Tasting- 2010 Opera Prima Sweet Red

Name: Opera Prima 2010
Variety: Sweet Red
Country: Spain (La Mancha Region)
Price: $4.95!!
Vintage Cellar Review: Doesn’t try to hide its warm-climate terroir, with a soft texture
framing jammy-sweet black raspberry, cherry, red currant, root
beer and sweet tea. Drink now.

I never thought it was possible for me to like red wine to the point that I would crave it, but this CHANGED me. Immediately I bought a bottle after the tasting. The smell first of all was kind of spicy and tickled my nose like the other two didn't. The taste was very sweet, as someone in class noted, like kool-aid. It was a red wine I could back to over and over again. Even after the taste of it was gone, it left a new, dry sensation on my tongue that I never noticed when trying red wines. It was really good and I was eager to share it to my other friends who also thought it was delicious. I'm definitely going to remember this next time I'm actually in the mood for red wine.

A goal of mine from this class was to be able to appreciate red wines since I always disliked them. To have this strong of a reaction to a red wine in the first week is awesome and is a start even though this one was really sweet and fruity. I can't wait to try more red wines similar to this and improve my taste for red wines!

Tasting- 2009 Syrah Montes Alpha

Name: Montes Alpha 2009
Variety: Syrah
Country: Chile (Apalta region of the Colchagua Valley)
Price: $7.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Blackberry and cola aromas are cool and collected. The palate has weight and texture to accompany berry, mint, herb and peppery flavors. Turns more herbal and roasted as it unwinds. Pepper and spice lead the finish.

While the Coreto Tinto smelled pungent and tasted bright, it was the opposite for this red wine. The smell was nice and floral, it even smelled like a wine I would drink. However, upon tasting it, it lost that effect. It tasted like pungent red wines I've tasted before and did not like and it lingered after I was done. Needless to say it was my least favorite of the tasting with all 5 of these wines and I was ready to move on to the next one. However, my roommate said it was his favorite, so its all about personal taste.

Tasting- 2010 Coreto Tinto

Name: Coreto Tinto 2010
Variety: Tinto
Country: Portugal (Lisboa Region)
Price: $6.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Despite its light touch, this is fruity and full, with its blackberry fruit
dominating the warm spice note and acidity. Soft tannins keep the
wine together.

The smell was very pungent, but that might just be my normal aversion to red wine. I never drink red wine, so of course I was hesitant to drink it, because every time I drink reds it doesn't taste good to me. But this red wine was really pleasant to drink! I always said that red wines just tasted like old.... which I know isn't a professional critique, but you get what I'm saying right?..... right? This wine was sweeter and had a nice fruity taste too, I didn't pick up on a spice finish though. But this was a big step for me because it was the first red wine that I would go back and drink on my own accord.

Tasting- 2011 Sauvignon Blanc Maipe

Name: Maipe (Andean Culture) 2011

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Country: Argentina (Mendoza Region)

Price: $7.95

Vintage Cellar Review: Yellow color with green hints. Expressive wine, fresh, very aromatic. This Sauvignon Blanc displays grapefruit flavors, with hints of melon and honey. It finishes with bracing acidity and fresh mouth feels that make it a terrific aperitif and an excellent accompaniment to virtually all seafood, especially shellfish. 

First off, the smell right off the bat was really strong. It didn't smell fruity, just had the aroma of what a strong-flavored white wine would smell like. That made me hesitant to try it, but it actually wasn't what I originally thought. It had that dry flavor I've had before, but it wasn't as tart to the point it makes my lips pucker and purse in the corners. It was good, but just not what I currently like when I want to drink wine.

Tasting- 2010 Vinho Verde Encostas do Lima

Ahh! yes! My first wine review! Please don't judge my naive commentary, and I hope it gets better hahaha!

Name: Encostas do Lima 2010
Variety: Vinho Verde
Country: Portugal (Vinho Verde Region Go Figure!)
Price: $4.95!!
Vintage Cellar Review: Pale golden silver color. Bright floral aromas of peaches, raspberry and honeysuckle with a soft, dry-yet-fruity medium body and a crisp, tart citrus and talc accented finish. A delightful sipper that is sure to please.

Now I am more accustom to white wines rather than red wines, but also go for sweeter wines. It tasted much dryer than I go for, but the bright citrus-fruity flavors (like the peach and raspberry the review mentions) more than made up for it. It was really delicious and different since I always thought dry wines had a tartness, but that wasn't the case here. It was really tasty overall and I would definitely drink it again. I would like to taste more Vinho Verdes before I make any more judgements though.

Even on the first wine, my ideas of wines are already changed, since I had a dryer wine, but other nuances of the flavor sort of hide it for me.

Vino is My Friend-O

My name is Adam Stucke and welcome to my Wine Blog!

First off, let me say that I in no way shape or form think I know anything to do with classifying, tasting, or what to look for when trying wines except for I know what I like and don't like. My experience with wine is extremely limited and why I'm excited to be in Geography of Wines this semester.

I can't remember when I first tried wine specifically, but it probably started with always getting champagne at New Year's and it was always such a dry taste that I hated it and informed my mom that every time until I could just buy my own. In my family, we all have particular tastes in wine based off of personal experiences: my mom like dry white wine, my sister is now into certain red wines, my other sister and dad don't even drink much wine, and I, being new to the culture, go for sweet white wine like Riesling or Spumante champagne. I think red wines are gross every time i try it, but hopefully this class will give me a taste and appreciation for it.

 I have been to one winery for an actual tasting too, and it was really cool and I would love to go again! It was at the Versailles Winery.... in Ohio (pronounced as seen, not like the fancy French place). It was essentially a winery in a corn field which was funny, but actually had a ton of diverse wines. White, Red, Blush, sweet, dry, even wines made from fruit and other stuff. The worst being a wine made from maple syrup and was disgustingly too sweet even for my taste. However the sparkling fruit wines were really good and it was my first  experience with blush wine. I tried a blueberry wine, a blush, an apple wine, and two others I don't remember. Anyway, this was my first foray into tasting lots of different types of wines and the main backing for my choices of wines today. I had no idea what I was doing except to taste like all of them and pick which tasted best.

Here's a picture of me and my cousin during the tasting!

I like to try to impress people when trying new wines by saying things like "this has a nice full flavor" or stuff like that, but I have no idea what I actually mean by that and as long as people don't call me out, I just go with it! So during this class I would love to actually know what that means as well as what other things to look for and the right vocabulary to use especially because drinking wine is so commonplace in my family. I also want to learn like what temperature to serve wine at and what foods pair well so I can be super fancy.

CHEERS!