheerful sweet wines are sure to capture your heart.
My Review: The smell of this wine fruitier then normally it reminded me more of a watermelon Jolly Rancher.  That was why that taste through me of some much because it had a sweet lemon taste reminding of a lemon head.  Besides being opposite in the taste and smell contradiction I would give this wine a 7.5 out of 10.

Tasting- Rare Red

Name: Rare Red
Variety: Zinfandel. Petite Syrah, Petite Verdot, Merlot
Region: California
Country: USA
Price: $9.95
The Winery Review: A multi-vintage blend of zinfandel, Petite Verdot, Petite Syrah, and Merlot that is full-bodied and fruit forward with a spicy and complex finish.  This wine has been partially barrel aged for eight months in American and French oak.
My Review: The main smell I got from this wine was a cherry smell with maybe a little bit of oak.  The taste of the was sweet and a mixture of cherry and chocolate like dipping a cherry in chocolate sauce and eating it.

Tasting- Breca Tovana

Name: Breca Tovana
Variety: Old Vine Garnacha
Region: Munebrega
Country: Spain
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95
The Winery Review: Gnarled Vines, grown without irrigation, are a mainstay of Spain's winemaking tradition and produce small cluster of perfectly ripe Garnacha, grapes.  Aromas of blackberriers, plums, and cherries fill the glass and develop into luscious flavors of black stone fruit.  Long, supple tannins complete this extraordinary wine.
My Review:The smell of this wine was not as typical as I am used to because it reminded me more of a must smell.  The taste of it though was dry with some plum.  it was an ok wine in my opinion I would give this wine a 6 out of 10.

 

Tasting- Marques de Caceres

Name: Marques de Caceres
Variety: Verdejo
Region: Rueda
Country: Spain
Year: 2013
Price: $9.95
The Winery Review: Vivid straw colour. Fresh, clean and intense bouquet enlivened by notes of citrus fruit with a depth of pears and apples. Deliciously fresh and full in the mouth where racy, focused flavours deliver notes of minerals, lemon rind and green apples.  Good length and a refreshing finish.  Has all the character of the best from its appellation.
My Review: The nose of this wine was a nice fruity one with a misty smell kind of like a morning fog.  The taste of this wine was kind of basic.  I was a citrus taste with some sweet water followed by some heat.  All-in -all a pretty basic wine.  I would give this 7 out of 10.

Tasting- Dibon Cava

Name: Tres Ojos
Variety: Xarel-lo, Macabeo, Parellada
Region: Catalonia
Country: Spain
Price: $9.95
The Winery Review: Made from 45% Macabeo, 25% Xarel-lo, 30% Parellada, the nose offers regal yeast and richness, while the palate has complexity to prop up apple, citrus and grapefruit flavors.  Solid from front to back, with health and freshness.  Cava, Catalan sparkling wine, is made mostly in the regions of Penedes, andaproximately 20 Km from Sant Sadurni, The Dibon vineyard is in the process of becoming fully organic.  it consists of 75 hectares of trellised vines 1000 feet above the Mediterranean Sea.
My Review: On the nose this wine had a nice floral perfume smell.  Yes I do realize I use a lot of the same descriptions of the smell of wines mainly because I have not came across any better word to use trust me I am trying.  The taste of this wine was interesting mainly because it was sweet and bubbly with some melon.  This wine kind of reminded me a little bit like Sprit.  Wine Enthusiast gave this wine 88 points.  I would give this wine an 8.8 out of 10 I really enjoyed it.

Tasting- Hahn Piesporter Michelsberg

Name: Hahn Piesporter Michelsberg
Variety: Riesling
Region: Piesport
Country: Germany
Price: $9.95
The Winery Review: This wine's light, airy mouthfeel belies its sweetness and intensity of flavor.  Honeyed pineapple aromas; similar flavors on the palate, adding gentle citrus notes toward the long, sweet finish.
My Review: It had a smell of heat and the taste of a sweet watermelon.

Tasting- Tres Ojos

Name: Tres Ojos
Variety: Garnacha
Region: Calatayud
Country: Spain
Year: 2012
Price: $6.95
The Winery Review: The 2012 Tres Ojos Garnacha contains 15% Tempranillo (I wonder why), and unoaked cuvee of 200,000 bottles that mature in vat fro at least seven months before bottling.  What I tasted was very honest, fresh and fruit-driven red with aromas of cherries, garrigue and thyme with a medium bodied palate, some weight and tannins that would do better with food.  This is a red that sells for a song.
My Review: It had a spice smell and the taste was spicy with a dry heat.

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Tasting- Torres Castillo

Name:Torre Castillo
Variety: Cosecha Monastrell
Region: Jumilla
CountrySpain
Year: 2011
Price: $7.95
The Winery Review: 100% Monastrell, aged iri American oak for four months.  Bright ruby.  Powerful, spicy aromas of dark berry preserves and lavender.  Fleshy and round on the palate, offering spicy blackberry and blueberry flavors and ganging sweetness with air.  Finishes smooth, Long and slightly warm.
My Review: It had a dry cherry smell with a hint of ligorose.  the taste was bitter with a cranberry pepper.

Tasting- Chateau Suau

Name: Chateau Suau
Variety: Bordeaux Rose 
Region: Bordeaux
Country: France
Year: 2013
Price: Regular $18
The Winery Review: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Light, lurid punk.  Tangerine, raspberry and white pepper on the fragrant nose.  Juicy and focused in the mouth offering zesty red berry flavors with a refreshingly bitter edge. closes clean and tight, with lingering spiciness and a touch of orange zest. 
My Review: The smell was fruity and the Taste was a little dry with a sweet lemon.

Tasting-Terre di Poggio

Name:Terre di Poggio Laude
Variety: Pecorino
Region: Terre di Chieti
Country: GItaly
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95
The Winery Review: Bright and savory, this floral scented Pecorino offers Juicy tropical fruit and lemon drop sensations accented by notes of mint and thyme. The ripe fruit is balanced by brisk acidity that leaves the palate feeling cleans3d and refreshed
My Revie:  The smell of this wine was floral and perfume with an alcohol after smell,  The taste was sweet and tart like the candy.

Tasting- Peter Mertes

Name: Peter Mertes
Variety: Riesling Platinum
Region: Rheinhessen
Country: Germany
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95
The Winery Review: This quality Riesling is crisp, clean and easy drinking.  Floral and fruit aromas suggest sweet melon and honey with enough acidity to ensure a beautifully balanced and versatile wine. 
My Review: On the nose this wine had a floral citrus smell.  The taste of this riesling is sweet with a smooth finish.  There was not much to this the really wowed me.  I would give this wine a 6 out of 10.

Tasting- Charles Thomas Cotes du Rhone

Name: Charles Thomas Cotes du Rhone
Variety: Cotes du Rhone
Region: Rhone
Country: France
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95
The Winery Review: 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 56 Ha grown organically since March 2009 (in conversion).  Part of the vineyard is plowed with horses.  Average age of the vines: 30 years old.  Clear ruby wine with overtones of red berry fruits.  Round and supply with smooth aftertaste.  A good all round red wine for meat courses, poultry and light cheeses.  Best drunk now while fresh with good keeping up to 4 years.
My Review:On the nose there was not much difference that i could pick up.  The taste of it was very dry and earthy with a little bit of cherry.  It reminded me of licking a cherry sucker that was drop in the dirt.  I would give this wine a 7 out of 10.

Tasting- Terri di Poggio Montepulciano d' Abruzzo

Name: Terri di Poggio Montepulciano d' Abruzzo
Variety: Laude
Region: Abruzzo
Country: Italy
Year: 2012
Price: $8.95
The Winery Review: This opens with dark aromas of leather, tobacco, cured meat, plum and prune.  It shows soft tannins and loads of dark fruit on the finish.
My Review: This was a nice red wine with some dissent legs on it.  On the nose this wine had a dry earthy smell.  This kind of reminded me of smelling some lose soil.  The taste of this wine was bland with some acidic cherry after taste.  I would give this wine a 7 out of 10.

Tasting- Sean Minor Pinot Nor Rose Vin Gris

Name: Sean Minor Pinot Noir Rose Vin Gris
Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Carneros
Country: California
Year: 2013
Price: Normally $20
The Winery Review: The Vin Gris is a bright and vibrant salmon color with cherry, strawberry, cranberry and ripe watermelon aromas on the nose.  On entry, the wine displays bright strawberry flavors.  Throughout the mid-palate and finish, raspberry and cherry fruit character are balanced with spicy and crisp acidity that linger creating a refreshing and lengthy finish.
My Review: The Pinot Noir had a nice floral strawberry smell on the nose.  The taste of the wine was a sweet with an over ripe apple taste.  There was some pineapple and strawberry taste mixed in.  I actually enjoyed this wine.  I would give tis wine a 7.5 out of 10.

Tasting-Grande Resereve des Bastides Gaillac

Name: Grande Resereve des Bastides
Variety: Gaillac
Region: Gaillac
Country: France
Year: 2013
Price: $9.95
The Winery Review: A crisp and fruity blend featuring 20% of the herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc, 50% creamy Loin de I'Oeil and notes of fresh apple and crisp pear, plus a touch of herb from 30% Mauzac. It has A bright feel, with a hint of mineral on the finish.
My Review: On the nose the Grande Resereve had a fruity floral perfume smell.  It had a sweet crisps taste, that reminded me of a little bit of lemon water.  It also had a little bit of a bitter after taste.  I would give this wine a 6 out of 10.