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

My photo
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!!

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Alexander Valley Wines - Delicious!


Blind Wine Tasting hosted by Mike and Becky

Featuring 4 wines from the Alexander Valley region of California, plus 3 Bonus Wines (Look for the fun quotes!)
Guess what we're drinking tonight?

Wine #1: 90+ Cellars Alexander Valley Reserve –2010 Cabernet Suvingnon Lot 74

Tasting comments:
Wayne “I’m guessing Northern Hemisphere”
Sue “A smooth bleu cheese with the wine”
Bob “The wine is actually…pretty great. A little bite that goes away.”
Robert “It doesn’t overstay its welcome”
Andy “Light with a bite”
Becky “It does have a dry element to it”
Linda “The food takes the bite away”
Kara “I like it best after the bleu cheese”
Karen “It’s not dry enough and it’s sweet”
Wayne “A medium bodied wine with a spicy note”
Jess “No after taste. Kind of just there. Not memorable. Drinkable.”

WINE #1 SCORING:
Bob 7, Karen 6, Mike 7, Becky 7, Andy 7, Elizabeth 6, Wayne 7, Linda 7, Jessica 6, Robert 6.5, Kara 6.5, Jason 4, Sue 6


Wine #2:  2009 Stuhlmuller Vineyards Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting comments:
Everyone (except for Jason) said “Smells good. Like this one better than the first one.”
Jason’s score plummeted to a 2. ***Note*** Jason does not like red wine.
Karen “Bold taste from beginning to end”
Wayne “Full mouth of wine with a long finish”

Linda “Really smooth. Even flavor.”
Jess “I like the dry finish”
Becky “Very smooth. Dry finish.”

WINE #2 SCORING
Bob 8, Karen 8, Mike 8, Becky 8, Andy 7.5, Elizabeth 7.5, Wayne 8, Linda 8, Jessica 7.5, Robert 7.5, Kara 8, Jason 2, Sue 8


Wine #3:  Simi – Landslide Vineyards 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting comments:
Karen “I taste smoking”
Wayne “Tobacco. Peppery.”
Bob “Smells dusty”
Mike “A different taste at the end”
Karen “Not as full”
Bleu Cheese
Mike “It has good legs”
Elizabeth “Has a bite at the end. Pass the bleu cheese.”
Andy “Like macaroni art. Accessible but fun.”
Jess “He did not stoop to macaroni. That is bean art.”
**Note** Jessica is referencing Mike’s “bean art” landscape that hangs proudly on the wall
Wayne “I actually enjoyed this wine. Mike, you picked out some good ones.”
Mike “I like this one”

WINE #3 SCORING
Bob 7, Karen 7, Mike 8.5, Becky 7.5, Andy 7, Elizabeth 5.5, Wayne 7, Linda 6, Jessica 8, Robert 7, Kara 6.5, Jason 2, Sue 7

Wine #4:  Alexander Valley Vineyards – Sonoma County 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting comments:
Jason made a “not bad” face. “Better than I thought. I was surprised! Sweeter. Not bitter. Tastes like it doesn’t have things in it that don’t belong”
Karen “You can analyze as much as you want. It isn’t getting any better.”
Wayne “If we had had this wine before the others we would have ranked it higher.”

TANKS vs HUMVEES. It has no chance.

Robert “That is the danger of wine night”
Jess “It ‘s much like a box of chocolate….”
Everyone “You never know what you’re going to get”
Wayne “This would be good with a pork roast because it wouldn’t over power it”

Robert “Drinkable”
The Four Alexander Valley Wines
Andy “Unrefined. Somewhat harsh.”
Linda “Bland”
Wayne “Pedestrian”
Bob “The flavor is vague”
Becky “Sour”
Kara “That’s what I said! Sour.”

WINE #4 SCORING
Bob 6, Karen 6, Mike 6.5, Becky 6, Andy 6.5, Elizabeth 6, Wayne 6.5, Linda 6, Jessica 6, Robert 6, Kara 6, Jason 5, Sue 5

BONUS WINES:  Wayne insisted that we continue to log our tasting notes
Hidden by Wayne's socks

Bonus Wine #1:  Colle Carpito Toscana San Luciano 2009 

Tasting comments:
Sue “Smells like ground”
Bob “That’s a good one”
Karen “I’ve been sitting here swirling it and it’s good now. I did not like it at first.”
Sue “Does not improve”
Linda “A funny after taste”
Sue “Vinegar-y”
Mike “A sour taste”
Bob “It started off good, but not as good now”
Robert “Third taste. Sharp. I like it.”
Karen “Tart.”
Jess “In the middle…nothing…tart..nothing”
Karen “I don’t like it when I’m drinking it, but I like the finish…when it’s out of my mouth”
Bob to Andy “It puts hair on your chest”
Andy “I have my chest toupe on”

BONUS WINE #1 SCORING
Bob 6.5, Karen 5, Mike 6, Becky 6, Andy 6.5, Elizabeth 6, Wayne 6.5, Linda 5, Jessica 6, Robert 6, Kara 5.5, Jason 3, Sue 4.5


Bonus Wine #2:  Mencia Roble – Alvarez de Toledo  2009 
Tasting comments:
There were 13 tasters tonight!
Becky “This is really dry”
Karen “This is better than the last one”
Wayne “Floral”
Karen “Floral. A nice dry finish.”
Bob “Even Jason likes it”
Robert “Tastes like fermented grapes. I haven’t made that joke since the last time I was here.”
Karen “Can we please rank this wine? I need another glass.”
Sean “This is pretty good.”

BONUS WINE #2 SCORING
Bob 6, Karen 6, Mike 6, Becky 6, Andy 6.5, Elizabeth 6.5, Wayne 6, Linda 6, Jessica 6.5, Robert 6.5, Kara 6, Jason 4, Sue 5.5

 Bonus Wine #3:  Leese-Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 
Tasting comments:
Wayne “This wine came highly recommended”
Karen gave her wine to Bob….not a fan

BONUS WINE #3 SCORING
Bob 7, Karen 2, Mike 6, Becky 6, Andy 7, Elizabeth 6.5, Wayne 7, Linda 6, Jessica 6, Robert 7, Kara 6, Jason 4, Sue 3
Bonus Wines Revealed

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