Tasting #16 - Menage a Trois Moscato

 

Name: Menage a Trois

Variety: Moscato

Region: California

Country: United States of America

Year: 2021

Price: $10.99

Review: From the bottle: "Deliciously opulent, indulgent sweet wine ripened in the California sun."

My Take: Wowza this was a sweet wine! I've had a couple muscat variety wines now, and the notes of peach and honey were very apparent to me. The peach aromas were very on the nose for this one as well. I drank it chilled, which was definitely the preferred choice. According to WINE FOLLY page 138, pineapple is a somewhat common flavor for muscat wines. 

Tasting #15 - Taylor Port Wine

 

Name: Taylor

Variety: Blended

Region: New York

Country: United States of America

Year: N/A

Price: $10.98 for 1.5 L

Review: From the bottle: "A rich fruity taste and smooth finish make ruby red Taylor Port the perfect choice to pair with your favorite desert."

My Take: This was my very first port wine, and I was thoroughly pleased by it!! After watching the documentary on how Port wines were made in Portugal, I was eager to try one for myself. While this wine is from New York, (I actually thought this was a Taylor's brand wine from Portugal lol), it is still tasted delicious. I knew it would be sweet, but it was much sweeter than I anticipated. According to WINE FOLLY Page 154, ruby port wines have notes of "sweet black fruits, chocolate, and spice." This wine definitely had notes of black fruit and spice, but I didn't taste any chocolate in tis wine.

Tasting #14 - 2020 Cotes de Rhone

 

<- Me and the boys grinding, drinking wine fine dining

Name: Cotes Du Rhone

Variety: Blended, (lots of grenache)

Region: Rhone Valley

Country: France

Year: 2020

Price: $12.99

Review: From the bottle: "Reveals aromatic notes of jammy red fruits, juicy plum and provencal herbs and finishes with dense black currant and soft peppery spice flavors."

My Take: This wine was super dry and tannic. One night I drank it without food, and the other time I tried it with a creamy pasta and seared chicken dish. In my opinion, it tasted much more balanced with the meal, and this wine pairs better with foods. According to WINE FOLLY Page 156, wines from this Southern region of France have stark "brambly black and red fruit flavors with savory notes of black pepper, olives, Provencal herbs, and brown baking spices." I definitely agree with this statement. I detected very jammy flavors, including blackberry and black currant. I also detected some pepper at the end, which coincides with the WINE FOLLY assessment and was one of the first times I got a note of pepper in wine!

Tasting # 13 - Bay Bridge Peach Moscato

 Name: Bay Bridge

Variety: Moscato

Region: California

Country: United States of America

Year: 2021

Price: $2.99

Review: From the bottle: "Deliciously sweet, full of flavor, and smooth in taste."

My Take: Just like its strawberry counterpart, this was a super cheap and super sweet wine. I have a friend who doesn't like wine because it is typically too dry. I think he would like this wine because it would taste like candy to him. Perhaps he will drink it one day! In accord with WINE FOLLY Page 138, this was a super sweet muscat-variety wine that was very light. I wouldn't recommend this for an authentic wine experience, but it was a pleasant experience and could be a good drink to serve in bulk at a larger party. 

Tasting #12 - 2022 The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc

 

Name: The Crossings

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: Marlborough

Country: New Zealand

Year: 2022

Price: $12.99

Review: From the bottle: "A clean crisp style with hints of citrus and generous tropical fruit flavors."

My Take: This wine impressed me much more than I thought it would! I initially grabbed it off the shelf because Boyer said the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wines cranked out some funky flavors, and this one was no exception! Trying my first wine from the 2022 vintage (which makes sense because this wine came from the Southern Hemisphere and so their harvesting time is shifted up a few months) I was very appreciative of this wine. I will admit, the aromas I got from it once I poured smelled a little funky and I can't quite place them, but the taste was much better. Contrary to the bottle's description, I thought the citrus flavors were much more forward than the tropical fruit notes. I loved how light this wine is! I agree with WINE FOLLY Page 165, though, this wine is not very sweet at all. It was much drier when compared to the few white wines I've drunk. And this makes sense! It's alc/vol is 12.5%, which is much higher relative to most whites. Those yeasty critters got to work here!

Tasting #11 - 2021 Alamos Malbec

 

Name: Alamos

Variety: Malbec

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2021

Price: $10.99

Review: From the bottle: "Displays hints of dark cherry and blackberry with a long and lingering finish. This balanced and full-flavored wine is excellent with grilled meats and vegetables."

My Take: This has been one of my favorite wines I've tasted here so far! I paired this drink with several different foods over the course of two days. I first drank it with some asiago cheese, and this excellent pairing chilled out the tannins I was experiencing and allowed some creamier and softer flavors to emerge. I also drink this wine with a basil creamy alfredo pasta, which was a great combination with a similar experience as the asiago cheese. It was definitely a dry wine, but I thought it to be very well-balanced overall. In accord with Page 125 of WINE FOLLY - and unique to this wine of the ones I've tried - I detected strong notes of blackberry in this Malbec wine. A delicious fruit flavor!

Tasting # 10 - Bay Bridge Strawberry Moscato

Name: Bay Bridge

Variety: Moscato

Region: Livermore & Ripon, California

Country: United States of America

Year: 2021

Price: $2.99

Review: From the bottle: "Deliciously sweet, full of flavor, and smooth in taste."

My Take: Wowza this was super sweet! And I mean super sweet! This is somewhat of an unconventional wine, as its described to be a "sweet wine beverage with natural flavors". A whole nutrition label is included on the bottle to capture the other sweets and sugars added to the drink. It definitely tasted super sweet and was full of strawberry flavor, although not in the traditional senses of other darker wines. In accord with WINE FOLLY Page 138, this was a super sweet muscat-variety wine that was very light. I wouldn't recommend this for an authentic wine experience, but it was a pleasant experience and could be a good drink to serve in bulk at a larger party.