Tasting- Moet and Chiandon Imperial

Name: Moet and Chandon Imperial Brut
Variety: 30-40% Pinot Noir, 30-40% Pinot Meunier, 20-30% Chardonnay, and 20-30% other selected reserve wines to complete assemblage and enhance its maturity, complexity, and consistency.
Region: France (Champagne)
Price: $45!!!!!
Wine.Com Review: Brut Impèrial is a complete, generous and dynamic champagne. It is a balanced assemblage of the three wine varieties from the most expressive crus of the Champagne region.

My Review: It wouldn't be  a grand occasion without some 45 dollar wine so here we go! This champagne was phenomenal and I was super excited when I saw the regal looking box in a bag on the ride over to Bald Head Island. First of all it came in a box, a bottle in a box, so you know its fancy! I was unnerved because it was brut, which I don't like, but damn I could drink this every day if I had the cash. The smell was kind of apricot-like and frutiy for a brut which got me excited. The taste was so well balanced of smooth, crisp, acidic, fruity, earthy, and every descriptor I can come up with but on different ends of the flavor spectrum, it had it all and blended them so seamlessly with the acidity a good wine deserves it was amazing. It wasn't too acidic, but crisp to balance it, it wasn't too fruity or sweet, but just dry enough to balance it, but not too much or else I would have noticed it. It was seriously perfect and I see why its 45 dollars from champagne region and my first real expensive wine. I now know the difference between the 10 dollar and 50 dollar champagnes and I highly advise people splurge just once for an occasion on this stuff because it is well worth the money. Hopefully I get into graduate school in the next few days and if I do I will definitely go buy a bottle of this and drink it all to myself.

Tasting- Alamos Wines of Gatena 2011

Name: Alamos Red Blend 2011
Variety: 53% Malbec 15% Bonarda 14% Tempranillo 13% Syrah 5% Cabernet Franc
Region: Argentina (Mendoza)
Price: $10
Winemaker's Notes: 2011 Red Blend has dark berry fruit flavors, integrated with brown spice and vanilla oak characters that form a plush mouthfeel. The Tempranillo and Syrah grapes contribute bold, spicy flavors of blackberry and black pepper which marry well with the juicy dark cherry flavors of Bonarda and the deep plum flavors of the Malbec base. The addition of Cabernet Franc helps to balance the blend, as it melds with notes of warm brown spice to create a long, supple finish.

My Review: Now just for the record, my other sister and I went to the local grocery store and she asked me to recommend a red blend for her and I told her this. And she loved it. The smell was a nice mix of cherry and strawberry and definitely a smokiness that filled my nose and was very pleasing. The taste first hits you with dark cherry flavor and a little bit of dry flavor, but is very pleasing. It was nice and smooth transition to a long mouth taste of smokiness afterwards. The winemaker says spice, but I used smoky a lot. I might have been drunk by this point though and just confused the two. Usually I don't like spicy things, but this was really good especially when I haven't tried to many malbecs that I was crazy about. I do recommend this to everyone though, so go get some.

Tasting- Korbel California Champagne Sweet Rose

Name: Korbel Rose
Variety: Pinot Noir, Gamay, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, and Syrah
Region: California (Sonoma County)
Price: $13
Winemaker's Notes: The broad array of red grapes used in the Korbel Sweet Rose blend give us an incredibly diverse selection of blending alternatives. Varieties like Pinot Noir, Gamay and Zinfandel give us light bright wines with high levels of acidity. The Sangiovese is more intensely aromatic, while the syrah contributes a deeper color and more tannin for body and richness.

My Review: It wouldn't have been a celebration without some bubbly and of course there were multiple bottles to pass around in honor of the happy couple! It smelled really girly, with floral and perfumey aromas mixing together making for an overall sweet experience. I never understood what perfumey meant until smelling this wine and a good benchmark to get that smell profile. However, I was not mad about that and dove straight in. The taste definitely followed up with that and had sweet and fruity tastes to it. The bubbles added a nice acidity it needed and rounded out the entire drink and hints of raspberry kept you even more interested in it. Guys should not be swayed by its fruity color and smell and definitely imbibe on this due to its awesome drinkability.

Tasting- Black Swan Chardonnay 2010

Name: Black Swan 2010
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Australia (South Eastern)
Price: $10 for a mega bottle
Garnet Wines & Liquors review: Fresh peach, citrus and melon flavors with a hint of vanilla. Refreshingly unexpected next to chicken, pasta, seafood and light cheeses.

My Review: Ok, so when trying to find a review for this I found that a lot of people did not like this, but I on the other hand didn't think it was that bad! Seeing as how I was expecting and looking for Yellowtail Chardonnay Reserve and settled for this, it was a great substitute. The smell was tropical and pineapple which was awesome for being at the beach and riding around in a golf cart all day sucking this stuff down from a sippy bottle. And especially by the pool too. However, it did kind of have a finishing funk on the nose of something along the lines of pee, so I kept the lid on so I didn't have to smell it. The taste was a little dryer than my taste and slightly acidic which was good, and had notes of definite pear. I thought it was so good I drank most of the mega bottle by myself in one afternoon, so drinkability on this one is really good!

Tasting- Bald Head Red

Name: Bald Head Red
Variety: Catawba
Region: North Carolina (Duplin Winery)
Price: $7.00
North Carolina Wine TV Review: Duplin’s Bald Head Red is a North Carolina wine made from Pink Catawba grapes, which give it a very different flavor compared to traditional muscadine wines. The Catawba grapes that go int this wine are grown in Western North Carolina, on the nose this wine smells of powdered sugar, pine, flowers and mountain woods. This is a well balanced wine that with a little thicker weight on the mouth feel. Lots of fruit and earth in this wine.

My Review: This Wine sums up my last weekend as I ventured to Bald Head Island, NC in order to watch and celebrate my sister getting engaged (congrats Andy and Amanda!). We stocked up for the way there and naturally when I saw this I had to get it. I have never tried or heard of any North Carolina wines so this was going to be good. However, this was the last wine I drank during the weekend and by this time felt pretty drunk and not feeling any wines, so I apologize for the limited review. The smell to me was only slightly earthy, and also smelled like sweet red cherries. I kind of expected it to be sweet since it said it on the bottle, but didn't expect it to be as sweet as it was. It wasn't bad, but after drinking Chardonnay the entire afternoon prior (see Black Swan) I was not too into it, but after reading other reviews I will definitely have to revisit this guy. The taste followed on sweet cherry flavors and was really pleasant thinking back now, I just wish I had not been so wine-ed out...

Tasting- Potluck Sweet Malbec 2010

Name: Potluck Sweet Malbec
Variety: Malbec
Country: Argentina (Mendoza)
Vintage Cellar Review: Deep red brilliant with violet hints. Complex, fruity, and predominant red fruits. Easy to drink, round with persistent sweetness, very well balanced with sweet tannins.

My Review: The smell of this one was much sweeter than other ones this day. Bright red cherry smelling with a hint of vanilla that was very pleasant. The taste definitely followed this with bright notes of Cherry and raspberry, sort of jammy. I don't know how I feel about Malbecs yet, but this one should not factor into it since it was much sweeter than the others.

Tasting- Domaine de Grange de Payan 2011

Name: Domaine de Grange de Payan 2011
Variety: Mostly Grenache
Country: France (Cotes du Rhone)
Price: $8.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Intensely spicy and precise, with lively red berry flavors and a hint of black pepper. The Grenache, which makes up the majority of the wine, is deeper and more powerful, offering cherry and black raspberry qualities lifted by zesty minerality.

My Review: Where a lot of red wines can smell musty and like the cellars it comes from, this was definitely not that. It was floral and perfumey with notes of raspberry and cherry. It was nice and bright which was refreshing. The taste was vastly different from that notion though. It was astringent and spicey or peppery which was a weird combo. The cherry taste was nice and deep, but tasted like cough medicine which was no good to me.

Tasting- Figaro Tinto 2009

Name: Figaro Tinto 2009
Variety: Garnacha
Country: Spain (Calatayud)
Price: $6.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Figaro is 100% Garnacha, made from a selection of the best grapes grown in the oldest vineyards. While not truly an "oaked wine", a short stay in oak barrels provides a nice spicy flavor boost. Bright violet. Dark berry and cherry aromas show a jammy aspect. Supple and gently sweet, with good lift to its black raspberry and boysenberry flavors. Smooth and broad on the finish, leaving behind a hint of spiciness. Extremely easy to drink and an excellent value

My Review: The smell and taste of this wine was nothing special that I could decipher from other red wines I've had. The smell was very oaky, musty, and red fruity especially of black cherry. The taste followed that profile. It tasted very tannic and bitter and definitely notes of black cherry. Since Black Cherry is one of my least favorite flavors ever (along with butterscotch) I was not into this wine However, I could see alot of people who are into that really like this wine especially due to its hardy nature.

Tasting- Maipe Malbec Rose 2011

Name: Maipe Malbec Rose
Variety: Malbec Rose
Country: Argentina (Mendoza)
Price: $7.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Intense pink color with violet hints. Fresh red fruit bouquet, strawberry and cherry flavors, balanced acidity, dry and lingering finish. Excellent with tuna or green salad, pasta, spicy Asian dishes.

My Review: I don't know how I feel about Roses yet. I mostly resent them because I don't know how to get the accent mark of the e in Rose. But in all seriously... What was Arnold Schwarzenegger's favorite wine? Mal-be-bec. ok ok, that was bad and I apologize, so let's get to the wine. The nose on this one was kind of earthy, metallic, and the best way I could describe it was that it smelled like how pennies taste. Hopefully that paints a good picture and everyone experienced that penny taste when they were younger. The taste was very intricate as well. It was quite bitter which led into a spiciness and then finished even more bitter. The fruit aspect throughout was kind of strawberryish. Overall I was not a fan, but I think it might've been expecting more white wine profiles, and instead I got more of red wine aspects and that kind of threw me for a loop.

Tasting- Cortenova Pinot Grigio 2012

Name: Cortenova Pinot Grigio 2012
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Country: Italy (Veneto Region)
Price: $7.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Brilliant straw color with emerald reflections. Fresh and floral bouquet with a hint of pears, apricots and bananas. Fresh and inviting with bright fruit and an easy drinking style with a pleasing hint of almonds in the aftertaste.  Pairs well with seafood dishes, risottos with scampi, spaghetti with clams, sole in white wine Perfect also as an aperitif.

My Review: I was never really fond of Pinot Grigio due to their off-putting acrid smell. So I wasn't expecting much from this wine, but I was happily and pleasantly surprising. The nose definitely had that herbally, natural, grassy smell which peaked through the mostly floral smell with hints of fruit, but the smell was overall very delicate. The taste was very acidic and made my mouth pucker. I did get flavors of pear and sort of sweet as well. It blended nicely with the tart taste in it and was very balanced. Of all the wines of the day, I probably would have gotten this above the other 4 if that says anything.

Tasting- Two Shilling Red 2011

Name: Two Shilling Red 2011
Variety: 41% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Syrah,
1% Malbec
Region: Virginia (Williamsburg Winery)
Price: $ 9.95
Williamsburg Winery Review: This is very easy dinking fruit forward style wine. The fruit is characterized with mostly red fruits such as cherry, strawberry, raspberry and cranberry. There are also some hints of green apple, and pineapple. Just below the fruit nuances is a soft spice character with a touch of molasses
and soy. The tannins are very clean and smooth which helps promote the soft fruit forward style wine. The wine has a clean, soft, fruit feel with just a hint of sweetness that rounds out the overall feel of the wine. This is a wonderful everyday wine that can be enjoyed with lots of different foods.

My Review: THIS IS A LIVE REVIEW! I am drinking this now, look out for 4 more this week, because its spring break and the only fun thing to do in Lynchburg is drink with my mom and aunt! I found a bottle of Limited edition Williamsburg wine my mom bought at some point and knowing she hates red wine I popped that bottle! So lemme smell it....... It smells really fruity, light red berries and maybe a hint of something darker, probably coming from the cranberries. The smell is really rich and tastes really straightforward like a mixed berry fruit punch, but then it dries out into a dry finish that is refreshing, but already a glass in I'm getting sick of it. I can't love this wine, but I'm about to eat it with skirt steak and lobster ravioli so this can only get better!

Wine Pairing Dinner 1- Happy Birthday Dear Sister

It is always a Stucke family tradition that sometime around our birthdays, me and both of my sisters', we have to come home and our mom cooks us whatever dinner we want. Now my family does like to have fun and these occasions are becoming farther apart (usually ending up in drunk board games like trivial pursuit, catchphrse, cards against humanity) so pressure is on to make them perfect. I also saw this as a way of unveiling my new found wine connoisseurship that I had been talking up, so even more pressure was on me to not be a phony. I thought it would be simple, hear what she wants for dinner and pair it up and it everything would be smashing. However, then she had to make it difficult and request a surf and turf... grilled scallops and beef tenderloin. Which don't get me wrong, sounds really delicious, but I had no idea how to pair wines to it. I knew red wine paired with the beef tenderloin and white wine for the scallops, but what happens when you have them together. Luckily, the fine people at vintage cellar were able to help me and told me to just serve two wines with dinner! Fancy! And then my awesome aunt also made a cajun-ey type crab dip before hand too. So starting with that I am gonna go wine by wine by course by course and describing my "expert" review and all the funny things my family blurted out hahaha

First up was this JP Chenet sparkling Rose paired to the crab dip with a little bit of spice to it that my Aunt Dawn made. I looked at my Hello Vino app and it had said sparkling rose was a good pair for crab, so I just ran with it. Also everyone was seriously impressed by how quietly I could open these bottles and maybe now my mom won't freak out and tell me to go outside all the time. This is a French wine that when I smelled reminded me of those brut champagnes my mom always gave me, but was more floral. It was really hard to balance my own tasting, with instructing my family the proper techniques, so I hope you don't mind the lackluster reviews. The taste followed up on the brut taste, but the fruity, apricotty flavors shown nicely only to have a little dryness on the finish. The peanut gallery kept saying the word bubbly... which depicts no flavor whatsoever and a little dry, noobs. My sister's fiance even said it sort of tasted like cheerwine. After eating the dip, which was delicious, everyone all agreed it tasted much different and better. The slight heat of the crab dip accentuated the fruitiness rather than the dryness. Everyone also agreed it tasted better with the food. Family birthday dinner was off to a good start!

And there's the birthday girl in the background too! Now for the main dinner. Everyone was a little hesitant to drink sauvignon blanc too, no one seemed to like it or had preconceived notions, so no one really tasted it by itself except me. It smelled like one of those earthy, grassy sauvignon blancs and like cat pee. Everyone laughed when I said that, but a few kind of agreed after smelling it. It was dry to start but then came together in a fruity and acidic mid pallet to finish. The most I got out from everyone else was that it was much better after eating with the scallops, but it would have been even better had it been cooked in the wine too. The wine definitely sweetened up and the scallop, shellfishy flavor complemented really nicely and added depth and richness to the taste.

This should look familiar! Of all the 30 wines tasted so far this semester, this one by far is my favorite: a hint of dry red wine, nice pop of red fruit, and a smoky finish always stands out to me. Naturally I wanted to incorporate it into my family's dinner and the vintage cellar people agreed it was a good pair to the beef tenderloin. Now my family is very picky with red wines and it can be hit or miss. I knew what the taste was, but I was eager to hear what my family would say. A few got the peppery, smoky flavor that I love so much. and it was even better with the meat too. It made a rich and full flavor, almost buttery which I never expected. It added a new dimension to the flavor and the smokiness complemented the meat extremely well. By this time, my family after 4 pitchers of beer at bowling, margaritas, and copious amounts of wine were feeling pretty good, so the descriptors were pretty bad. My other sister kept saying "party in my mouth" and my dad was saying "flirtatious yet moderately appealing." Seeing as how my dad never really drinks red wine, I thought it was an overall victory on all fronts.

All in all my family was definitely impressed with how enthusiastic, cultured, and knowledgable about wine I have become and it was awesome to try to teach them a little bit more. When I told them I had signed up for a wine class they were a little skeptical, but since I can recommend better wines I think they have accepted it. So I proved my worth and now maybe, just maybe they will keep me in the family! And Happy Birthday Amanda!!

Tasting- Monte Aman 2009

Name: Monte Aman 2009
Variety: Tempranillo
Country: Spain (Arlanza)
Price: $5.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Fermentation of selected grapes in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature. Aging in American oak casks for 5 months followed by 3 months in the bottle before being released in the market. Inky ruby. Ripe cherry and plum on the nose. Smooth and fleshy, with deep dark fruit flavors complicated by bitter chocolate and anise. A spicy quality adds lift and focus to the weighty fruit. Offers an appealing mix of power and energy and drinks very well right now.

My Review: I WAS SO EXCITED FOR THIS WINE! Mostly because Tempranillo is my favorite wines now, its official. The smell i always use on tempranillos is pungent and I always seem to say cherries for red wines too.... I need some palate expanding. The taste was strong in tannins to start to a nice spicy mid-pallet with fruit flavors mixed into it. Then it came full circle to a dry and tannin flavor. That characteristic spice flavor that tempranillos have is the best, and why I always go back to it time and time again.

Tasting- Cortenova Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2010

Name: Cortenova Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2010
Variety: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Country: Italy (Veneto)
Price: $6.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Deep ruby red color with violet highlights and a pleasant and fruity bouquet. Full bodied, soft tannins and good acidity. Excellent with pasta dishes and red meats.

My Review: Something about this wine, I think it was the really really rich color just turned me off to the wine to start. I honestly did not think I was going to like it. The smell was really deep, rich cherry and typical red wine aromas. The first taste of it was very fruity of raspberries and cherries, but then quickly went into a sultry mid-pallet of extreme tannins that played well off the fruit flavors. Then it just sat on your tongue with a dry finish that was overall very lovely. I was very surprised afterwards that I did like it as much as I did, but maybe this is just a sign that I'm growing up guys.

Tasting- Maipe Chardonnay 2012

Name: Maipe Chardonnay 2012
Variety: 85% Chardonnay 15% Viognier
Country: Argentina (Mendoza)
Price: $7.95
Vintage Cellar Review: 30% malolactic
fermentation, 30% was aged in French oak barrels. Brilliant yellow golden color with green hints. The wine is crisp and filled with white peach, pear, green apples flavors, toasty vanilla. Elegant and luscious wine, well balanced. Crisp and long finish. Pairs well with creamy soups, pork, veal, vegetables.

My Review: Guys I think I had a breakthrough, I really never liked Chardonnays, but I think I'm starting to get over that. I bought a bottle of Yellowtail Chardonnay Reserve and it was spectacular! So after that, I was anxious to try more chardonnays and this one was delicious too. I laughed at my notes  for this wine though, because for smell I seriously just wrote "lol cat pee." But thats what it smelled like! I guess to be more tastful you could say earthy, or some or fluffy bullcrap, but it smelled like cat pee! Before this class I wouldn't have batted an eye at something I described as that, but I just dived right in here. It had the typical chardonnay taste that now intrigues me more than grosses me out, but a nice crisp apricot flavor to it which settled to a nice full-balanced acidic flavor. If I wasn't buying hella amounts of wine for a pairing dinner tomorrow night (spoiler alert) then I definitely would have picked up a bottle of this!

Tasting- Villa d'Orvieto 2011

Name: Villa d'Orvieto 2011
Variety: Blend of Grechetto, Procanico/Trebbiano, and Malvasia
Coutnry: Italy (Orivieto)
Price: $6.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Fresh and crisp, it has a beautiful, floral bouquet. It is wonderful
with appetizers, fish, chicken, and salads.

My Review: This wine was really tricky to put the flavor to words, mostly because it was really really light. Even the smell, me and my roommate stood there for about five sniffs before giving up and just saying that it was light with a little bit of florals. The taste followed up with this too. The best part of tasting was a nice bite of acidity that took me by surprise as soon as I took a sip. I didn't know how to put the flavor into actual tastes, so the best way that I described it was cute. Now I don't use that term much, but it seemed very apropos. Now don't get me wrong, it may seem like I'm busting this wine's cute balls, but a light, delicate wine is really refreshing at times, and if I was in the right mood or had a craving then I would definitely pick it up!

Tasting- Dibon Cava Brut Reserve

Name: Dibon Cava Brut Reserve
Variety: Sparkling Wine (Brut) 45% Macabeo 25% Xarel-lo 30% Parellada
Country: Spain (Penedes)
Price: $9.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Light gold with plenty of bubbles, this wine has aromas of apples and pears with pleasant floral notes. Crisp and light-bodied on the palate, stone fruit flavors are accompanied by a mild minerality and balanced acidity. A delicious sparkler for a great price!

My Review: The word brut just has a bad connotation in my mind, since it reminds me of all the dry, gross wine that was my first taste of sparkling wine and basically alcohol in general. I kind of resent that about my mom, for giving me the driest, most tastless stuff for my first drink, but whatever. This wine was gratefully not like that. The smell especially was aromatic of apples and peaches and just overall sweet, but I knew the taste would not be like that. Of course it was dry like I knew it would be, but the strong fruit flavors counteracted that to make the entire taste nice and round. This combination of dry, brut flavor mixing with fruit came off very earthy and minerally. I rad the description and thought what the hell is a stone fruit flavor, but after drinking this you will know exactly what that means. Overall, this was a great brut that redeems some scarring childhood memories.