Tasting - Lionne Royale Champagne

Name: Lionne Royale Brut Champagne

Variety: Champagne

Region: France

Bottled: Union Aubiose, Bar-sur-Seine, France 

Country: France

Year: Unlabeled

Price: $35 online at Walmart 

Winery Review:Bright and expressive, this delightful sparkling wine opens with aromas of fresh white flowers, followed by an elegant fruit-forward palate with a pleasant mousse and bracing acidity-a true hallmark of excellent Champagne. Notes of brioche and freshly baked bread mark the lengthy finish. (From the bottle)

Wine Folly: pg. 94, champagne's common tasting notes are citrus, yellow apple, cream, almond, and toast. Pairs best with anything fried or salty (not the cake that we paired it with)

My Review: I was at the beach this week for a friend's birthday, and her parents got champagne for the evening to go with the cake. This was a very dry wine; the name did not lie. We had it with a very sweet trifle cake (angel food cake with vanilla custard). The wine was very sour apple tasting, and the cake made the wine less sweet and dry. At first, before the cake, it was a sweet wine, but the sweetness of the custard in the cake cut the sweetness of the wine, and I got a lot more green apple or pear flavors. Maybe some citrus (grapefruit or lemon) too. 

The birthday girl's review: Cocktails were consumed with dinner, so the birthday girl was already rather tipsy. But she wanted to contribute to my wine review. She got "notes of...bubbles".

And, when she took a sip, "it made her go like this" *see photo*

Needless to say, it is a very dry wine and can cause you to scrunch your nose, apparently. 

Wine Dinner 2 - Ocean Samurai (3/18)

My mom was up for the woman's NCAA tournament games (Go Hokies!), so of course it was time to do another wine dinner. This time we wanted variety, and we got takeout from Ocean Samurai. We also loaded up on some good wines at Vintage Cellar. Unfortunately, the cat could not join us for this one. 

Course 1: Dumplings, Salad, Spring Rolls and Champagne

Name: Tendil & Lombardi Cuvee Brut Champagne

Variety: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay 

Region: Balnot-sur-Laignes

Country: France

Bottled: Cellars Vienna, VA

Year: Unknown

Price: $16 from Vintage Cellar 

Official tasting notes: "lovely toasty biscuit quality" and "minerality, freshness, and length" from the Chardonnay (from the website) 

My tasting notes: crisp apple, sweet, cinnamon, slightly dry but also sweet, slight lemon

We got three appetizers to try pairing with this wine... 

The first was spring rolls, and this one paired the best. The tartness/sweetness of the sauce brought out the sweetness in the wine and canceled the bitter/dryness. This was our favorite paring across the board, and it was a bit unexpected. I read that doing a sparkling wine first helped keep the mouth "entertained" and warmed up for the meal. This was definitely a good choice. 

The blandness of the spring rolls complemented the wine and made those flavors stronger. All while the sauce brought out the fruity flavors of the wine. 

Our second pairing was goyza dumplings. These were beef dumplings and our least favorite pairing. The fat of the dumplings made the wine taste thicker and almost buttery. This was not a pleasant flavor with the sweetness of the wine. With the soy sauce that came with the dumplings also clashed with the wine. The salt made the wine taste a lot more bitter. 

The third appetizer was a salad that came with the meal. We forgot about this, and had already picked out some appetizers we wanted to try. This pairing wasn't terrible, but it wasn't as good as the spring rolls. The salad was rather bland, so it didn't do much to the wine. The dressing conflicted with the wine a bit and brought out the bitterness. 

Overall, our favorite pairing was the sweet sauce/simple flavors of the spring rolls. This wine was a suggestion from the Vintage Cellar based on the price point and flavor of the wine. I will definitely be getting more :)

Course 2: Hibachi Steak, Fried Rice, and Sake

Name: Ozeki Nigori Strawberry Sake

Variety: Sake 

Region: USA product

Country: USA

Bottled: Ozeki Sake, Hollister, CA (USA)

Year: Unknown 

Price: ~$15 at Vintage Cellar

Official tasting notes: "This cloudy sake beautifully combines the tropical sweetness and creamy texture of Ozeki Nigori Sake with a light and refreshing strawberry flavor. Using the best rice and strawberries grown in California." (from the website)

Tasting notes: melted strawberry milkshake, creamy, sweet, thick, strawberry

We wanted to be traditional and pair our food with sake. I really enjoyed this sake, but not with the steak. It was super sweet and tasted like a stand-alone desert. With the food, it tasted like two heavily competing flavors. We all agreed that it was better alone. This would pair well with fresh fruit or ice cream... maybe some bread, but nothing with a strong flavor. I know nothing about sake, and this was a recommended flavor by the staff. It also caught our attention because of the pink bottle. I will be trying this again tomorrow for desert after dinner. I am curious to try other flavors of sake. I have heard negative things, so we went with one that looked like it would be sweet. Next time I won't be scared to try lower sweetness sake. 

The sake tasted like a melted milkshake to me. I really enjoyed it, but with the steak, it tasted bitter. Also the salt of the fried rice made it taste like it was almost curdling in my mouth. 

Course 3: Takoyaki with Spritz Almare Orange Wine

Name: Spritz Almare - Aperitivo Italiano

Variety: Glera

Region: Veneto

Country: Italy

Bottled: San Pietro di Feletto

Year: Unknown 

Price: ~$15 from Vintage Cellar 

Official tasting notes: sunset orange color, refreshing, "citrus notes and a pleasant fruitiness", bubbles and "special taste of the real Italian craft Spritz" (from website) 

Tasting notes: very orange, sweet, spicey, cinnamon, orange zest, slightly bitter 

This wine caught our attention at the Vintage Cellar because of its color. We paired it with our desert. We get Takoyaki every time we go to eat at Ocean Samurai. It is a sweet red bean-filled fried dough patty shaped like a fish. The wine paired really nicely with it. The sweetness complemented the sweet dough. Also, the spices added to the red bean to enhance the flavor and add depth.

The wine bubbles also added an interesting mouth feel to the meal. I really enjoyed the wine and will be getting it again. I even have some left over for a wine night with my neighbor tomorrow! 

Tasting - Open Tasting at the Vintage Cellar 3/18

While shopping for our wine dinner, we sampled some of the wines leftover from the Vintage Cellar Saturday tasting. The four we got to try are shown below. I did not get a photo of myself with the wine, but both my mom and I participated in the tasting. Our proof of purchase of wine is in the next post for our wine dinner :)

Wine 1, Name: Korbel Prosecco

Variety: Prosecco 

Region: Italy 

Bottled: Prosecco, Italy

Country: Italy

Year: No year listed

Price: $14.95 from Vintage Cellar

Winery Review: "The aromas are of white peaches, pear, and lemon zest. The flavors are delicate, bright, and alive on the tongue. On the finish, it has an Extra Dry level of sweetness, which softens the wine without making it noticeably sweet". (From sheet)

Wine Folly: primary flavors: green apple, honeydew, pear, lager, cream, medium dryness and high acidity, would pair well with seafood or Asian cuisine (https://winefolly.com/wines/prosecco/)

My review: This was definitely a dry wine but it was also pretty sweet. I got crisp apples immediately. I had a completely plain pallet before this so the flavor was very strong. I also got the lemon and pear, but not the peaches. It was tart, so maybe that was the peaches. I got strong apple flavors, which wasn't listed as a flavor. 

Wine 2, Name: Oko, Organic Pinot Grigio

Variety: Pinot Grigio 
Region: Italy 
Bottled: Delle Venezie, Italy
Country: Italy
Year: 2021
Price: $14.95 from Vintage Cellar

Winery Review: "As you enjoy aromas of fresh fruit and bright flavors of citrus know this was all achieved naturally. As the crisp acidity grabs you, so will your appreciation for OKO. Boasts aromas of fresh fruit, bright flavors of citrus, and crisp acidity with just a hint of minerality". (From sheet)

Wine Folly: common flavors - white peach, lemon zest, cantaloupe, almond, gravel(??), medium dryness and high acidity (https://winefolly.com/grapes/pinot-gris/) 

My review: This wine was not my favorite... it was very dry and a little bitter. It was not as sweet as the first one which caught me off guard. It was very appely as well. There was a hint of orange or grapefruit because of how bitter it was. This one made me pucker my lips a bit at first compared to the sweetness of the first wine. In response to my reaction, the woman pouring agreed with me and said "she has always tried to like Pinot Grigio but just can't"

Wine 3, Name: Josh, Pinot Noir

Variety: Pinot Grigio 
Region: California 
Bottled: California
Country: US
Year: 2021
Price: $15.95 from Vintage Cellar

Winery Review: "A bouquet of dried cherry and cranberry laced with traces of leathers, earth, and eucalyptus. Light-bodied and clean on the palate with juice, cherry flavored fruit; the tannins are soft and subtle leading to a moderately long finish". (From sheet)

Wine Folly: common tasting - cherry, raspberry, mushroom, clove, hibiscus, also medium dryness and high acidity, this pairs well with duck/chicken and mushrooms (I would want to try this with a mushroom pasta dish) -- (https://winefolly.com/grapes/pinot-noir/)

My review: This wine was also not my favorite... leather was a good descriptor because it was the first thing I smelled when the glass was near my face. I could tell immediately I wouldn't like it... I actually made my mom finish this one for me because she liked it. The flavor was very strong and bitter to me. I couldn't get past the leather flavor. I tasted cherry, but they were almost rotten to me. 

Wine 4, Name: Merlot Napa 

Variety: Merlot Napa 
Region: California
Bottled: Napa, California 
Country: US
Year: 2017
Price: $26,95 from Vintage Cellar

Winery Review: "Aroma of blackberries and blueberries and hits of hot stone. Chocolate too. Full body, round and juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. Delicious red. Drink or hold". (From sheet)

Wine Folly: Napa Valley Merlot is grown with rocky soil that causes "spice, color and mouthfeel". There was an unseasonably warm winter and spring in 2015 that decreased crop, this could have impacted 2017, but the vineyards were likely to have recovered by then.  (https://napa.guides.winefolly.com/wineries/merryvale-vineyards/wines/merlot-napa-valley/) 

My review: After the other red, I asked for a small amount of this one. I liked it better than the last, but I am starting to find that I like white wines better than red. This was a very thick wine to me, I got a lot more spices and deeper flavors. It was slightly sweeter and less dry. It was a very earthy flavor. The smell was a lot sweeter and spicier. There was a hint of cinnamon or nutmeg to me.