Our "Scoring System"

A note about what our scores mean:
5 - Wine your kids buy for you
6 - Would drink. Jug wine. Good for parties and your kids!
7 and above - Good for ANYTHING. Would recommend to friends. The higher the better!

And for PAIRINGS the scores mean:
0 = Wine tastes best alone
1 = Wine tastes best with food #1
2 = Wine tastes best with food #2

About Me

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This blog started because we needed a tenor in the church choir... Bob, Karen and I told Mike that if he joined the choir we would go out after practice every Thursday for drinks and appetizers. After a while we decided that it would be more fun (and less expensive!) to take turns hosting a "wine & cheese" night. Then Bob had the brilliant idea to "Taste the Vine" in alphabetical order. We started with Cabernet Sauvignon. The rules were simple: 1) The wine had to start with your designated letter, and 2) the bottle had to be covered up so we didn't know what we were drinking. I decided to write down our scores so that we would know which wines we liked the best....then was "forced" into writing a blog so that we could share our "finds" with our friends. So, enjoy!!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Planning Session for the next Wine Tastings!

We finished off the “European Red Wine” alphabet and decided we should have a planning night to decide on our next category for our weekly wine tastings. We bought some random wines to taste and found some good ones! Check them out!

Did you know? Scientific studies show that the antioxidants found in grape seeds and skins may reduce the blood clots that cause heart attacks, increase the good cholesterol that removes fat from blood vessels, and might even fight cancer by slowing the growth of tumors. And you thought we were just drinking red wine for the taste!

Results of the planning session: Next alphabet will be wines with at least 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines can be from ANYWHERE. Stay tuned.


Friday, July 20, 2012
Planning Night at Mike and Becky’s

  1. Rosso di Montalcino 2010 Il Poggione
    Bob: “Smells kinda…nothing. I have my toes in there and I can’t smell anything.”
    Becky: “Mild smell. Tastes good.”
    Karen: “No aroma.”
    Bryan: “Not a lot of smell.”
    Jess: “Just a hint.”
    Karen: “If you swirl it you catch a whiff. Tastes sweet with a dry behind.”
    Jess: “A little dry. Intimate.”
    Bryan: “I was the first one to finish. That’s a first!”
    Jess: “Party wine.”
    Bob 7, Karen 7, Mike 7, Becky 7.5, Jess 7, Bryan 7.5
  2. Textbook Cabernet Sauvingnon Napa Valley
    Bob: “This one smells good!”
    Becky: “This smells so good I don’t want to drink it!”
    Bryan: “It smells better than it tastes.”
    Jess: “A little tart.”
    Karen: “Much better. More aroma and flavor. I like it a lot.”
    Bob: “Better than the last one. A lot of aroma. It’s dry.”
    Becky: “This one makes me thirsty.”
    Mike: “Not as dry.”
    Karen: “I really like this one.”
    Bob 7.5, Karen 8, Mike 8, Becky 8, Jess 7, Bryan 6.5


  3. Banfi – Chianti Classico Riserva 2007
    Bob: “Bold.”
    Jess: “It came at a bad time – dinner time!”
    Karen: “What is that smell? Fruity? Berry?”
    Bob: “Cherry.”
    Karen: “I’ll go with cherry.”
    Karen: “I kind of like the smell. The taste is drier. It has a drier finish. I’m sad I gave the 2nd an 8 because now I’m forced to rate this higher!”
    Becky: “Very smooth.”
    Karen: “It has Bob’s bite. It’s dry. I like it! Even better than Earthquake.”
    Bryan: “It tastes like wine.” (immature palate the rest of us said) “Not the best of the night.”
    Sean: “I could drink this one again. I really liked this one!” (and if you knew Sean you would know this is HIGH PRAISE)
    Bob 7.5,  Karen 8.5, Mike 7.5, Becky 8, Jess 7.5, Bryan 7, Sean 8