Brian's Wine Blog

Name:  Kaldera Varietal:  Assyrtiko Region:  Santorini Country:  Greece Year:  2021 Price:  $9.95 Vintage Cellar Review:  A perfect aperitif for a hot summer day, or pairing with seafood and salads, this is a beautifully balanced, light-bodied wine. Aromas include ripe pineapple, lemon and lime, and the palate has a long, racy finish. - 92 Flavors/Aromas:  (Pg. 77) This highly acidic, surprisingly alcoholic white wine is pretty rare in the grand scheme of things, but the best iterations of it come from the island of Santorini. It is extremely versatile with regards to food pairings, and it contains flavors of lime, passionfruit, beeswax, flint, and saline. My Review:  One of the great things about going to wine tastings is that you never know what wild blends and varietals you will discover. Case in point: the grape behind this white wine is indigenous to a single Greek island, and thus is relatively rare compared to most other grapes, but I ...

                        Name:  Primaterra Varietal:  Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) Region:  Trevenezie Country:  Italy Year:  2019 Price:  $9.95 Vintage Cellar Review:  Distinctive aroma of red berries, blackberry, raspberry. Excellent versatility thanks to its good drinkability and refinement over time. Medium bodied, lively, elegant, and with good freshness. Flavors/Aromas:  (Pg. 150) This lighter bodied, soft-tannin red has become very popular with its spicy and fruity flavors, such as cherry, raspberry, clove, mushroom, and vanilla. My Review:  After the Pinot Noir/Cinsault snafu from a couple of weeks ago, I was really looking to get a bottle of the former to make up for my error, and I happened to come across a good one at a tasting that I bought on the spot. Now looking at the price listed above, you might be concerned, as with how famously difficult Pinot Noir is to get r...

Name:  19 Crimes - The Uprising Varietal:  "Red Wine" Region:  "South Eastern" Country:  Australia Year:  2017 Price:  $11.99 Winemaker Notes:  This wine pays homage to Australia's "Rum Rebellion" and thus a portion has been aged for 30 days in rum barrels. Dark with jammy flavors and a smokey finish. Flavors/Aromas:  (Pg. ???) Well considering that I have no knowledge of the grapes in this wine, I don't really think I can answer this properly. Of note, later editions of this wine advertise "notes of sweet mocha, caramel and spice." My Review:  This was another wine from my roommate's collection, but unlike the Cabernet Sauvignon, this one had very little info publicly available, hence all of the shoddy reporting on display above. Looks we have a wine mystery on our hands! Upon sniffing it for the first time, I simply smelled alcohol, meaning that the 14% content is definitely no joke. There were also hints of black licorice in there,...

                          Name:  Frog's Leap - Estate Grown Varietal:  83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot Region:  Rutherford, Napa Valley, California Country:  United States Year:  2017 Price:  $74.99 (!) Wine & Spirits Review:  The unusual heat spikes throughout the summer of 2017 challenged the dry-farmed vines at Frog’s Leap, but they came through it with fruit that tastes light and bright. There’s some dimpled ripeness to its red-cherry flavors, and a little alcohol warmth in the end, but the overall impression is rich and sleek, spicy and bold. - 90 Flavors/Aromas:  (Pg. 88-89) The world's most popular wine, this full, highly tannic concoction brings about flavors of black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, and graphite. Napa Valley specializes in this varietal, with many bottles from there really accentuating the black cherry aspect of...

                 Of all the special blogs assigned for this class, the wine and cheese pairing intrigued me more than any other. It seems like such a specific pairing type to have this much of a cultural foothold without reason, which led me to believe it must be pretty darn good. I picked out the wines and cheeses, got together a couple of friends, and commenced the drinking (and eating)! Pairing 1 Wine: Butter - Chardonnay [California; 2021] Cheese: Humboldt Fog This wine certainly lived up to its name, as while there was a bit of lime on the first sniff, for the most part, it really just tasted like butter. 'Twas quite pleasant, and I will likely procure more in the near future. The cheese was also excellent, dare say the best goat cheese I've ever had, with its thickness, creaminess, and buttery flavors being delectable in the mouth. Since both the wine and cheese have butter descriptors, imagine my surprise when they cancelled out i...

  After enjoying my first Riesling so much last week, I knew exactly which Drink This Now! experiment I had to try first. For this lesson, I was tasked with trying both a chilled and warm glass of both dry and sweet Rieslings, making for a total of four glasses. Since I was unable to procure any of the brands listed in the book, I made the following substitutions with the help of a Vintage Cellar employee. Dry Riesling: Rieslingfreak No. 44 [Claire Valley, Australia; 2022] Sweet Riesling: Peter Mertes - Platinum Riesling Spätlese [Germany; 2021] Beginning with the chilled dry Riesling, I noticed that it was lighter in color than it's sweeter counterpart, and possessed a a green apple scent that I was not used to from my previous Riesling adventure. Another difference - the first sip felt super light! Breezy in a way that was different from last time, with a tinge of lime that made the entire experience like drinking a Corona. However, Corona does not possess the jasmine flavor that...

                          Name:  Barefoot Cellars Varietal:  Chardonnay Region:  Modesto, California Country:  United States Year:  Uhhhh it doesn't say... Price:  $7.99 (On sale for $6.99!) Food Lion Review:  Rich & creamy white. Notes of crisp, green apples and sweet peaches. Pairs perfectly with fresh fruit, pasta, chicken, & salmon. Flavors/Aromas:  (Pg. 96) Chardonnay is a light wine with hints of yellow apple, starfruit, pineapple, and vanilla. California iterations of this varietal are also known for their oaky and buttery textures. My Review:  So with all the wines I had to buy for the various activities this week, I was only able to comfortably get one wine for my normal tasting blog at Vintage Cellar. Thus, for the other one, I decided to get... creative: let's review the cheapest wine I could find at the grocery store! Barefoot is a staple of college...

                         Name:  Lubanzi Varietal:  Cinsault Region:  Swartland Country:  South Africa Year:  2023 Price:  $15.95 Vintage Cellar Review:  Dubbed 'The Pinot Noir of the Swartland', it is made from 36 year old dry farmed grapes grown in the south of Swartland. Cinsault, once relegated to the sidelines as the parent of Pinotage, has launched a comeback as the favorite son of South Africa's winelands. Youthful red with aromas of pink peppercorns, strawberries and watermelon. Lovely purity of fruit here. Medium-bodied, crunchy and delicious. Sustainable. - 92 Flavors/Aromas:  (Pg. 100) Cinsault is a less-common wine with little info in the book, but it is a low tannin, floral/fruity red with hints of raspberry, red currant, tart cherry, violet, and black tea. My Review:  So I will be honest - I genuinely thought this was a Pinot Noir until shortly before writ...

                        Name:  Château Les Paruades Varietal:  Bourdeaux Superieur (60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc) Region:  Bourdeaux Country:  France Year:  2016 Price:  $16.95 Vintage Cellar Review:  A nose of rose petal, mineral and black fruits are at the core of this wine. Mineral notes translate to the palate as well, with dense ripe blueberry, blackberry and black cherry fruit. Slightly firm tannins and medium acidity lend good balance. Flavors/Aromas:  (Pg. 219) I was a bit nervous trying a blended wine for the first time for this exercise, as I have not gotten super familiar with the varietals that make it up at this point. Thankfully, Wine Folly specifically mentions this blend as a standout of the region, noting savory flavors of graphite, black currant, black cherry, and cigar. My Review:  Like I said, going for a blended wine this early...

                       Name:  Dr. Hans VonMüller Varietal:  Riesling Kabinett Region:  Mosel Country:  Germany Year:  2022 Price:  $14.95 Vintage Cellar Review:  Aromas of yellow peach are accented by hints of forest and lime in this soft, sunny Kabinett. Off-dry in style, it's a peachy, easy-drinking wine balanced by a kiss of tangerine acidity on the finish. Best enjoyed young. Flavors/Aromas:  (Pgs. 158-159, 239) This grape is quite versatile, ranging from super dry to super sweet, with noted hints of lime, green apple, beeswax, jasmine, and petroleum (if aged). The most well-regarded Rieslings come from Germany, with Mosel in particularl being one of the top regions. Additionally, Kabinett is the lightest and least sweet variety of Riesling, typically producing a wine that is dry or off-dry. My Review:  Throughout this nascent journey, I have been searching for the vari...

                      Name:  Hess Shirtail Ranches Varietal:  Sauvignon Blanc Region:  Lake County, California Country:  United States Year:  2022 Price:  $15.95 Vintage Cellar Review:  The Hess Collection Shirtail Creek Sauvignon Blanc from the 2022 vintage features flavors of citrus, green apple, and tropical fruits, with a vibrant acidity and a clean finish. This Sauvignon Blanc is perfect for sipping on warm days or pairing with seafood and salads. Flavors/Aromas:  (Pg. 165) Sauvignon Blanc is a very herbal and light-fruit tasting wine, with hints of gooseberry, honeydew, grapefruit, white peach, and passionfruit being commonly cited. My Review:  So I first tried this wine during a free tasting at Vintage Cellar, and I immediately bought a bottle despite getting a different brand of the same varietal quite recently. Why? Because it went down so easy and breezy that I simply ...

                     Name:  Rubus Varietal:  Shiraz Region:  Barossa Valley Country:  Australia Year:  2018 Price:  $7.95 Vintage Cellars Review:  Blackberry, currant and blueberry flavors are dense, intense and powerful, mingling with black licorice, sage and spice notes, with a brambly undertone. A spicy hint lingers on the finish. Drink now through 2030. 1,200 cases made. - 91 Flavors/Aromas:  (Pgs. 172-173, 206) Shiraz is known as a powerful and rich wine with hints of blackberry, blueberry, and plum, along with milk chocolate, tobacco, and green peppercorn. Luckily for me, the Barossa Valley is known for producing arguably the best Shiraz in the world, though I doubt this particular bottle comes from one of those coveted century-old vines. My Review:  Crikey! This thing packs a punch! After getting the blackberry and plum on the first sniff, my actual commencing taste was d...