Mixed Emotions and Blended Red

I'm 15 days away from being done at Virginia Tech. I'm thrilled and terrified. Mixed emotions call for mixed wine. This is it...

Name: Aconga

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Vintage: 2010

Price: $4

Wine Critic Review: I found this wine quite pleasant and easy to drink DH pretty much puts all wines in the fridge (gasp), anyway straight from the fridge it is a bit too harsh, but pour into a glass and let it air out and warm up a bit it is quite nice. It is not overly dry but you can definitely taste the dry tones of the Cabernet.

Personal Review: A bit spicy but not overpowering. Blackberry hint, kind of jammy.

Food pairing: none

A Lazy Sunday and a Glass of Wine

Thank God for lazy Sundays. I don't have to work, my homework assignments only need minimal amounts of effort, and there's really nothing that important that needs to be taken care of. Only thing to add is a nice glass of wine.

Name: Tisdale

Variety: Pinot Noir

Region: California

Country: USA

Vintage: Not vintaged

Price: $8

Wine Critic Review: Black cherry fruit, black licorice and spice on the nose. Light-bodied with flavors of cherry and strawberry jam. Light tannins.

Personal Review: Unlike the wine critic review, I find it to be a bit heavier. It's got nice flavors of black cherries, it's not really spicy, and it's flavor lingers.

Food pairing: Right now I'm drinking it alone, but I think I'm going to finish the bottle with some alfredo later tonight. 

Herding Cats...Yeah, that's near impossible.

Before I realized that I wasn't science minded enough to compete with pre-vet students, I was double majoring in Animal Science. I also grew up on a farm with beef cattle and horses and with dogs whose natural instinct was to herd anything and everything. Guess what happened when they tried to to herd the barn cats. They would become a wild angry ball of fur in claws. In other words, herding cats is damn near impossible. This is the kind of wine I want to drink when I feel like I'm trying to conquer the impossible. Graduating, starting grad school, moving out of my parents house, and fully taking care of myself. I know none of this is actually impossible, but that's why this wine makes me feel better, because it mentions doing the impossible right there in the title. 

Name: Herding Cats

Variety: Chenin Blanc/ Chardonnay Blend

Region: Western Cape

Country: South Africa

Price: $12

Wine Critic Review: Pale yellow color with aromas and flavors of citrus, green apple and quince.  Crisp and clean with underlying minerality and acidity.

Personal Review: Tastes of apples and lemons, but it's mild enough to make it appealing to me. 

Food pairing: None

The Usual Suspect

My mom and fellow wine lover has been on a mission to collect as many wine labels as she can. I bought this simply because the label was quirky and because Cabernet Sauvignon has become one of my favorites.

Name: The Usual Suspect

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: California

Year: 2009

Price: $8-10

Wine Critic Review: The 2009 Big House The Usual Suspect Cabernet Sauvignon has inviting aromas of plum, dark fruit, black currants, and a tiny bit of pepper and vanilla. This is a jammy wine with plum, black currants, and coffee flavors. Nice tannins on the slightly bitter finish make good counterpart to the jammy fruit. A simple wine that would probably be at its best paired with red meat off the grill. The wine held up fine on day 2. A taste rating of 6/10, but the super low price means this one still gets an Overall Rating of "Buy".

Personal Review: This wine was pretty spicy, and had a lot of the richer darker suit flavors, like blackberry and plum. I have to admit though, it was sort of lacking for me. One of the things I like so much about Cabernet Sauvignon is that the flavor fills your entire mouth with warmth without the burn of cheap liquor, and that the flavor lingers on the tongue like a batch of blackberry cobbler still hot from the oven. (A big deal to me, since my allergy to blackberries means I can only have a bite or two of this amazing dessert and that I must immediately go take benedryl afterwards.) But this wine was just...missing in that area. It was too thin and simple.
Food pairing: I had this which a spinach artichoke dip that had some heavier cheeses like cheddar in it. Maybe not the best pairing, but it certainly didn't hurt the wine.

Dreaming of Summer...

I have com down with a MAJOR case of senioritis and am dying for it to be summer. I think that's part of what compelled me to purchase this bottle of Flip Flop Merlot at Kroger last night. It just sounded like it would make me feel at least a little closer to the beach. 

Name: Flip Flop

Variety: Merlot

Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2009

Price: $6

Wine Shop Review: Medium-bodied, silky Merlot with plum and mocha notes, soft tannins and a balanced, luscious finish.

Personal Review: A lighter red wine, with a hint of chocolate, coffee and rich fruit. Very smooth. 

Food pairing: I drank this after a meal of cheesy grits...yeah, not sure about that one. 

Rotissery Chicken, Wine Homework and Chenin Blanc

Name: Beringer

Variety: Chenin Blanc

Region: Napa Valley, California

Country: USA

Year: 2010

Price: $6

Wine Critic Review: Gentle handling and careful attention is given to the Chenin Blanc grapes from the vine to the glass. To retain the delicate varietal flavors, Beringer’s winemakers chill the juices immediately following crush and continue to closely monitor the temperature throughout fermentation. Just before dryness, they cool the juices even further to halt fermentation and retain a smooth, lush mouthfeel and 

lingering finish.

Personal Review: This wine was nearly perfect. Sweet with light citrus flavors, but not too sweet, and tart but not too sour. Honestly, this is my ideal everyday white wine. 

Food Pairing: My favorite dinner is rotisserie chicken with a starch and a veggie. Tonight I had it with a barley mix and roasted cauliflower wrapped in prosciutto. This wine was light and a nice contrast to the savory flavors of the chicken, barley mix and cauliflower. 

Blenheim Vineyards

To the tasting room we go!

The same day we went to Jefferson Vineyards, we were given the opportunity to pay $15 for the opportunity to go taste at three other vineyards in the area, instead of $10 for tasting at only Jefferson Vineyards. It sounded like a pretty good deal, so my fiancé and I went ahead and made the purchase. We visited Blenheim Vineyards a few miles away the same day, so that we could contrast the two experiences. It was really enlightening to do it this way, because it allowed us to compare the two side by side.

A bench made out of a used wine barrel. I want one!

One of the first things I noticed about Blenheim versus Jefferson Vineyards was that there was a lot more focus on the overall aesthetic of the vineyard and tasting room, rather than the making of the wine. That's not to say that there wasn't focus on creating the quality product, but the focus was on the romance of the experience, instead of the scientific part. They allowed weddings at the vineyard, and I could definitely see how great of an experience that would be.

The view into the cellar.

You can only take a tour at Blenheim vineyards in a large group with an appointment, but their tasting room was huge, with lots of nice tables and a great view of the vines. They had a huge porch off their tasting room where you could bring a picnic. You could also sit on their porch overlooking their vines. Despite not being able to tour, you could see down into their cellar. This feature was built into the overall aesthetic of the place.

These were a bunch of the wines we tried. Unfortunately, I lost my tasting notes, so I can't remember for the life of me what was what, other than the fact that I enjoyed everything. I can tell you that the ones with the birds on the label were a special vintaged blend. Each year the owner of the vineyard draws a new image to go on the label of the blended wine. 

This is the view from the porch overlooking the vineyard. I would love to see it again when they are covered in green. What a beautiful sight that must be.

Brad and I on the porch. We're coming back and bringing a picnic sometime soon!