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, May 22, 2013

Wines from the Connecticut Valley Winery paired with some AWESOME Food!

Friday May 16, 2013 hosted by Karen & Bob

Wine #1:  CT Valley Winery - Chardonel
First taste comments:
Elizabeth “Oh! That’s sweet!”
Bob “It is sweet, isn’t it?”
Karen “It’s one of the chardonnays that I like.”
Bob “Does anyone like it?”
Jessica “It has a ‘poke in the mount’ finish.”
Bryan “It’s for when it’s really hot out.”
Andy “Sweet, with another flavor I can’t put my finger on.”
Bryan “Pear”
Becky “Yes!”
Kara “I don’t really like it. The sweet shocked me.”
Elizabeth “A little grapefruit at the end.”
Becky “It’s a dried out Florida grapefruit.”
Winemaker notes:A white hybrid grape with characteristics of Chardonnay and Seyval produce this smooth and refreshing white wine. It is a lovely, crisp, refreshing white wine – one of my favorites across the Connecticut wine trail. It’s a perfect wine to relax with at the end of the day.
Food #1 – Goat Cheese that went through the Brie process
Comments:
Elizabeth “The goat cheese mellows the sweetness”
Kara “Makes it watery”
Becky “I like it with the wine. Takes a little of the sweetness out.”
Elizabeth “Smoothes it”


Food #2 – Crab Dip with Homemade Old Bay Seasoning
Comments:
Kara “The crab dip is delicious, but it doesn’t do anything for the wine”
Andy “Brings out a different flavor. Sharper.”
Bob “I think so too”
Elizabeth “The crab brings back the sweet”
Becky “Too sweet with the crab”
Elizabeth “This is my wine at “beer circle’ at the beach!”
 WINE #1 VOTES
Wine alone:
With Food #1: Unanimous!! Bob, Karen, Mike, Becky, Andy, Elizabeth, Jessica, Bryan
With Food #2:

Wine #2:  CT Valley Winery – Midnight – Frontenac grape
First taste comments:
Elizabeth “I like this wine!”
Andy “Peppery smell”
Karen “A vanilla finish”
Elizabeth “Smooth”
Bob “It has an…..almost chocolate taste”
Elizabeth “Currant or cherry”
Bob “Cherry. What is that smell? Dirty feet?”
Jessica “They have to crush the grapes somehow!”
Mike “Not that good. IT won’t make my top 50”
Becky “Definitely vanilla”

Winemaker notes:
Deep, dark and mysterious, a tangy, red table wine made from Frontenac hybrid grapes. *Big E Gold wine competition.
Food #1 – Aged Smoked Gouda
Comments:
Elizabeth “Interesting. I love the cheese. I like the wine. I’m not sure I like it together.”
Bob “I’m the opposite. I like the cheese. I like the wine. It’s better together.”
Bryan “The wine is more mellow”
Mike “Makes it better”
Becky “Really good with the cheese. Elizabeth, keep the cheese in your mouth when you drink.”
Elizabeth “It does taste good when it’s in your mouth!”
Becky “It brings out the Midnight flavor”

Food #2 – Taco Nachos with Sue’s Taco Seasoning
Comments:
Bob “Totally knocks it down – a very smooth non-newness”
Bryan “Nice & spicy jalapenos! I can barely taste the wine now”
Jessica “I couldn’t taste the wine over the jalapenos”

WINE #2 VOTES
Wine alone: Andy, Kara, Elizabeth, Karen
With Food #1: Bryan, Jessica, Becky
With Food #2: Bob, Mike (Mike “Because it overwhelmed the wine and I couldn’t taste it”)

Wine #3:  CT Valley Winery – Black Tie – Cabernet Franc
First taste comments:
Bryan “I can’t really smell anything”
Bob “The first one (tonight) that smells like real wine”
Kara “It’s almost like it has carbonation in it. Sparkly.”
Elizabeth “Spicy”
Karen “Smells earthy”
Mike “Has a bite.”
Bob “Tonight was meant to be different. We’ve been all over the word but didn’t do local.”
Andy “Deep. Fruity. Dark deep fruit. More complex.”
Becky “There’s a taste…..”
Karen “Pepper”
Becky “Yes!”
Winemaker notes:
An elegant and sophisticated red table wine, robust with a dry, silky finish. Each time I taste the wine, I find myself more and more intrigued, and after the third tasting have added it to my list of favorite Connecticut Cabernet Francs. * Big E Gold wine competition. Grand Harvest Awards. Finger Lakes International Wine Competition.

Food #1 – Cabot aged cheddar
Comments:
Becky “I don’t like the cheese with the wine”
Bryan “Takes away half of the flavor”
Kara “I agree”

Food #2 – Lamb & Feta Cheese Meatballs (**You can’t be at Karen’s house & not have lamb for wine night!**)
Comments:
Bob “Everybody gets 2 balls”
Becky “This wine is good with the lamb balls. Very smooth.”
Bob “I’m leaning towards the balls with the wine.”
Karen ‘It gives it a fuller taste”
Kara “It has more flavor with the lamb”
Jessica “Yes”

WINE #3 VOTES
Wine alone: Bryan, Karen, Jessica, Andy
With Food #1: n/a
With Food #2: Becky, Kara, Bob, Elizabeth, Mike

NOTE: This wine tastes really good with Jessica’s chocolate dessert

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