Dinner- Blacksburg Moving Date

Nothing is better than a home cooked meal after a long day of moving. The only thing that can make this better is some wine. Oh wait, that's exactly what I did tonight. After doing the whole moving across Blacksburg thing, I went to Kroger to get some chicken, corn, ice cream and 3 bottles of wine. Today I did all of the cooking and cleaning since my girl friend was so kind with helping me move. Our first potion of the night ( I wont call it an appetizer because we had some bad timing of cooking) Some nice corn on the cob. Nothing screams summer more than corn on the cob.  

We had chardonnay by Bay Bridge with this corn. We spent way to much money on this bottle considering it tasted awful. We payed a whopping $3 for this. I didn't expect much to begin with, but this was just terrible. It was very bland, just no complexity at all. It was very acidic and the after taste lingered. I couldn't finish my glass I disliked it that much. What are you going to do though, I spent $3 on it. 

Now on to the chicken. I love to grill so this got me excited. I cooked perfect chicken, taken off the grill at around 155* and wrapped in foil so it would continue to cook and settle to 165*. It makes the chicken so moist and delicious. We got some nice Crane Lake Sangiovese to compliment the chicken. We want to splurge on the wine for dinner, so we spent $5 on this one. When I first poured it, I was shocked with how light the color was. The best way to describe it was a translucent red. I wish I got a picture of it. I forgot to take the napkins out of the glasses, oops. When I first smelled it, I immediately got the smell of berries and fruit, cherry stood out to me the most. I really enjoyed this wine. It was very full and flavorful. Very good purchase for $5. 

On to my favorite part of the meal. Dessert, which is ice cream. My girl friend and I always do personal Ben & Jerry's flavors that way we don't have to get a big tub of a single flavor. I always like trying new flavors and saw cherry garcia so I went ahead and got that one for my flavor and of course my girl friend got chocolate chip cookie dough. The wine we went ahead and bought was a Cabernet Sauvignon from Bay Bridge. Paid $3 for it which was well worth it. This is one of my favorite types of wine so far. I loved the color, it wasn't too dark nor too light(not that color matters really). It had a really nice fruity smel to it and exploded with flavor as soon as I tasted it. It was very full and had berry/cherry taste to it. It was very well with the ice cream surprisingly.  Will definitely try this again because I enjoyed it so much. I hope you enjoyed hearing about my dinner!

 

Tasting- Purple Paws Cabernet Sauvignon Non Vintage

Name: Purple Paws

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon Non Vintage


Region: Lodi, California

Country: USA

Year: N/A

Price: $15

Wine Critic: If a Cabernet can be smooth and creamy, this one is. It offers plenty of fruit flavor, smooth tannins that coat the mouth in a good way, plus a plush texture that keeps it from being even a bit harsh. With light body, a soft mouthfeel and lingering finish, there’s much to like. 

My Review: I absolutely love this wine. This was the wine that I decided to buy and am currently drinking. Red wine is definitely my favorite type of wine, so I am biased. I love the smooth but fruity flavor of this wine. It has a great taste that lasts in your mouth. It kind of reminds me of joy and happiness. Not bitter and great aftertaste.

Tasting - Purple Paws Zinfandel

Name: Purple Paws

Variety: Zinfandel

Region: Lodi, California

Country: USA

Year: 2012

Price: $15

Wine Critic: It smells like ripe boysenberries and cherries, and tastes generous and broad without being too full bodied. It finishes with more fruit notes and those who love a little spice and smooth tannins will be happy.

My Review: This was my second favorite wine out of this weeks tastings. It was a little too fruity for a red wine. It also had a hint of something that I couldn't really pin down. It wasn't a bad taste but for the little bit I had, I couldn't totally tell if I loved it or not. I will need to have a couple more glasses to see if I truly like it. It was an interesting red.

Wine Tasting- Butterfly Kiss Moscato

Name: Butterfly Kiss

Variety: Moscato

Country: Chile

Year: 2012

Price: $13

Wine Critic: Aromas of honeydew and apricot, gently kissed by orange blossom, candied pineapple and a hint of lime zest.

My Review: This wine was way way way too sweet for me. It tasted like I was sucking on a jolly rancher. This wine was not for me. Tasted like all sugar. It also gave me a headache after drinking it. 

Wine Tasting- Rosemount Chardonnay

Name: Rosemount

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: N/A

Year: 2013

Price: $10

Wine Critic: This world-renowned wine shows peachy tropical fruit and melon characters on the nose, with a hint of citrus freshness and judicious use of oak. The palate is generous and soft with full, ripe tropical flavors folded into a creamy backdrop that is beautifully structured with a long satisfying finish. 

My Review: I enjoyed this wine more than the last one (La Lejania Sauvignon Blanc). This wine had a more distinct taste and wasn't so bland. I definitely tasted a big hint of fruit as well as a woody finish. I do enjoy a nice chardonnay and this one is not bad.

Wine Tasting- La Lejania Sauvignon Blanc

Name: La Lejania

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: Central Valley

Year: 2015

Price: $10.00

Wine Critic: Aromas of green apple and citrus are as classic as it gets for Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. This is straight forward but enjoyable, with modest minerality. Flavors of citrus and gooseberry carry over onto a refreshing finish. 

My Review: The wine right off the back was definitely not my favorite. I don't know if it was just me but it did not taste like much. It seemed very light and flavorless. Kind of a sweet after tone with a hint citrus.

Food: No food with this wine. 

Wine Tasting - Starmont Carneros Pinot Noir

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Name: Carneros 

Variety: Pinot Noir 

Region: Napa Valley

Year: 2013

Price: $30

Wine Critic: Deep red plum aromas lead to a mix of red and dark berry fruits on the palate with beautifully integrated oak spice flavors. The wine’s concentrated fruit, refreshing acidity and tannins are all in balance, allowing for aging, but it is delicious right now.


My Review: I got this bottle given to me as a gift at the country club I work at. One of the members knew I was taking a wine class and had some left over bottles from a party he threw. One of the three bottles was opened and half way done. I have two more bottles but think this bottle had been oxidized a little too much. It was full of flavors though. Immediately the first flavor I got was a dark cherry flavor. As I drank more the oak flavor came out. This is the first wine that I drank that had me wanting more. I can't wait to taste the other bottles after they have aged a bit. 

Food: No food with this wine. 

Wine Tasting - Beaulieu Vineyard Coastal Estates Merlot

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Name: Coastal Estates

Variety: Merlot

Region: California 

Year: 2013

Price: $6

Wine Critic: Opens relatively quickly. Has a nice light magenta color and basic legs. Nose of cranberry, plum and cola. Opening of red fruit favoring cherry with red licorice, mocha, ash and granite. Lighter bodied merlot and average acidity with basic tannins that emerge and fade quickly.

My Review: I actually bought this wine at Wegmans before I knew I was going to take this class. My thoughts on this wine is that it was very acidic. I could smell the berry right away. When smelling this wine a light bulb went off in my head and I recognized a smell. It took me a couple times to get my mind to match up with what I was smelling. It was licorice. It makes sense why I didn't enjoy this wine after realizing that because I dont like licorice. 

Food: No food with this wine. 

Tasting - Rene Barbier Mediterranean Red

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Name: Rene Barbier

Variety: Blend of Tempranillo and Merlot

Region: Spain

Year: Was not aged

Price: $9

Wine Critic: "This bright red surprises with pretty aromatics, spice on the palate, and an overall high enjoyment index. Balanced and clean, this will be making repeat appearances on our dinner table." - WineThropology.com, January 2014 

My Review: This was my first wine tasting after watching the Wine IQ videos. Out of the three wines that I have tasted, this is my favorite one so far. It was very berry but not sweet which I liked a lot. It didn't have the tart or dry taste that I'm getting accustomed to, which was nice on a warm summer night. I'm off to a good start because it was the first wine I picked out after having some knowledge of wine.

Food: I'm a big fan of steaks and anything I can cook on the grill for that matter. The night I tried this wine I was having a nice steak seasoned with salt and pepper cooked to medium rare. This wine played really well with the steak and hinted off the pepper.

A Little About Myself

I'm Mike Shaup and I'm from Potomac Falls, VA which is right outside of Washington DC. I will be a senior this fall and will be graduating in December with an Economics degree. In the past I used to be a picky eater and didn't like to try new things including drinks. It wasn't until I got to Virginia Tech until I started exploring different types of foods and drinks.

When it comes to wine, the first thing that comes to my head is a terrible tasting beverage. My experience with wine comes from trying my girl friends wines when I feel adventurous and Franzia. Wine has always been a challenge for me because even when I'm drinking wine, I have no clue what I'm tasting or better yet how to explain it.

I want to get a lot out of this course. This week I have tried 5 different wines thinking I could do a review on them, I started one and had no clue how to describe the wine. The only thing that comes to mind is wine. So I have no previous knowledge of wine. I want to be able to know the differences between the geographical locations of the wines and how to explain them. The biggest thing for me is to be able to match foods with wines. I love to cook and I could only imagine being able to pair a wine and the food I cook to make more flavorful meal. In the future I hope that I am in the position where I can take clients out to dinner and impress them with knowledge of wine.