I chilled my bottle for 24 hours before serving it, really bringing out the light and crisp feeling. This sauv was quite fruit forward with light vegetal notes and an earthy hint. The flavors of fruits that I did get larger notes of were grapefruit, pear, peach and citrus. Wine Folly states that Sauvignon blanc is strong with herbaceous flavors that are derived from the methoxypyrazine compounds. (P. 165)
https://www.honestwinereviews.com/whitehaven-sauvignon-blanc-review
This week I tasted Meiomi's 2021 Pinot Noir from Acampo, California, USA. The average price for this bottle is $22.16. This particular wine was reviewed by Honest Wine Reviews and reviews about the aromas like alcohol, spicy, and jammy. Flavors reviewed on this wine were fruit, with a smooth feel.
When personally reviewing this Pinot I was able to get oaky/vanilla flavors, with notes of red and/or black fruits. There was a slight aroma and flavor of earthy tones as well. Wine Folly describes pinot very well to how this wine was, saying it is loved for its red fruit and spice flavors accentuated by a soft-tannin finish. (P. 150)
https://www.honestwinereviews.com/meiomi-pinot-noir-review
For this cheese & wine pairing my boyfriend and I made a miniature charcuterie board. We paired Washington Hills 2021 Late Harvest Riesling with a gruyere, Flourish's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon with gouda, and finally OZV's vintage 2020 Zinfandel with a pecorino.
Starting with the riesling, this wine was super smooth and silky, also being the perfect amount of sweetness. This wine felt very fruit forward with a touch of acidity. The gruyere cheese was very rich and creamy, having a pungent aroma. The creaminess of this cheese paired very nicely with how sweet this wine was.
For the cabernet, it had a beautiful floral aroma. This wine was initially shocking on the palate, having a deep smokey flavor. This wine was paired with a smoked gouda and I think both overwhelmed each other with the smoke flavor from both clashing and making it feel like there was a bonfire happening in my mouth. I was not the biggest fan of the gouda but the wine was decent on it's own.
Lastly, the Zinfandel, this wine has a cool feeling in the front, then becoming more dry and harsh near the end of the sip. It felt more bold but at the same time softer feeling. This wine was paired with a pecorino which tasted like a sharp Parmesan. This wine and cheese together was a great pair in my opinion. This wine had quite a few things going on with feel, aroma, and flavor.
The salad appetizer was paired with Yellowtail's 2022 Pinot Grigio. My caesar salad was very light and creamy, paired with this wine it was able to let the tiny bit of acidity in this wine pop out. My boyfriends salad was a tart balsamic which allowed him to taste the sweet and refreshing parts of this wine. This pinot tasted so light, almost like water. The wine was very full flavored and a soft feeling wine. I was surprisingly very happy with how much I enjoyed this wine. The lightness of the wine being so complementary in flavors with the salad caused these two to blend together beautifully.
Our main course of shepherds pie was paired with Rascal's 2021 Pinot Noir. The aromas of this wine were fruity, such as cherries and raspberry. The potato in the meal clashed with the dryness of this wine. The wine did have smooth tannins and a nice acidity on it's own. As a whole, this wine did not add or subtract much from the meal other than it causing a parched feeling. This wine was more oak forward, with a slight nutty taste. This wine did not overpower the meal, but was not the correct fit for this dish.
Finally, for dessert we paired velvet cupcakes with Capriccio's white sangria. This wine was bursting with aromas and flavors of so many different fruits such as pear, peach, apple, and pineapple. Following this strong fruit flavor was a taste of synthetic butter and a pungent alcohol flavor. The spongy cake did cause the alcohol taste to come forward, being a bit too much for me, almost tasting like sherry. For this being a crazy sweet wine, it was surprising how tart and alcohol forward it was as well. This wine was very overpowering for its dessert, just being all around too much.
A Stella Rosa review says that fans of their sweet wine should give this a try. For being a moscato, it was not overly sweet. This wine was bright with gentle bubbles. Aroma notes of honey and floral. Flavors picked up with this wine were notes of honey, lemon, apple, and peach. One of my favorites!
My personal review: This wine had very nice aromas and flavors of pear, peach, and nectarine. It was soft on the palate, slight pink hue, with a wonderful aftertaste & good balance of sweet and sharp.
This weeks tasting is on Whitehaven's 2021 Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand This bottle has an average price of $19.99. My...
