Drink This Now! Lesson 1 Blog

 

Name: Côte du Rhône

Producer: Domaine Grand Veneur

Variety: Rhône

Country of Origin: France

Region: Rhône Valley, Southern France

Vintage: 2019

Price: $19.95

Review of the Wine: Wine Enthusiast: "Sourced from a plot just a stone's throw from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Les Champauvins is consistently one of the best Côtes-du-Rhône bottlings available. Heady aromas of lilac and crushed white pepper introduce a palate that's powerful yet pure in fruit, packed with flavors of candied raspberry and strawberry leather. Delicate and dusty in tannins, it finishes long on streaks of salt and anise. Lovely young, the wine should improve through 2029 at least."

My Review:

This week, I completed the Lesson 1 assignment in the Drink this Now! textbook. The lesson involves opening a red wine (I chose the Domaine Grand Veneur Cote du Rhone from the list), tasting it immediately, two hours later with cheese and meat, then trying it again the next day. I chose asiago cheese as my "hard Italian cheese" and calabrese salami as my "spicy meat."

First, you open the wine and try immediately. It was dark red, probably the darkest wine I have ever seen. It almost looked like black ink to me. It smelled very strong and somewhat tart. I could definitely smell the bite before I even tasted it. It was so tannic that I could have almost described it as "mouth-puckering" but it didn't quite go that far. It did make my mouth feel very dry and had a bit of a strong finish. I definitely did not like this wine, and was not super excited to continue with this assignment at this point. It had an almost leathery taste to me, with dark chocolate flavors because of how bitter I thought it was.

Second, you leave the cork off for at least two hours to allow the wine to "open up" and oxygenate. When I smelled it the second time, it did seem like it was going to be less aggressive. However, upon actually tasting it, I only could detect a slight difference. The difference was there, it was more fruity and somehow more flavorful despite having less of a harsh flavor. But I still did not like how tannic it was or the strong aftertaste. The dark chocolate flavor faded a bit but it was still prominent. I thought it tasted more plummy and had a bit of a licorice taste with some level of a black coffee aftertaste.

Third, you try the wine with the cheese. I must say that I definitely liked the wine better with the cheese. However, I didn't actually like the cheese that much, so it was only marginally better. However, the more I tried it (around my fourth taste of the two flavors together) I started to appreciate the nuances of both flavors. The fat in the cheese balanced very well with the wine, and since there was something else in my mouth, the wine didn't seem as dry to me. It felt more fruity and jammy, and I started to notice that it tasted like raisins or a fig newton.  The flavor of the wine came out more because I wasn't as focused on the uncomfortable dryness of its mouthfeel.

Fourth, you try it with the meat. This was my favorite so far. The meat paired perfectly with the wine, which I wasn't expecting. I thought that since the meat was dry and had lots of spices it wouldn't help me attain the distraction from the tannins that the cheese allowed. However, it actually was better than the cheese. It made the wine taste different than it did with the cheese. I tasted more of a berry taste when it was paired with the cheese, but with the meat it was more earthy. It had a thicker taste but because of the slight grease of the meat, the tannins actually were complimented in a great way. The meat itself actually tasted better with the wine to me. The wine had an oregano and dried herb taste with the salami, possibly because they both had the same herb flavors and when paired, those came out even more.

After this, I tried the meat and the cheese together with the wine, even though it wasn't mentioned in the book. I definitely did not like them all three together, but I thought that the meat and cheese alone paired quite nicely, and I would definitely eat them together on a cracker. But the three tastes together clashed just enough that it made all three of them taste worse, or perhaps just distracting.

The next day, the wine was the most toned-down that it had been the whole time, but I still thought it was too strong. I thought it was still too dry for my taste, though I was able to appreciate the cherry and raspberry flavors a bit more. It was not better than when it was paired with the meat or cheese, but this is the best it tasted on its own. Even though Wine Folly says that there are hints of lavender in this wine, I never tasted those soft flavors. I did taste more and more berry as time went on, except with the meat when I tasted more of the spices in the flavors.

The lesson was overall very interesting, because I didn't realize the extent that food and time can change the taste of a wine, usually for the better.

Tasting - "Beliveau Merlot"

Name of the Wine: Beliveau Merlot

Grapes in the Wine: Merlot

Country of Origin: United States

Region of Origin: Virginia

Vintage Year: 2019

Price: $7 per 5 oz glass, $24.95 per bottle

Review of the Wine: From the Vintage Cellar, "One year in French oak gives this Merlot a creamy nose with traces of soft pepper. With traditional flavors of light red fruit, this wine is made for roast duck or lean cuts of beef."

Wine Folly: Page 131: Merlot

This wine’s flavors include cherry, plum, chocolate, dried herbs, and vanilla. I tasted the plum flavors but never tasted the herbs or chocolate flavors. I tasted cherry, which I usually taste in most wines.

My Review: This was my favorite wine from the tasting. It had a dark yet sweet flavor, and tasted more like fruit punch than other wines that I have had and the alcohol taste was lighter yet present enough to give it body. It had a nice finish and I can definitely see how it would pair well with meats, but would also like to try it with cheese.

 

Tasting - "Beliveau Summer Rose"

Name of the Wine: Beliveau Summer Rose

Grapes in the Wine: Pinot Noir, Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc

Country of Origin: United States

Region of Origin: Virginia

Vintage Year: 2020

Price: $7 per 5 oz glass, $24.95 per bottle

Review of the Wine: The Vintage Cellar says, "A floral nose precedes the bright and fruity flavors of strawberry and raspberry in this dry rose. There is a perceived sweetness that may fool you as you sip. Grilled vegetables, fresh fruits, and feta cheese are all wonderful pairings with this enchanting rose."

Wine Folly: Page 150: Pinot Noir

The flavors in this wine include cherry, raspberry, cloves, mushrooms, and vanilla. I taste more of a raspberry or strawberry taste than the dark flavor of cherry, but it is a complex flavor that is somewhat sweet like a raspberry and somewhat darker like a cherry. I do not taste the earthy flavor of the mushroom, nor do I taste any vanilla.

My Review: This wine was relatively tart compared to the other wines at the tasting, but I appreciated it. It almost had the flavor of a cough drop in my opinion, due to the spicy feeling, but was lighter and more classically fruity than the artificial flavors of medicine. The most important flavors in this wine were the strawberry and raspberries, which seemed simultaneously distinct yet inseparable. When I focused on one flavor, I felt as if the whole wine tasted that way, then thinking about the other, I felt the opposite. It had a fresh and light taste with a strong floral smell.

 

Tasting - "Beringer Main & Vine White Zinfandel"

 

Name of the Wine: Beringer Main & Vine White Zinfandel

Grapes in the Wine: Zinfandel

Country of Origin: United States

Region of Origin: California

Vintage Year: NA

Price: $4.49 for 750 mL bottle, $8.47 for 1.5 L

Review of the Wine: From total wine: "Fresh and delicious with berry-like fruit flavors and aromas of citrus and honeydew. Enjoyable with a wide variety of foods, it pairs especially well with today's spicy cuisine."

Wine Folly: Page 189: Zinfandel

There are blackberry, strawberry, peach preserves, cinnamon, and sweet tobacco present in this wine. I taste the berries and the peach, but can not pick out the cinnamon. Cinnamon has a very specific taste, and I don't feel like I'm able to pick it out in this wine.

My Review: This wine reminds me of the Moutard Pét' Mout' that I tried. They are both sweet and tart at the same time, with a light yet bold taste. It says in the textbook that this wine would pair well with Asian barbeque, and I can definitely see how they would pair well together. It is fruity and yet not very sweet, and it has a full body. It only has 10% alcohol but it tastes like there would be more, which is interesting, because I taste it more than in some other wines.

Tasting - "Childress Burst Sweet Rosé"

 

Name of the Wine: Childress Burst Sweet Rose

Grapes in the Wine: Muscat

Country of Origin: United States

Region of Origin: North Carolina

Vintage Year: N/A

Price: $16.99 per bottle

Review of the Wine: Yiannis Wine says that the wine will "exhibit both berry and floral aromas, along with tropical flavors."

Wine Folly: Page 138: Muscat Blanc

It contains flavors of mandarin orange and orange blossom, lemon, pear, and honeysuckle. It tastes more like cherry to me, but I can see how there are citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges present because it has a bright and tart taste. 

My Review: I wanted to like this wine more than I do, perhaps because of its name, the art on the bottle, and the words "fruity, fizzy, and fun on the tongue!" which are present on the label. However, it tastes a bit too much like cough syrup to me, and the fizz seems to almost take away from the flavor and makes me dislike it more. It is not the worst drink I have ever tasted, but I will likely not purchase this wine again. It reminds me of cough syrup because of its mildly unpleasant aftertaste. It does not have a rich array of flavors present, and does not quite have a specific "wine" taste. It is a bit one-dimensional and almost a bit bitter in my opinion (mainly judging by the aftertaste).

Tasting - "Fonseca Bin 27 Port"

Name of the Wine: Fonseca Bin 27 Port

Grapes in the Wine: Unknown specifically, but ports often have touriga franca, tinta barroca, tinta roriz, or many others

Country of Origin: Portugal

Region of Origin: Gaia

Vintage Year: N/A

Price: $21.99 per bottle

Review of the Wine: TotalWine.com says, "This sweet wine shows fresh, rich blackberry and cassis aromas. On the palate, it has a well-knit structure, with a velvety, luscious mouthfeel and smooth tannins.""

Wine Folly: Page 154: Port

Tastes present include black plum, dried cherry, chocolate, raisin, and cinnamon. It definitely has the presence of cherry in the taste, but most of all, it tastes like raisin. It almost seems like liquid raisin.

My Review: This wine is very strong compared to other wines that I have had, and you can even smell the burn of the alcohol. It is dark, almost black, and seems to be thick as well. As I mentioned above, it tastes very much like raisins. I'm not sure if I actually like the fact that it tastes like raisins, because in a way, the whole thing reminds me of the filling of a fig newton: it's sweet with a dark taste, and has that strong aroma of dried fruit. I don't taste any chocolate in it, but I can see how there is some present because it would definitely blend some of the other tastes together and make a stronger, more full flavor and scent.

Tasting - "Moutard Pét' Mout' Pinot Noir Rose Petillant Naturel"

 

Moutard Pét' Mout' Pinot Noir Rose Petillant Naturel

Name of the Wine: Pét' Mout' Rosé

Grapes in the Wine: Pinot Noir

Country of Origin: France

Region of Origin: Burgundy

Vintage Year: N/A

Price: $5.95 per bottle or $3 for 5 oz glass

Review of the Wine: The Vintage Cellar says, "100% Pinot Noir from Burgundy, this is a traditional method of making sparkling wine that is, in fact, the world's most ancient. The Rosé gives a dark pink color. It's a lively wine of subtle red berries and powerful aromas of flowers which goes perfectly with light fare and brings freshness on the end of a meal."

Wine Folly: Pg 150: Pinot Noir

Flavors include cherry, raspberry, clove, mushroom, and vanilla. I didn't taste vanilla in this at first, but I do think I can taste it now that I have read about its presence. The cherry and raspberry tastes are stronger, though they are far more tart than the two fruits when you eat them. It almost seems like there are more flavors in it, such as perhaps pineapple. It seems to almost attack your taste buds with acidity, the way that pineapple does.

My Review: I really liked this wine, but similar to other wines, I didn't like it at first. My friends liked it more than me, so we bought a bottle after we went to the tasting. I think that the flavor definitely grew on me the more that I tasted it, especially because I liked the smell. The smell was a bit floral, and when detached from the tartness and acidity, it was a bit sweet. I could see some things settling in the bottom of the bottle and floating in my glass, which is interesting. It was just light enough that you could see the darker pink particles.