Tasting - Noble Vines Collection 446

Name: Noble Vines Collection 446

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: California 

Country: United States

Year: 2022

Price: 10.99$

Wine Review From Wine Enthusiast: "This bottling begins with crisp aromas of apple, pear, coconut and white flower on the nose. The palate hits with strong tropical-fruit flavors, as a fine acidity cuts into the powerful floral elements." — Matt Kettmann

My Review Using Wine Folly: 

I conducted the sniff test first before trying the wine and I got some fragrant apple and yeasty notes, which reminded me of hard cider. After another sniff I got the smell of fake banana, weird I know but hey that's what I smelled. After the first taste, it had a really mellow all-around feel. There was no sharp first hit to the taste buds. Wine Folly describes Chardonnays coming from California as having a ripe apple, tropical fruit flavors, and a buttery flavor (page 97). The first taste definitely had some yellow apple taste, some hints of cinnamon, and something very difficult to describe like almost a creamy banana but with no sweetness. 

Wine Review with Food: Wine Folly suggests pairing Chardonnays with creamy, buttery flavors, like lobster (page 96). But since I'm a college student and can't afford lobster, I had steak and potatoes again. I will say I did not like this wine with this meal. I used a lot of butter with the potatoes but the wine got extremely acidic with the food and I did not like the aftertaste it left. I’m wishing the wine was a little sweeter because the acid doesn’t go well with the sweetness of the potatoes and I was disappointed. I didn't really like this wine, I would not get it again!

Tasting - Acronym. Pinot Noir

Name: Acronym. Velvet

Variety: 100% Pinot Noir 

Region: California 

Country: United States

Year: 2020

Price: 7.99$

Wine Review from Wine Enthusiast: "This lightly colored, delicately structured Pinot has lots of tart acidity framing flavors of cranberries and strawberries. There's a hint of green, but it's bone dry, and the alcohol is a decidedly moderate." - From 3

3/1/2014 

My Review using Wine Folly: I first conducted the sniff test and the notes that I got were first of dark and ripe cherries and after there was a hint of bourbon, even a little caramel. Once I tasted the wine I then got flavors of cherry, like biting into an almost too-ripe cherry, not the fake kind but in a Black Forest cake-type cherry. It was not very sweet and there was a tart sharp taste of alcohol in the beginning and mellows out to surround the mouth. The Wine Folly book (page 151 Kindle edition) discusses how Pinot Noir's dried fruit flavors are cherry, which I definitely tasted. The book discusses how the primary flavors of Pinot Noir are plum, plum sauce, and wild blueberries but I did not really taste plums and blueberries. But the tertiary flavors of the wine in the book say "gun smoke" which I could taste as I recognized a spiced bourbon flavor. 

My Review With Food: I did pair this wine with my meal of some very chewy steak and oniony potatoes. Sipping on the wine after a bite, the wine cuts through the sweetness of the potatoes but the onion flavor still lingers. With food, it does taste acidic but the sweetness of the potatoes brings out a sweetness in the wine. I usually hate red wines but it was very enjoyable drinking it with my meal. 

Time for Wine! My First Post

Hey Everyone! My name is Evelyn and welcome to my wine blog! I am a senior sociology major and Virginia Tech and I can't wait to increase my wine knowledge throughout this course!

To begin, I turned 21 back in July and celebrated by going to a brewery and winery. The first stop was Bold Rock and I have to say the classic apple Bold Rock reminds me a little bit of my favorite white wines. The next winery was Kings Vineyards and it was the most beautiful day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing... picture perfect! That is where the above photo was taken. While there it was the first time I tasted a Sauvignon Blanc that I did not hate! My previous experience with Sauvignon Blanc was that they tasted a little like the aftertaste of throwing up, yeah not good! But that's probably because I had only tried a cheap Cupcake brand of wine. 

I enjoy trying wines, I'll often pick up a new bottle each time I go grocery shopping which is around once a week. But I'll only go for a white wine because I prefer its crisp and refreshing taste and feel. My wine knowledge is pretty lacking. I would say at best I know the difference between red, white, and rosé but that's as far as it goes. I'm more of a sweet white wine girl, I tend to steer clear of full-body reds. I probably haven't tried enough reds or the right kinds to be enthusiastic about them. But that's something I am going to challenge myself with this semester by trying more red wines and pairing them with different meals. I absolutely love cooking and as Professor Boyer says, food and wine go hand in hand. I probably just haven't found the right red to go with a nice steak. I often will pour myself a glass of wine while meal prepping but it's usually always my go-to Sauvignon Blanc from the brand Psyche. 

During the course of this class, there are lots of things I would like to learn. I would like to expand my knowledge of the wine-making process and learn how wines are processed differently and how that contributes to the different flavors. Another winery experience I had was going to Chatham Vineyards, the only winery on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. There I had a flight of six wines, three white and three red. They give you a little note card that describes the wine-making process of each and which flavor notes you should be able to taste. That's what stumped me. How in the world can someone taste a wine and get the flavor notes of dark chocolate and red currant? I would like to develop my knowledge and my flavor pallet to accurately be able to describe notes and flavors of wine. I also would like to become well-versed in wine pairings for different cuisines, especially cheeses. I am a HUGE fan of charcuterie boards and would like to learn how to pair wine with my favorite cheeses like brie, cheddar, and a herby, creamy goat milk cheese.