More Reisling

Strub Soil to Soul Riesling blend, 2009, $13.95: This German wine is described as being drier and more mineral in character, and has incorporated a significant amount of Orbel (in addition to the Bruckchen and Paterberg (ed. very special single vineyard sites in the Rheinhessen) that have typically informed not only this cuvee but also past generic Strub Kabinett bottlings. It is described as having orange blossom, musky narcissus, pear distillate, green herbs, and smoked meat aromatics in addition to the musky, meaty, and high-toned fruit essences that are combined with bittersweet orange and grapefruit oil as well as invigorating salinity on the taste. This satisfyingly persistent Riesling represents a fine value likely to remain both versatile and viable over the next 6-9 years (not that anyone is likely to put this prognosis to the test). Personally, I thought this wine was absolutely wonderful! It was sweet, but not overwhelmingly sweet, and the orange, citrus smells stuck out to me in its bouquet. On the palate, I could definitely taste hints of orange as well, in addition to the grapefruit. It was also a very smooth wine that just had a lot of flavor, there was no burn and not a lot of acid. Thus far into my wine tasting excursions, this is my favorite wine.

Hogue White Riesling Late Harvest 2010, $10.99: This USA Washington Riesling wine offers up aromas and flavors of orange peel, honeyed lemon, stone fruit and vanilla. A pleasing mineral character adds depth, and the signature tangerine and apricot linger on the finish. This is dessert sipper will pair well with poached pears, fruit sorbet or warm apple pie. For a treat, try it chilled as an aperitif on a warm summer afternoon. I bought this wine because I do love Riesling, however, I was a little bit unimpressed. On the nose it smelt kind of spoiled and sour and a little bit of gasoline. On the mouth, it was kind of watery and the flavor just did not shine thorough. I did not try this with food, and maybe that would change the flavor of it, but by itself, I did not love it.

Shine Heinz Eifel 2010, Riesling, $8.95: This German wine from the Pfalz region of Germany is described as having flint and mineral notes that accent pineapple and lime aromas, while on the palate, the wine shows plenty of ripe, citrusy fruit flavors. Tangy acids on the long finish provide balance. I bought this wine once again because it is a Riesling and I have been on a Riesling kick lately. It was a little sweet, but not too sweet which I liked. I did smell some pineapple and lime, which was very interesting. It did have a little acid when I tasted it, but overall, I found that it was a very good wine. I did try it with food, but I thought overall if just brought out the acid flavor, and not much else.

Muscanti Brut, Spain, $7.95: The variety is Muscanti from the Girona region in Spain. The descriptors from the wine tasting at the cellar described it as lemon blossoms, green apple, toast and honeydew melon. It was also described as a crisp and refreshing sparkling wine. From my experience with sparkling wines, I have come to realize that I am not the biggest fan. While this definitely was good and fresh on the nose, I could smell the green apple and honeydew, I did not love it. I think if it perhaps was not a sparkling wine I would have enjoyed it more. I am a big fan of fruity white wines, but the sparkling aspect made me not like it as much. The Vintage Cellar also said that it had a tingle of acidic acid, and I did feel like the wine was very acidic, another reason I did not love this wine.

Spanish Vines Sauvignon Blanc, 2009,$4.95: This Spanish wine received 85 points from Wine Enthusiast and was said tohave apple notes and then almost a buttery palate with baked apple and citrus flavors. Thus, I was very excited to try this wine! However, while normally I love Sauvignon Blanc, I was not very impressed with this wine. It was definitely ok, but I would not buy a bottle. Citrus was really the only flavor that stood out to me on the nose and in the tasting. I could not really distinguish the butter or baked apples. I also felt as though it did not really taste like most other Sauvignon Blanc’s I have had previously. I was alittle disappointed with this one.

Torrent Bay Chardonnay, 2009, $6.95: Considering New Zealand is one of my favorite places on earth, I love trying wine from there and I am always determined to like it! However, I am not a big chardonnay fan, so I was a bit hesitant to try this wine. The critique in the store said that it was had fleshy, melony aromas cuddle some fresh oak. And the palate has decent acidity so there’s freshness along with weight, resiny oak flavors, lemon and green apple. While I liked the description, I was still not very excited about the Torrent Bay. Yet, after I tried it I was pleasantly surprised! It had an amazing softness that I had not experienced in any of the previous Chardonnay’s I have tried before! I could smell the oak and lemon on the nose and a little bit of grass. And I could definitely taste some of the oak and I thought it was delicious. I know Sauvignon Blanc is what New Zealand is known for, but I definitely thought this Chardonnay was delicious and I know have a bottle at home!

Lost Vineyards, Vinho de Mesa Tinto, $3.95: This wine from Portugal is descried as pouring a light garnet color with a nice crisp zest, with aromas of cranberries and orange peel on the nose. Drinks smooth with a briary of mild cherries, wild strawberries and raspberries along with a note of rhubarb. Pairs particularly well with wild game and heavy fish such as salmon. I was nervous about trying this wine, just because I have trouble liking red wine, and distinguishing the flavors. Every time I smell red wine it smells like very strong plain flavored greek yogurt, and this time was not any different. However, I found that I liked it more than red wines I have tried before, so I hope my palate is expanding on red wines! I tasted a bit of cranberries, but that was it, however I am excited to keep trying red wines to see if I like them more as time goes on.

Ebano Riber a del Duero, Tempranillo, 2007, $7.95: This Spainsh wine scored 87 Points from Robert Parker and the Ebano 6 is 100% Tempranillo aged 4 months in French oak. The color is dark ruby red and it displays a pleasant bouquet of cedar, spice box, violets, black cherry, and blackberry. It is a medium- to full- bodied wine on the palate with savory flavors and plenty of spice, this racy, vibrant Tempranillo has enough structure to drink well over the next 5-6 years and is a very good value. Once again, the bouquet just smelled like Greek yogurt to me the first time. The second time I could smell a little spiciness, but not really any fruit. It tasted ok, but very strong, and I did not like it that much. Once again, I could not taste any of the fruit, but just a little spice, and it was very dry.

While I have tasted wine before, I have never been to an actual wine tasting prior to taking Geography of Wine. Needless to say, I was very excited to begin my journey into the world of wine at the Vintage Cellar tasting after class. At the tasting, we tried 5 different kinds of wine:

Royal Chenin Blanc 2009, South Africa: My first reaction to this wine was that it was not very sweet. Before taking Boyer's wine class, the only wines I had ever tried and liked were extremely sweet ones. However, I was very pleased and felt as though my

taste buds were maturing when I tried the Chenin Blanc and liked it. I definitely was able to smell the apples and pears within the wine, however, they see

med to escape my taste buds.

Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Spain: This one was definitely my favorite of the bunch and I could definitely taste the sweetness of the grapefruit in the Sauvignon Blanc. I was so excited about this bottle I even bought it. Smelling it, I was kind of disappointed because it smelled very similar to the previous one. Hopefully my nose for wine matures throughout the class! Yet, I could taste the difference and was glad that the grapefruit came through very strongly on my taste buds. I could also taste the zesty lemon acidity within the wine.

Marques de Moral Crianza Tempranillo 2007, Spain: So shamefully and unfortunately, I admit I have yet to find a red wine that I enjoy. I do not like the fact they are supposed to be warm when you drink them, and I also just want them to taste like grape juice, and they do not. However, going into the night, I was excited to try some reds and I am determined throughout this class to find one that I enjoy. However, this is not the one. It smelled off to me kind of like yogurt and the taste hit my tongue and left a very chalky feel to it. I could not smell or taste the redcurrant or cherries and I did not feel like it was a very smooth wine. Yet, I was very excited for my search to continue with the next wine we tried!

Le Lapin Multiplicity, Paso Robles, California: I felt as though this wine was a lot smoother than the first and I enjoyed it a lot more than the first red we tried at the tasting. I still could not taste the flavors listed on the descriptive sheet, yet, I am still very determined to find a red wine that I lov

e and enjoy and I was very pleased that I liked this one more than the first one I tried.

Oprea Prima Moscato, Spain: Of all the wine in the world, Mascato is the one I have the most experience with. Being a girl, I love the sweetness of the dessert wine and I think it is my favorite wine I have discovered so far, and this one did not let me down. It was pink and sparkly, and I did like it a lot. I smelled tons of fruit and could taste them too. I love how it has hardly any burn and just lots of sweetness to its flavor. While I did not buy a bottle of this at the tasting, I can definitely see myself buying a bottle of this in the future!