Tasting- Wine Men of Gotham Chardonnay Semillon 2008

Name: Wine Men of Gotham 2009
Variety: Chardonnay/ Semillon
Country: Australia (South Australia Region)
Price: $5.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Gotham’s 2008 Wine Men of Gotham Chardonnay Semillon is a blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Semillon. It gives a moderate intensity of melon, guava, apricot and butterscotch aromas. The medium bodied palate provides attractive acidity along with plenty of tropical fruit flavors and a medium-long finish.

My review: I don't like chardonnays yet still, but this was getting close. The smell was quite bold in sweetness which made me have a glimmer of hope. However, the taste was typical chardonnay dryness I am not quite fond of yet. The initial burst of flavor was definitely melon and then faded into a really sharp tart after taste. The melon fruity flavor was extremely good though and almost redeemed the clawing dryness that followed it. Some people might love that, but me right now does not. I do think the play on fruity and tart was really delicious, but I am just not into the chardonnay flavor... right now, hopefully I will be able to appreciate it by the end of this class.

Tasting- Beringer Riesling 2009

 Name: Beringer 2009
Variety: Riesling
Country: United States (California, Sonoma County)
Price: $5.95
Vintage Cellar Review: This wine is the perfect balance of honeysuckle and bright peach flavors. A perfect compliment to light fare, appetizers, or just sharing with friends.

My review: Riesling is my favorite wine right now after I got over the clawing sweetness of moscatos. I never smelled rieslings before since I never factored that into drinking wine. The flavor was really delicate and a sweet fruity smell to it too. The taste was sort of different than rieslings I've had before. The other more name brands like Barefoot for example were always one note of just sweet, but not sickenly sweet and you could drink like water. This wine had nice fruity bursts of especially peach, but everything just was really balanced with a sharp finishing taste only hinting to the dryness of a chardonnay. However, I didn't buy it just because I have had rieslings before and this experience is all about trying new wines. This wine though is extremely good and has something for all levels of wine-tasters.

Tasting- Finca Del Castillo Tempranillo 2011

Name: Finca Del Castillo Tempranillo 2011
Variety: Tempranillo
Country: Spain (La Mancha Region)
Price: $4.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Rooty, spicy and baked on the nose, with aromas that lean towards raisin. The palate is more gritty and acidic, with raisin, cola, and spic flavors. Darkens up on the finish, which is long and peppery, with adequate juiciness and a final note of tomato.

My Review: first off, that review is ten times of crazy. I have no idea what rooty, spic, or baked even means. So lemme try to break it down: this stuff is good. The smell was definitely fruity with only a hint of smoke. The taste was the complete opposite. The initial burst was like strawberries, but then again that could be my interpretation of raisins. The fruit flavor then blended into a full smoky sensation that completely filled my mouth and was awesome. I jokingly described it as a morning fog rolling into a field of strawberries in the morning, to which my roommate laughed at me. But I think that's a pretty good picture to paint. Anyway, I highly recommend this stuff even if you don't like red wine like I did 10 days ago.

Tasting- Bartenura Moscato 2010

Name: Bartenura 2010
Variety: Moscato
Country: Italy (Pavia Region)
Price: $4.95

Vintage Cellar Review: The inviting apricot preserves, honey, butter, and roasted almond aromas of this semi-sparkler pull you right in. It's on the sweet side, with stone-fruit flavors kept alive by decent acidity. The palate bubbles and tingles and maintains its balance. Fine as an aperitif or with dessert.

My Review: What is an aperitif? (answer in the comment? :D thanks) So everyone has had Moscato wine before, it's like beginner's wine, but this one was like a step up from that. The smell didn't surprise me: kinda fruity, kinda sweet, but not crazy. The taste was more complex than I have had in moscatos too. It was sweet to start, but left you with the dry after taste that you get with sauvignon blancs. This led to an overall balanced experience and not overly fruity like I expected. I'm realizing now though that I can't tell how to pick out a fruit flavor from a wine like these official reviews. If anyone else is having luck with that then post in the comments PLEASE!

Tasting- Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2012

Name: Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2012
Variety: Gamay
Country: France
Price: $3.95!!!!!

Vintage Cellar Review: Bright and tangy, offering a classic banana note on the nose, with flavors of raspberry, wild strawberry and light spice. Modest finish.

My Review: Ermahgad!!! 4 dollar wine?!?!? How about no.... You definitely get what you pay for in my opinion. Plus that review was so short compared to others, even they were trying to hide something. The smell was downright gross like really strong and vinegary. In redeeming terms.... bold? with maybe a hint of some type of strawberry maybe. I couldn't tell due to the assault on my nose. The first word I wrote when tasting this was blech, if that is any set up. It was dry and old-tasting like I could not even believe. This really bad taste stopped me from picking up any like fruit or tangy flavors, so I will definitely pass on this. If I were you, I'd splurge a few extra dollars to get something a little more... better.

Tasting- Mars and Venus Chardonnay 2011

Name: Mars and Venus 2011
Variety: Chardonnay
Country: Spain (Chardonnnay)
Price: $5.95
Vintage Cellar Review: A very nice value Chardonnay that comfortably over-delivers vs. its modest price tag. No oak here, just bushels of clean, crisp, Chardonnay apple and stone fruit with a hint of caramelized pineapple.  Juicy and clean, this is a mid-weight white that's just perfect for parties or weeknight sipping.

My Review: So I never drink chardonnays because they always taste so dry, but this was semi-pleasing. The smell didn't lead on to any breakthroughs too. It was a bold sour smell that covered up any fruit that might have come through. However, the taste was not like this. I really liked how it had a nice full pear flavor that just covered the inside of my mouth. While it did have nods of dry flavor to it, it wasn't overwhelming the other flavors and balanced really nicely. If you have any pre-conceived notions about chardonnays, then I definitely recommend this as a beginning to understanding them.

Tasting- La Cappucina Suave 2011

Name: La Cappucina Suave 2011
Variety: Garganega
Country: Italy (Soave Region)
Price: $7.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Bright straw yellow in color. Delicate on the nose, with notes of flowers and almonds. Dry, well-structured and delicately fruity, with hints of bitter almonds on the finish that is typical of Garganega-based wines.

My review: I'm gonna start doing the smells to all of these since that is really professional :D. So to start it smelled kind of delicate and flowery, but not really fruity which was good. I expected some sweetness since it was named like Cappucino too. The taste followed this too. It was only a little sweet, with just a kiss of honey leading into a little more stronger almond flavor too. The finish was really crisp too that left an acidic pucker in my mouth. Overall really good, but just didn't make me want to go back to more. I don't like almond flavor so, thats probably why I had a slight aversion to this wine.