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!!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Wild Horses (wine) couldn't keep us away! Another fun wine night!

Friday May 24, 2013 hosted by Becky & Mike


Wine #1: Forefront Pinot Gris 2011
First taste comments:
Bob & Karen simultaneously “Pear!”
Elizabeth “Citrus-y”
Andy “Grapefruit”
Becky “Yes!”
Wayne “An apple finish”
Elizabeth “I taste lemon”

Bob “Makes me feel like Tonto”
Mike “Refreshing”
Bob “I like it”
Elizabeth “Crisp”
Jess “Yes. Crisp.”
Becky “Tart”
Sean “Not bad”
Winemaker notes:A bright bouquet of honeyed pear, dried white flowers and clean wet stone spring from the glass of our 2011 Pinot Gris. On the palate, bright flavors of crystallized lemon, ripe golden apple and honeydew melon abound, enhanced by a subtle hint of jasmine and quince. Finishing crisply with clean minerality and lemon zest, this wine would be a delight when paired with fresh oysters or a triple-cream Brie and baguette.
Food #1 – Pretzels with Honey Mustard Dip
Comments:
Becky “Good with the food!”
Jess “Takes the tart out”
Bob “Better”
Elizabeth “Smoothes it. Takes the acid out.”
Sean “Tastes better with the mustard.”

Food #2 – Chicken Salad with Red Onion and Dried Cranberries on Toasted French Rounds
Comments:

Kara “I like this food, but I like the wine with the mustard better”
Jess “Brings the tart back”
Bob “Bob-tart”
Becky “Gives the wine more taste”
Brian “The chicken was underwhelming with the wine. Not strong enough”
Bob “It’s better to be unsatisfactory than nonperforming”

WINE #1 VOTES
Wine alone: Andy, Wayne (Wayne “Because the wine wouldn’t taste good with anything”)
With Food #1: Brian, Mike, Bob, Kara, Karen, Elizabeth, Bryan, Sean, Becky, Jess
With Food #2: No votes

Wine #2:  Wild Horse Merlot 2010
First taste comments:
Sean “Bland”
Becky “Has a dry finish”
Elizabeth “A little dry. Tastes like Plum.”
Karen “Smells good.”
Wayne “Cloves”
Elizabeth “Cherry”
Andy “I’ll say black Currant because every red seems to have it”
Wayne “Big tannin finish”
Sean “I could get drunk off this. Easy to drink. Can drink it like water.”
Winemaker notes:
Our 2010 Central Coast Merlot has aromas of fresh red fruit, cedar, hints of rose petal, and blackberry cobbler followed by a plush and extremely balanced finish. Pair this yummy wine with gnocchi dumplings with marinara sauce or mini filet mignon kabobs.

Food #1 – Provolone & Spicy Brown Mustard on French Round

Comments:
Andy “Good combination of flavors”
Elizabeth “Takes away the acidic flavor”
Karen “Dry now. No tart.”

Food #2 – Filet Mignon Kabobs
Comments:
Wayne “I like the wine with the meat”
Bob “Meat with tomato, then wine. Very good!”
Bryan “Really good with the mushrooms”
Wayne “The Wine complemented the kabob”

WINE #2 VOTES
Wine alone: Sean (ditto Wayne’s quote regarding Wine #1)
With Food #1: Bob, Brian
With Food #2: Karen, Mike, Becky, Andy, Elizabeth, Jess, Kara, Bryan, Wayne

Wine #3:  Wild Horse Pinot Noir

First taste comments:
Becky “Look at how dark it is!”
Elizabeth “Has a nice aroma”
Bob “Tastes like last week’s Midnight”
Bryan “Really sweet.”
Jess “It is sweet!”
Kara “I don’t like it”
Wayne “The sweetest Pinot Noir I have ever tasted”
Sean “Tastes like a combination of Kool-Aid and Wine”
Wayne “A warm sangria”
Becky “After it sits in your mouth there is a smoky flavor”
Andy, Jess “Yes!”
Winemaker notes:
Our 2011 Pinot Noir has beautiful aromas and flavors of black cherry, pomegranate, and cranberries. This wine has bold aromas of raspberry and cherry that transcend into the mouth with a lush, delicious finish.

Food #1 – Swiss Fontina Cheese

Comments:
Becky “Takes the sweet out”
Kara, Wayne “Good Cheese”
Jess “Does take the sweet out!”
Bryan “It’s nice that it does”
Sean “Neutralizes the Kool-Aid”
Andy “The cheese goes well with the wine. Restrained. Subtle”
Elizabeth “The cheese enhances the wine”
Sean “The cheese saves the wine”

Food #2 – Vanilla Honey Graham Cookie with Honey Goat Cheese and Fig
Comments:
Elizabeth “I don’t know how it will taste with the wine, but this is amazing!”
Karen “Makes the wine awesome!”
Kara “I don’t know if I want to drink the wine this is so good”
Wayne “Makes the wine outstanding”
Becky “Makes the wine dry”
Andy “Great with the wine”
Jess “Really changed the taste!”

WINE #3 VOTES
Wine alone: no one
With Food #1: Sean
With Food #2: Everyone else

After we finished with the Pairings we enjoyed a little more wine.....thanks mostly to Wayne! My favorite of these was the Four Vines Zinfandel - an affordable and tasty wine.


And Jessica just had to see how good salami and wine went together.....

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