Tasting- "Fontana Candida Frascati"

Name: Fontana Candida Frascati

Variety: Non- varietal white blend

Region: Latium

Country: Italy

Year: 2012

Price: $12.00 (Regular) $5.95 (Sale)

Shop Review: "A blend of 60% Malvasia Bianca di Candia, 30% Trebbiano and 10% Malvasia del Lazio. This Frascati, made from grapes grown in volcanic soils near Rome and cold filtered, is a pale straw gold. On the nose it offers light-as-a-zephyr lemon and a hint of grass. On the tongue it is ultra crisp and delightfully flinty, its lemon and clementine flavors as smooth as old silk. At the end of a nice clean finish a dab of ripe pear takes a bow." - Vintage Cellar

My Review: This was my least favorite wine at the tasting this past Thursday. I found it to be extremely bitter and it left a terrible after taste in my mouth. I also found this wine to be a tiny bit drier than normal. I could definitely taste some citrus in this wine. Needless to say,  I would not purchase this wine for my own enjoyment. 

Food: I drank this wine at the Vintage Cellar tasting, so I was unable to pair any foods to this wine. 

Tasting- "B&G Chicken & Turkey Cotes du Rhone"

Name: B&G Chicken & Turkey Cotes du Rhone

Variety: Southern Rhone Red Blend

Region: Rhone Valley

Country: France

Year: 2011

Price: $10.00 (Regular) $5.95 (Sale)

Shop Review: "85 Points – Wine Enthusiast

A blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 20% Carignan. Deep red garnet color with purple highlights. Intense nose of morello cherry, tobacco and liquorice. Good structure on the palate with lots of fruits and a long fruity and spicy finish. A true delight." - Vintage Cellar

My Review: I am not typically a fan of red wine, but I found this one to be tolerable. It was definitely not as dry as some of the other ones that I have tasted, but there was still a bite to it. I would not personally purchase this wine because I didn't find it to be fruity enough. I could definitely taste the liquorice accents in this wine, which is probably one of the main reasons I was not a super fan. 

Food: I drank this wine at the Vintage Wine Cellar tasting, so I was unable to pair any foods to this wine. 

Wine is my happy place. Whether it be a glass for myself after a stressful week or an entire bottle for a night on the town with my best girlfriends, wine is my go-to drink when I want to relieve a little bit of stress and just let loose. There is something so calming about a nice glass of wine that is unlike any other drink. I personally enjoy sweet white wines, and I typically play it safe and do not stray far from what I know. 

I first tried a taste of my Dad's wine when I was a teenager at one of our family holiday gatherings, and I remembering thinking that it was so bitter and it wasn't very fond of it. Little did I know that there were so many other wines out there, and I would eventually grow to love it. (I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing haha!) Once I came to college, I was exposed to many different varieties of wines and I knew that is when I realized that it was a match made in heaven.

I am so excited to learn all about wine in this course so that I can sound sophisticated from this point forward. I honestly don't know much about wine, and I would love to gain an overall knowledge so I don't look like a fool when I grow to be much older. Right now, my knowledge doesn't expand much further from knowing what I like and what I don't like. I have already enjoyed the lecture on the glassware and how to properly swirl, sniff, and taste a wine, and I am looking forward to future lectures that will give me a certain sophistication when I am at a vineyard, winery, or even just a family dinner.