Tasting- La Fiera Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

Week 7

Name: La Fiera Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

Variety: Montepulciano

Region: Abruzzo region

Country: Italy

Year: 2013

Price: $7.95

Food? No

Description from the Vintage Cellar: "Lots of leather and dried fruit on this, but immensely enjoyable and held up well over the course of three days."

My Review: The dried fruit notes overpowered the leather- I didn't detect leather at all. This wine tastes average to me. A stronger leather profile would have made this stand out more. 

Class Notes- March 3

4:57- Room is slowly filling. Chatter abound. I looked at the points breakdown in this class, and I need to do a lot more work than I thought in order to get an A. With how few people are actually coming to class, I wonder how many people are going to end the semester with a C?

4:59- Alexa from some organization (Human Trafficking something something) is announcing a concert at 7pm on Thursday. Students get in free!

5:01- CLASS BEGINS
"Die hard 100 who are still coming to this class- thank you! I don't know why you come." -Boyer
Any questions?

1. What would you pair with an apple wine?
"Apple pie... But that's just me. You experiment." -Boyer
There are no exact rules. Sometimes opposites attract, and sometimes they don't. Wishy washy blah blah
Pate pairs well with a super sweet wine, surprisingly.

2. Some guy had a Spanish Rioja wine. He's mumbling and I can't understand him.
"Riojas are awesooooooome (high pitch singing)." -Boyer
Riojas get rustic very quickly.
Costco has a rioja- it's probably bullshit.

3. Another guy had a Lebanese wine. Boyer hasn't had many.
"Because Lebanon is what you say..... chaos. It's a disrupted state, so its wine production is far behind." -Boyer

4. This guy made his own mead.
"Do you have any advice on how long to age it?" -Guy
Sweetness does not age out. "You should know this as a brewer!"- Boyer
It's super hard to brew mead. Yeast wants to eat sugar to make alcohol. The more sugar you have, the easier it is for yeast to proliferate. With mead, the damn yeast can't stay alive because it's TOO sweet.
"It's so sweet, it's hard for shit to live in it. Honey cannot spoil. It's so concentrated, it kills everything in contact with it." -Boyer

5. Attimo winery is having a barrel tasting! $20/person. Super random.

February/March is the slowest time for the economy!

6. Today is national pancake day at Ihop. This is stupid.

7. Almost everything pairs well with roses!

Grapes of the day!
Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris/Grauburgunder
Regions: Italy ,Alsace, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, California, Oregon, Argentina, Chile
Flavor Profile: low/soft to good acidity, peaches, apricots, ripe tropical fruits, hints of melon/mango...
Alsace- more full bodied, spicy/floral
German- slightly sweet
Oregon- pear, apple, melon
Italy- thin, spritzy flavors: crisp and acidic
"Oily consistency"

Malbec
"Everyone's had a malbec! They're super affordable, and they're the KING GRAPE of Argentina!" -Boyer
Regions: France, Argentina, Chile, CA
Flavor Profile: A "rustic" version of Merlot, softer in tannins and lower in acidity (except in higher altitudes). Plummy, violets, floral, cherry, black cherry, more berries, chocolate, earthy, light leather, prune, vanilla...
Originally from France, it didn't do much over in Europe. But once they brought it to Europe, it went "gangbusters wild and is super awesome" -Boyer.

"I realize how late it's gotten because of how much fun we have in this class." -Boyer

EXTRA CREDIT WOO

Water helps moderate climate; Big bodies of water mean more constant temperatures.
CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
-Colder winters, hotter/shorter summers
-More extreme temperature swings
-Examples: Inland Europe, Germany, Austria.

MARITIME CLIMATE: Regions near large bodies of water
-Temperature swings regulated by the water proximity
-Problems of rains and storms to area
-Examples: Bordeaux

MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE: A specific maritime type
-Awesomeness
-Mild winters, long warm summers
-Mild, light rainy winter
-Examples: Midi region in France, Australia

Human decision can affect the taste of grapes
-Training
-Pruning
-Harvest time
-Fertilizing...

Find the balance between ACIDS and SUGARS when you HARVEST

Grape differences in color make for differences in...
GREEN/WHITE
-Chardonnay, Riesling
-Ripen sooner (pigmentation comes last)
-Less tannins, less tannic structure
-More malic acid (the "bite")
-Shorter growing season, cooler climates

RED/BLACK
-Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir
-Ripen later, wait on the color
-More tannic and tannic structure
-More tartaric ("mouth pucker"); less malic
-Longer, hotter growing season

The last phase of ripening: Veraison
-The color of the grape takes form
-Berries start to soften as they build up sugars
-The berries grow dramatically as they accumulate glucose and fructose
-pH increases as acids decrease (like malic)

The longer the growing season...
Sugars: UP
Colors/Tannins: UP
Acids (Malic): DOWN

You NEED acid to boost up wine!

Tasting- Big House Pinot Evil

Week 6

Name: Big House Pinot Evil Pinot Noir Boxed wine

Variety: Pinot Noir

Region: Livermore, CA

Country: United States

Year: 2014

Price: $18

Food? No

Description from Big House: "The Three Wise Monkeys are the mischievous deviants of the Big House. But don’t let them fool you with their playful demeanor.…They rule the prison’s vineyards. Long believed by many winemakers to be the most difficult to grape and craft into a wine, Pinot Noir often seems possessed if not downright evil. The Three Wise Monkeys prefer to view Pinot Noir as their guilty pleasure. And with that philosophy in mind, Pinot Evil dances with a lovely ripe cherry nose that cascades into a smooth, velvet finish."

My Review: The nose is thin and the wine is very light pink for a robust red. I get pine notes in the nose and in the flavor profile, with a bold anise flavor on the front palette. It tingles your tongue like black licorice. This does NOT taste like the description at all! I'm very surprised. And I don't think I'll be buying it again. I just have to finish the entire 3 liters now!

Tasting- The Naked Grape Cabernet Sauvignon

Week 6

Name: The Naked Grape Cabernet Sauvignon Boxed Wine

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: Modesto, CA

Country: United States

Year: 2014

Price: $18

Food? No

Description from the Naked Grape: "Some people have a naturally rich style that's effortless yet deep and complex. This character is never showy or high maintenance and reminds us a lot of The Naked Grape Cabernet Sauvignon. Our wine offers bold flavors of dark fruit and blackberries without making you bend over backward to enjoy it. We think our robust and ready Cabernet calls for a toast. So let's raise a glass to richness that's readily available. Bare it all."

My Review: On the nose, I detect faint caramel notes and a strong tannic profile. Crazy berry flavors are present in this wine- lots of blueberry, blackberry, and big jammy notes. It's dry, but also very very fruity. It's a great wine to keep on top of the fridge (Sorry, Boyer) and have a glass while watching your favorite TV shows.

Tasting- Takutai Pinot Gris

Week 6

Name: Takutai Pinot Gris

Variety: Pinot Gris

Region: Nelson

Country: New Zealand

Year: 2009

Price: $21, on sale for $6.95

Food? At first tasting, none. At second tasting, pan seared salmon with risotto and slow roasted tomatoes. 

Description from the Vintage Cellar: "Since this wine weighs in at 14%, the fruit was clearly very ripe. That ripeness is reflected in the flavors as well, which feature nectarine and honey accented by hints of white pepper. It’s full bodied and lush, with a long finish that mingles the sensations of sweet and spicy."

My Review: When I tasted this at the Vintage Cellar, I detected more savory notes than fruit notes. I bought a bottle because I was so intrigued! The wine is crisp, not too dry, and there are fantastic faint honeysuckle flavors that I love. When I opened the bottle at home, it wasn't as savory as I remembered, but still very good. It paired nicely with my dinner, and the brightness complimented the risotto and fish. Definitely glad I grabbed this at such a great price!

Tasting- Windy Hill Strawberry Pippin Cider

Week 6

Name: Windy Hill Strawberry Pippin Cider

Variety: Apple Cider with Strawberry Essence

Region: York, SC

Country: United States

Year: 2014

Price: Unknown, it was shared at a birthday party 

Food? No

Hard Cider description from the cidery: "As a licensed and bonded cidery, we have been producing Hard Cider at our orchard since 1996. Over the past several years, we have expanded our Hard Cider production to meet the demand of this rapidly growing crat beverage market. We currently produce several styles of Hard Cider that are available throughout North and South Carolina."

My Review: I felt this was a decent enough cider. The strawberry flavor is a nice touch, but I'm a little biased against using flavor essences in place of actual fruits. Also, I don't understand how you can have a "locally grown Strawberry essence". That doesn't seem local to me. I don't think I'll be drinking this again, it didn't stand out enough to me against its contemporaries in the style.

Tasting- Crafted Artisan Meadery Pollinator

Week 6

Name: Crafted Artisan Meadery Pollinator

Variety: Mead with Cascade Hops

Region: Mogadore, OH

Country: United States

Year: 2014

Price: $11

Food? No

Description from the meadery: "Pollinator is a dry hopped (cascades) spiced blackberry hydromel.  Pistils of Pollinator are crafted in honor of the industrious honey bees.  Responsible for over one-third of the world's food supply they have worked thanklessly through the ages.  Threatened today by Colony Collapse Disorder and other man-made threats, the weight of the world is getting a little heavier for the honey bee. "

My Review: Most meads I've had are cloyingly sweet, but Pollinator had a great balance between sugary sweetness and hop character. The hops revealed themselves in the mouthfeel and in the mid palette, which balanced the crazy sweetness nicely. This was an excellent mead!