Tasting- Ceretto Vignaioli di Santo Stefano Moscato d'Asti

Name: Ceretto Vignaioli di Santo Stefano Moscato d'Asti 

Variety: Muscat/Moscato, d'Asti

Region: Piedmont

Country: Italy

Year: 2021

Price: $20

Winery Review: "This Moscato d’Asti is straw yellow in color with a characteristic nose of sweet melons, orange blossoms, jasmine, and honeysuckle. On the palate, the sweet melon, pear, and floral flavors are balanced by refreshing acidity.

While this makes for an exquisite cocktail, it also pairs well with a handful of Piedmont’s famed roasted hazelnuts." Oak and Barrel NYC

Wine Folly: Muscat Blanc pg 138- Very sweet with notes of orange blossom, Meyer lemon, mandarin orange, ripe pear, and honeysuckle. It is recommended to be chilled and paired with almond cake. Moscato d'Asti pg 140- the sweetest and less alcoholic than other Moscatos. It has notes of Meyer lemon, mandarin orange, rose petal, vanilla bean, and honeysuckle. 

Personal Review: This wine had a very sweet flowery smell, with an acidic undertone. The taste was mainly white floral, like jasmine or gardenia. It is a little carbonated and a little acidic, but not dry. It had a medium body and a medium finish. It tastes sweet but not too sweet. I think it is very well-balanced. It tastes good with Brie, crackers, and orange fig spread. This food compliments the sweetness of the wine with the saltiness and umami of the cheese. It made the wine taste more like orange blossom and magnolia, which was very nice.

Tasting- AMBOSCATO Sweet White

Name:  AMBOSCATO Sweet White 

Variety: 100% Moscato

Region: Piemonte

Country: Italy 

Year: N/A

Price: $8.99

Winery Review: "fresh, slightly sparkling, sweet and fruity with a persistent finish." Alessandro Berselli

Wine Folly: Muscat Blanc pg 138- Very sweet with notes of orange blossom, Meyer lemon, mandarin orange, ripe pear, and honeysuckle. It is recommended to be chilled and paired with almond cake.

Personal Review: This wine was very good! It had a sweet smell that was very floral. The initial taste had herbal undertones like grass, but it was not bad. The flavor was mostly white floral with a hint of sparkle, citrus, and honeysuckle. It was sweet but not unpleasant. Light body with a short finish. It was very good with Brie, crackers, and orange fig spread. The food brought out the orange flavor to the wine, but made it a little unbalanced. It wasn't terrible but made it bitter in the finish. 

Tasting- Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Zinfandel

Name: Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Zinfandel Contra Costa County

Variety: Zinfandel

Region: Contra Costa County 

Country: California

Year: 2021

Price: $14.99

Winery Review: Aromas of strawberry, elderberry and dried rose petals. Medium body, with flavors of raspberry, cherry, cedar, mocha and vanilla with a rich, smooth, plush finish. Wonderful to pair with prosciutto and arugula pizza or a mouthwatering meat lasagna. - Vintage Wine Cellars 

Wine Folly: Page 189 (Zinfandel): Blackberry, strawberry, peach preserves, cinnamon, and sweet tobacco notes. It is high in alcohol, low in sweetness, low in acidity, and medium tannins. It should be fruit forward and spicy. Page 190 (North Coast, CA; Zinfandel): The wines in this region are high in bold tannins, colors, and "rustic flavors." There should be notes of blackberry, black plum, crushed gravel, allspice, and white pepper. 

Personal Review: This wine is a very pleasant wine, much sweeter than I expected. It has an aroma of fruit and spice, similar to cinnamon or allspice. The flavor is acidic but balanced well. It is easy to drink on its own. The acidity is not overpowering due to the balance of dry and sweet flavors. I don't taste gravel, but I do taste plum, strawberry, vanilla, and maybe rose. It is medium body, rich, and smooth. I would buy this again, but try it with food next time. I did not have any food with this, but I do think a nice saucy meal would be delightful. 

  

Tasting- Graham's 10 Year Old Tawny Port

Name: Graham's 10 Year Old Tawny Port

Variety: Blend

Region: Douro

Country: Portugal

Year: 2023

Price: $39.99

Winery Review: "A very pretty wood port with cherry, berry, walnut and chocolate aromas and flavors. It’s full-bodied and very sweet with focus, density and length. Fruity, yet pleasantly earthy. Drink now and enjoy." James Suckling, 93

Wine Folly: Page 154 (Port): Notes of chocolate, raisin, cinnamon, dried cherry, and black plum. We did not chill, but it recommends chilling the port wine. It is heavy bodied, high in alcohol, high in sweetness, high in tannins. 

Personal Review: A very pleasant port wine! It is very heavy and medium-bodied. Sweet, fruity, and long-lasting. The alcohol is very heavy-handed, but very well-balanced with sweetness. Overall, a great well-balanced drink. I don't taste the chocolate, but I definitely taste cherry and perhaps oak. Some of the other flavors I could identify would be fruitcake, maple, and raisin. Definitely nutty. I had this with tiramisu, which was recommended, and the sweetness brings out the nutty and fruity flavors of the alcohol. The coffee flavor of the tiramisu was especially heightened with the sweetness of the port. 

Wine and Cheese Pairing

 Wine and Cheese Pairing for Monthly Cycle 2

The first cheese is myzithra, an incredibly salty Greek cheese with funky notes. It is supposed to be good with light bodied white wine, rose wine, and bad with medium bodied red wines. 

The second cheese is Smoked Gouda, which is a creamy, fruity, umami cheese. It is supposed to be good with medium-bodied red wine, and okay with light bodied white wine and rose. 

The third cheese is a gruyere, which is creamy, nutty, and hard with funky notes. It is supposed to pair well with light bodied white wine and medium bodied red wine, and okay with rose. I think this cheese tasted the best with each wine. 

The first wine is a Pinot Grigio. It is sweet and low in acidity, with notes of honeysuckle and fruit. It should pair well with the gruyere and myzithra. 

The second wine is a Rose from California. It was dry, but sweet and very floral. It should pair well with myzithra. 

The third wine is a sweet red wine, with no distinctive variety. It tasted like a watery port, so medium bodied with berry notes, specifically cherry. It was smooth and sweet, but not dry, with some tannins. It is supposed to taste good with smoked gouda and gruyere. 

White and Gruyère: Both the wine and the cheese are very smooth. The fattiness of the Gruyère compliments the light acidity and sweetness of the wine. The wine mellows out the saltiness of the cheese. It is supposed to pair well, and it does pair well. 

White and myzithra: The wine mellows out the funky mold notes of the cheese. The saltiness also pairs well with the acidity of the wine, making it pleasantly salty-sweet.  It is supposed to pair well, and it pairs okay. 

White and Gouda: I didn’t think the smokiness worked well with the sweetness of the wine. Wine compliments the saltiness of the Gouda, but not the smokiness. The fattiness doesn’t work well here but probably just the smokiness. If it wasn’t smoky, it probably would taste good. It was supposed to pair okay, but not my favorite. 

Rose and Gruyère: The fattiness of the cheese compliments the floral. Dry compliments the fat, tastes smooth. Best combination so far. The cheese takes away dry flavor and leaves the sweet. Supposed to taste ok, tastes great. 

Rose and myzithra: The dryness of the wine intensified the salt and makes it taste like feet. Brings out the worst qualities of both, making it funky and salty, and overpowers floral. It is supposed to taste good, and certainly did not. 

Rose and Gouda: The dry of the wine complimented the fattiness of the cheese. However because of smoky flavor, it hid the flavor of the rose. Mostly smoky and dry notes, the worst of both, which left an unbalanced mess in my mouth. It was supposed to pair okay, did not pair well at all. 

Red and Gruyère: The dryness of the wine highlights funkiness of cheese. It is unpleasant, but the smoothness of cheese and wine compliment each other, making it okay. The red tannins makes the cheese taste weird. It is supposed to pair well, it pairs okay. 

Red and myzithra: This combination tastes like feet. The acidity and dryness of the red highlights the funkiness of the cheese. Saltiness is good with sweetness of wine, but that is the only good part. Also tastes like feet. It is supposed to pair bad, but it pairs okay. 

Red and Gouda: Terrible. Smokiness of cheese mixes terribly with the taste of the wine. Both wine and cheese are smooth, so that makes the pairing taste better. The dryness of the wine makes the smokiness sit in the throat, which is similar to vomit. It is supposed to taste good together, but is ultimately the worst pairing.