Wine Notes: Week of 4/22/20
My very first wine meet of was a success thanks to all of you!
It was such a pleasure to mentally escape and chat about one of my favorite things, wine.
My goal with all of these Wine Wednesdays’ is to inspire, learn, have fun, share and for us all to encourage one another to march to the beat of our own drum while having fun and making new friends.
LARIE’S FEATURED WINES:
LaCrema – Pino Noir (Sanoma)
This is one of my top, favorite, pino noir’s. Easy, smooth, light to full bodied. With notes of ripe berries, hint of vanilla, oak, cherry, juicy, but not too sweet. Off-dry deliciousness.
Santa Magherita – Pino Grigio
I was introduced to this one by my husband’s auties, it’s pretty much all the white they drink! I took a few sips and learned why! Light body, not too much bite (acid or tannin).
If you like you’d like to try a white that is dry than off-dry, this pino grigio has a really great balance of all the things that make Pino Grigio a Win.
Bread and Butter – Pino Noir
Again, juicy berries, low tannnin, sweeter when decanted. A very easy, yummy sip.
Valckenberg – Gewverstmaminer
Please note, I have never tried this brand, and at the time of writing this, I have not opened it.
However, I am very much looking forward to having a sip! I have yet to meet an aromatic Gewverstraminer I didn’t like. They’re so pleasing to the nose which renders them easy on the palette. Can’t wait, I will keep you all posted.
Movie, Wines and Mentions During Our Meetup:
Folake’s movies mention : Uncorked on Netflix WATCH TRAILER! I had an opportunity to watch the trailer and it looks so good, yall!
Kay’s mentions: Ice Wine, Jewish Wine, and Stuyvesant Wine (Black Owned, woot!)
Geetha’s wine mentions: 7 Daughters and Naked Grape
My family’s mentions: Ha! They were all about Winking Owl at Aldi’s grocery market. Now that I see that there is one in my neighborhood, I must see what the hype is about asap!
This all being shared, you guys came off as a pretty sweet bunch, so I hope you all do look into giving Gewverstmaminer a try! Please let me know what you think.
Read on for notes from our meetup!
DESCRIPTORS are PERSONAL. Wine tasting is personal and there isn’t a wrong way describe how a wine tastes or feels to you.
4 Wine Types we discussed:
Pino Grigio
Gewürztraminer
Pino Noir
Cabernet
Before going into detail about those wines, lets get into wine characteristics.
ACIDITY– This is how one would define the wines tart and sourness. Think of a grape. Ever eat a “young grape”? Remember how sour they are? They’re quite tangy, tart and sour.
Anyone else’s water start to water just reading this? HAHA! And, of course, as the grape ages it becomes less acidic, sour. Maybe that where the saying, “aging like fine wine comes from”?
TANNINS – Is a micro nutrient found in plants. As it pertains to wine, high tannin content will remove protein from your tongue causing a puckering, drying sensation.
High tannin wines helps to “clear” the pallet to rich fatty meats, cheeses and pasta dishes which is why is why they make such good choices for those types of meals. Tanin comes from grape skins, seeds and NEW wood/oak barrels and are unique to RED WINE
ALCOHOL – It affects the wine’s aromas. Alcholo carry aromas from the wine to your nose.
It also adds viscosity and body to the wine, which are often referred to as “wine legs” or “tears”. Slower moving legs means higher alcohol content and residual sugar (sugar that didn’t get fermented during the fermentation process).
BODY
When you hear someone refer the body there are referring to the style of the wine form lightest to boldest.
Ligher – more acidity, lighter tannins, lower alcohol and less sweet.
Bolder, Full Body – Less acidity, higher alcohol, more tannin, more sweet…”More more more! How do you like it how do you like it? How do you like it how do you like it?”
WINE TASTING – Level of sweetness
When requesting a wine and describing it’s level of sweetness, Bone Dry (no sweetness), Off Dry, Dry, Sweet and Very Sweet are descriptors you would want to use.
VIEWING
It is best to inspect your wine at an angle, from a white backdrop. You can usually spot a newbie by their raising the glass to the sun to inspect, which is not a good angle for judging color.
SWIRLING
Small pour, about 1/3 of the way, and swirl! Swirling shows viscosity of the wine (legs/tears). Slow moving “tears” indicate higher alcohol and or residual sugar content , but not necessarily quality. Moreover, swirling introduces air to the wine, which is said to bring out the aromas.
THE COLOR OF WINE
WHITES
Pale, near white/clear is “young” (grapes) and not aged in oak.
Medium/lemon coloring – Think Sanvignon Blanc
Deep Gold – Oak Aging will give white wine a deeper, more golden hue. which is due to oxidation while the wine ages in the barrel.
REDS
Pale, light burgundy to deep burgundy red
Let’s hear a bit more about aforementioned wine styles and their flavors:
Pino Grigio
apple
lemon
pear
nectarine
crisp
Gewürztraminer
Lychee
Rose
Guava
Pino Noir
Cherry
Clove
Raspberry
Mushroom
Smooth
Cabernet
Black Cherry
Cedar
Solid “kick”
**All of these wines can be found in the U.S., however, taste/flavors are affected by the producer’s region (and weather).
💡FUN TIP! 💡
If you’re ever out doing a wine tasting or even experimenting at home, remember to set your palette with water or green olives (some people even like to use tea!).
Glassware – Selecting the proper glass.
Food Pairings
Let’s keep it simple. Light food, light wine. Highly seasoned or heavy meals, full bodied to bold wines.
To be honest, for me, wine goes with everything. I will admit, there is something about red wine wine with a bomb ass, red sauced, pasta dish that does something for me. However, if i’m eating vodka sauce, then white it is!
Feta
Sour Cream
Paneer
Goes best with a light white or light red wines
Cheddar
Parm
Goes best with medium to fully body wines
Veggies
Avocado
Broccoli
Lettuce
Goes best with light white wines
Mushrooms
Beans
Goes best with full body wines
Beef
Goes best with bold, full body wines
Seeing the pattern with these pairings?
How to Store Wine
After popping your cork, white wines lasts 5-7 days and red wine lasts 3-5 days. I recently learned that storing your wine in the fridge helps keeps them much better as well.
My white rarely lasts beyond a few days. However, I am curious to know how well red holds up in the fridge since it is usually enjoyed “room temp”.
Decanting Wine, Yes or No?
Usually I don’t, but I did experiment last week and noticed a marked difference in flavor! I had opened the bottle but hadn’t gotten back to pour for about a half hour. I was drinking a Bread and Butter’s Pino Noir, the flavors came off noticeably sweeter.
For the most part, I like off-dry, but a hint of sweet was an interesting and pleasant surprise.
How to Choose The Perfect Wine?
Personally, I avoid overly fancy lables, ask questions to the shop seller, friends and experiment.
I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to wine, if so, please share with your friends!
See you next wednesday for another Wine Wednesday With LaRie!
4/29/20