Tasting - Italian Sparkling Wine (Prosecco)

Name: Villa Jolanda Saint Valentine I love you

Variety: Glera Grapes from Italy (Prosecco)

Region: Italy 

Bottled: Piedmont, Italy

Country: Italy

Year: No year listed

Price: ~$16 from Vintage Cellar

Winery Review: (From online listing--I should've taken a photo of the tag in the Vintage Cellar) Light and bubbly, this sparkler charms everyone who raises a glass with its delicate fizz and aromas of lemon, pink grapefruit and white peach. The perfect way to say "I love you" to that special someone. Works great as an aperitif or with lighter fare. 

Wine Folly: This wine is labeled as Italian Sparkling, but through some reading, I found it is made with glera grapes used to make prosecco  (an Italian sparkling wine). pg 155 - prosecco has tasting notes of green apple/honeydew/pear/lager/cream. None of these match this wine's flavors other than the general tart flavors. 

My review: This was definitely a dry wine. I tried it twice on two different nights. I liked it better the second time because I was not caught off guard by how dry it was. I got it expecting to not like it because there were so many labels of "extra dry." I got it because I thought the bottle was super cute (I want to put a plant in it). I got lots of lemon flavor but couldn't taste much over the dryness. I can also tell there is grapefruit because it is a very tart wine. I liked it because it was not overly sweet. I prefer more acidic/tart flavors. 

Tasting - Red Blend

Name: Playtime Red

Variety: Blend (Zinfandel, Barbera, Petit Verdot, Grenache)

Region: California, United States/North Coast/Lake County

Bottled: Kelseyville, California

Country: United States

Year: 2020

Price: $18 at a bookstore in Topsail Beach 

Winery Review: An enticing red blend, with lush fruit flavors and a soft vanilla finish. Playtime is a wine of great substance from the acclaimed growing regions of California. The label is a tribute to the Pinup Stars that were prevalent during World War II and were adorned on various military aircraft as they flew into battle. These pin-ups were an inspiration to enjoy life fully and return home safely to their loved ones. Sustainably farmed. (From the bottle)

Wine Folly: Looking into pg 290 of common wines from California, it seems this wine combines a lot of the popular grape varieties into one wine. pg 117- Grenache has common notes of strawberry/plum. pg 189- Zinfandel has common notes of strawberry/blackberry. This explains why the wine tasted so complexly fruity. 

My Review: This was a bottle we got on a trip to the beach at Topsail Island. I am not a red wine drinker usually, but I did enjoy the wine. I had it without food. The first thing I noticed was it was very dry. I did get some vanilla flavors, but mostly I just tasted red wine. There are a lot of fruit flavors, I think it's heavy blackberry/raspberry. 

Tasting - Cupcake Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc

Name: Cupcake Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: Marlborough, New Zealand

Bottled: Livermore, Canada

Country: New Zealand

Year: 2022

Price: $11, on sale for $8 at Kroger 

Winery Review: Our Sauvignon Blanc is a vibrant, crisp wine that comes from Marlborough, New Zealand, where the cool climate allows our grapes to mature slowly for character and complexity. Flavors of Meyer lemon, white nectarine, and Key lime integrate with grapefruit, gooseberry, and citrus, resulting in a long balanced finish. Pair with oysters on the half shell, risotto, or a picnic in the park. (From the bottle)

Wine Folly: pg. 165, Sauvignon Blanc: I can taste a lot of grapefruit, and a tart fruit which I am assuming is the gooseberry (I have never tried one before). 

I did serve it cold as was recommended, and as the glass warmed up, it tasted almost bitter. Cold is definitely the best way to serve this wine. 

My Review: I liked it! I got this wine because it was a hot gift in a white elephant gift exchange I went to last week... Everyone was saying this was their favorite, so I had to snag a bottle when I found it in Kroger on sale. It was not as sweet as I was expecting, so it was a nice tart wine. I definitely tasted a lot of fruits but couldn't distinguish the flavors besides grapefruit. 

I shared the bottle with my boyfriend (pictured--also in this class) and my mom over dinner. We had takeout from The Cellar. This wine would've been much better without the food... it did not pair with my spinach/artichoke dip because it made everything taste a lot more bitter. I ended up trying it again the next day (when I am writing the review), and it tastes much better and less bitter. 

**and I blame the wine because everything pairs with The Cellar's spinach artichoke dip :)

Introductory Post

Hi! My name is Miranda (photo attached below). I wanted to take this class to learn more about wine. So far, I know very little about what I like and don't like, and I wanted to try different types of wine to figure out what I like. I have not liked many of the red wines I have tried. I am more of a white wine person, but I think that is because I am not trying the right types. Dry wines are not my favorite; I prefer sweeter wines. But, I am assuming it will be like beginning to drink coffee... at first, I would only drink the super sweet frappuccinos at Starbucks; I needed to work up to drinking the cold brew. 

So far, my favorite wines have been prosecco, rose, and Moscato. All very sweet wines. I really hope to learn about different types of wine and how they are made. When I read a wine bottle label, I have no idea if I will truly like it. I am hoping to learn how to tell information about wine from reading the label. This class is also an excuse for me to try different types of wine and learn more about the tasting notes. I cannot currently tell much from a sip of wine. I can say whether I like it, but I hope to pick up on more flavors and tasting notes after this class. 

I do not drink wine very often, only as a social occasion, so I want to figure out which wines I like so that I am not just drinking what everyone else is having. I hadn't tried Moscato until I was at the beach with my boyfriend's family and we were picking out a bottle at the store. I was asked what I liked, and I didn't have an answer. Normally my answer is semi-sweet and fruity. From that, the barista was able to recommend a Moscato that I really enjoyed... I wish I had taken a photo of the bottle. Before then, I had never tried Moscato. I hope this class will do the same and recommend some wines that I have never heard of and have been missing out on :)