Tasting - Apothic Pinot Noir

Name: Apothic

Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2022

Price: $11.99

Winery review: Excellent blend of raspberry, cherry, and vanilla notes. Smooth to the palate, full bodied wine. The aromas are delightful. The subtle sweetness was perfect and not overbearing. Review by Vivino.

Wine Folly: When looking at page 150, Pinot Noirs consist of cherry, raspberry, clove, mushrooms, and vanilla. They are among the most popular light bodied red wines and make for a versatile pairing with duck, chicken, pork and mushrooms. In warmer climates in California, the wine tends to be riper while in cooler er climates it tends to be more tarte.

My review: While it is a red wine, this wine was sadly not for me. The sweeter taste was not for me with the strong taste of vanilla and clove. It was a lighter wine, and it was different from the usual bold taste I enjoy, but I sadly would not purchase this wine again nor pair it with a meal.

Tasting - Josh Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Name: Josh Cellars - Cabernet Sauvignon

Variety: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2022

Price: $8

Winery review: "This wine's taste is full-bodied, smooth and enjoyable with complex flavors of hazelnut, blackberry and the slightest hint of cinnamon. This was exactly as promised by tasting notes on the label, which is rare." Honest Wine Reviews by Jon Rogers.

Wine Folly: Based on page 88 of Wine Folly, cabernet sauvignon is rich in flavor and is a perfect partner with meats and peppery sauces. Something that I found interesting was that specifically in Napa Valley, the wine typically tends to offer more black cherry, but overall cabernet sauvignon does have hints of baking spices and graphite as well.

My review: I enjoyed this wine! It had an ideal taste for me due to its bolder taste and being a drier wine. I could taste the cedar and darker fruit taste in the wine. For me personally, I tasted dark plum, even though this wine contains blackberry, cinnamon, and clove. I would have this wine again and would want to pair this with its supporting food of hard cheese. I tasted this on its own without food.

Welcome!

Welcome to my wine blog! My name is Alex, and I am excited to start my journey in the Geography of Wine class and post what I will be learning throughout this semester.

To start, I do have some experience with wine, but not a ton, which was the main reason for me enrolling in this course and wanting to start my blog. My experiences tie to living in Nelson Count where there is an abundance of wineries within the area especially located on the Nelson 151 Trail. This has led to me experiencing many different wineries, especially during the warmer months, including some of my Favorites: Afton Mountain Vineyards, the Veritas Vineyards and Winery, King Family Vineyards, and the Septenary Winery at Seven Oaks Farm. Through my travels, I have done various wine tastings leading to purchases of various bottles, but I lack the knowledge on how to pair wine to different foods and meals. I hope to learn more about these pairings and even how barrel, age, and region can affect the taste of wine.

Through my experiences, I have learned thus far what wines I enjoy and those that I do not enjoy. Over time, I have discovered that I would rather not have a white wine, rose, or sweet dessert wine as they are not to my liking in that I find there is a lack of depth to the taste normally associated with these kinds of wines. Instead, I very much enjoy and prefer dark reds that have more of an oak taste and those that leave a strong dry bold flavor on the tongue.

When tasting wines, especially at wineries, I tend to do them with family and friends where we make a day of it bringing various kinds of food with us to turn it into a picnic. I enjoy doing this in the warmer months especially throughout Nelson County as the mountains are their prettiest at this time creating stunning views, nice weather, and an enjoyable day! I also love going to the local wineries as most allow dogs on their vineyards and I enjoy bringing my dog Teddy along for the ride!

I am excited to document this semester of fun tastings and expand my knowledge in the world of wine while doing it with friends!