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!!

Friday, April 5, 2013

More Delicious Pairings!!

Friday March 29, 2013 hosted by Mike and Becky














Wine #1:  Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling Columbia Valley 2011


First taste comments:
Becky “Sweet”
Sean “Like drinking liquid skittles”
Bob “Tasty and does not hurt my ears”
Karen “Like apple sauce with sugar”
Kara “Sour apple. Granny Smith”
Jessica “Apple-y”
Elizabeth “Sweet. But then a bite.”
Bob “Crisp Pear”
Andy “Apples”
Karen “A summer wine. I could have this one outside”

Winemaker notes:
Our Columbia Valley Riesling is a blend of Riesling from throughout Washington’s Columbia Valley. We craft it to be a refreshing, off-dry Riesling vintage after vintage. The wine delivers sweet lime and peach character with subtle mineral notes. This is our “any day Riesling” that is a pleasure to drink and easy to match with a variety of foods

Food #1 – Seared Sea Scallops with salt, cracked pepper and lemon

Comments:
Kara “Oh my. The scallop is good! Makes the wine less sour and more sweet.”
Sean “Yes. Sweeter”
Karen “It does taste different. More floral.”
Becky “The pepper in the scallop goes well with the wine.”

Food #2 – Champignon soft ripened cheese with mushrooms
Comments:
Elizabeth. “Good cheese! Good mushrooms! Cuts the tartness of the wine. Gives it more body.”
Jessica “Mellows out the wine.”
Karen “Totally”
Mike “The cheese is better than the wine”



WINE #1 VOTES*
0: Bob, Kara
1: Mike, Sean, Robert
2: Karen, Becky, Jessica, Andy, Elizabeth

Wine #2:  Chateau Ste Michelle Chardonnay 2010 Indian Wells


First taste comments:
Becky “Do you have a pourer for that wine?” Andy “For Richer or for Pourer”
Bob “Doesn’t taste like a chardonnay”
Jessica “An interesting taste”
Elizabeth “I think I need to cleanse my palate”
Karen “It’s woody”
Bob, Kara “No!!”
Andy “An interesting sub flavor. Pomegranate?”
Elizabeth “Must be steel barreled”
Sean “Cork. Not for me.”
Robert “The best way to describe this is strange”
Becky “Bitter”

Winemaker notes:
The warmth of the Wahluke Slope produces Chardonnay with an appealing tropical fruit character and rich, creamy texture. The Indian Wells Chardonnay delivers ripe sweet fruit flavors with caramel and brown sugar notes. I like this wine with scallops, scampi or pasta with rich sauces.
(Note to Elizabeth: Fermented in 35% new American and French oak barrels)

 

Food #1 – Feta, Sundried tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Comments:
Mike “Makes the wine better”
Jessica “Crisper with the dip”
Bob “The dip is fantastic! This is definitely a repeater!”
Elizabeth “Took away the after taste”
Sean “Delicious dip”
Note: The dip was a BIG hit!

Food #2 – Spinach Balls

Comments:
Karen “Still taste the after taste with the balls”
Sean “The spinach balls aren’t bad”
Becky “It does bring back the odd taste in the wine”




WINE #2 VOTES*
0: none
1: Unanimous!! This was a first!!
2: none

Wine #3:  Chateau Ste Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Indian Wells


First taste comments:
Bob “Smells creamy”
Jessica “Smells rich. Smooth.”
Elizabeth “I like this wine. Definitely has blackberry in it. Chocolate.”
Sean “Tastes woody to me”
Kara “Great smell”
Mike “Dark”
Andy “Inky”
Robert “Mild and vanilla-y”
Karen “Becky, it’s your vanilla” (Becky hadn’t had a chance to taste it yet…)


Winemaker notes:
The Indian Wells Cabernet is our warm climate, ripe, jammy “New World” style of Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine really typifies the Wahluke Slope region with dark fruit aromas and flavors with hints of vanilla. Vineyards in the area are more than a decade old now and showing character and complexity.


Food #1 – Grilled Flank Steak rubbed with spices
Jessica “Sharpens the wine”
Bob "I like the food. But i like the wine better alone"
Robert “I agree”
Andy “The steak is great”
Becky “Makes the wine spicy”
Bob “Not in a good way”
Elizabeth "I don't taste the chocolate when I eat the meat"


Food #2 – Aged Gouda Cheese

Andy “Buddha wants Gouda” (Buddha is Jessica’s cocker spaniel)
Elizabeth “Brings out the fruitiness of the wine”
Jessica “Blah”
Kara “Blands out the wine. The wine by itself was more full. Had more body.”


WINE #3 VOTES*
0: Bob, Mike, Becky, Jessica, Robert, Andy, Kara
1: Sean
2: Karen, Elizabeth

* Legend
0 = Wine tastes best alone
1 = Wine tastes best with food #1
2 = Wine tastes best with food #2
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