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Vendage California 2006 Merlot
I’m having lots of fun tasting and thinking about new wines. I’m an amateur wine reviewer so my descriptions are what I taste or smell or perceive, and may not include “professional” jargon and descriptions. The librarian in me looks at the wine’s label as though it were the cover page of a book being cataloged- what it says is what I write as the wine name.
Wine name: Vendage California 2006 Merlot
Origin: Woodbridge and Madera, California
Cost: $5-6
Grapes: merlot
My thoughts: Nice burgundy color. I would describe the aroma as cooked figs and cooked cherries – nice. I liked the taste; to me there was almost a carbonated feel in my mouth. The finish was medium. I would definitely buy this again.
Chateau Ste. Michelle Semillon
Wine name: Chateau Ste Michelle Vintage 2005 Semillon
Origin: USA, Washington (Columbia Valley)
Cost: < $10
Grapes: Semillon
My thoughts: This wine was a bit tart, in a pleasing way. I had this wine both with a garlic pasta, as well as on its own, and liked it both times. It has a slight fruity aroma, is crisp, and not oaky nor sweet. The finish is medium. I would (and will) buy this again. I tried this wine because it was listed in The Wine Trials.
I recently purchased Brian St. Pierre’s book The Wine Lover Cooks Italian: Pairing Great Recipes with the Perfect Glass of Wine. I read an interesting recipe in which the pasta is cooked in red wine instead of water, and decided to test it out. The recipe calls for cooking penne in wine, which ended up being about two bottles!! The result was a lovely, deep maroon pasta with a rich, almost overwhelming wine flavor. I melted Asiago cheese in it – very decadent. I would serve this as a first course for company but a whole bowl of it was almost too rich. There was surprisingly little wine sauce left over – maybe 1/2 a cup. I used it as a sauce on chicken the next day.
Inpspiration: The Wine Lover Cooks Italian and a large bottle (750 ml) of Vendage Merlot.
I have been interested in figuring out what kinds of wines I like, and what to buy. I just finished reading Robin Goldstein’s book The Wine Trials and wonder just how much I like a wine because of its price or label. Goldstein goes to great lengths to discuss how our enjoyment of wine is directly related to the price. I won’t spoil the book here, but he backs up his claims with research, both his own and that of others.
Portuga 2007 White Wine
Wine name: Portuga 2007 White Wine
Origin: Portugal (Estremadura)
Cost: $8.75
Grapes: Arinto, Fermao Pires, and Vital (from label)
My thoughts: I liked the wine and think it would be best on a warm day. It smelled faintly of grass. It had no oaky smell at all, or cat pee smell, or other weird smells some white wines have. The taste was good, but not strong at all. It had a very short finish. I might buy this again.
I really like the idea of creating and maintaining a blog but I couldn’t quite decide what to write about, or why. Who would my audience be? Why would they stop by and read what I had to say? Did I want it to be work related? Was there a way to blend together my favorite hobbies – food, wine, books, and travel?
I recently read Robin Goldstein’s book, The Wine Trials, and have been inspired to taste a wider variety of wines than my usual three buck chuck from Trader Joes. I decided to buy and taste new wines, and write my thoughts about each bottle. Lots of my friends enjoy inexpensive wine, so they’d be a good starting audience for a blog.
I don’t know how long I can actually blog about wine. I can only drink (and afford) so many bottles or boxes in month, so in other posts, I’ll write about other things. As I envision the blog now, I hope to write about books that inspire me to eat, drink, travel, or read.
Inspiration: The Wine Trials
