First wine Dinner Pairing

For dinner we had steak, pasta with Alfredo sauce, broccoli, and two flavors of ice cream sandwiches for desert. First off the apothic red was paired with everything. I did not like this wine with the steak. It did nothing. It was just drinking wine and eating steak, nothing complimented by each other. However, the apothic red went well with both the broccoli and the Alfredo pasta. The broccoli detracted from the bitterness, and the pastahad a weird taste that I have trouble describing, but I though it made the wine better. Next the Beaujolais. This I had mixed feelings about with the steak, the berry flavors didnt pair well, but there was a nice peppery flavor I got with the steak. The creamy flavor from the Alfredo went nicely with the berry flavor from the Beaujolais. With the broccoli, it didn't do anything. neglected to bring any flavors out. Now the Little Bosco was a dessert wine so we had this with two flavors of ice cream sandwiches. The first was the mint flavored ice cream sandwiches. Here the mint made the wine taste very very weird, and not in a good way. However, the Little Bosco with the cookies n'cream flavor paired very, very nicely. The vanilla flavors from both exploded and was a perfect dessert.

Hahn

Name: Hahn Piesporter Michelsberg
Variety: Riesling
Region: Piesport
Country: Germany
Year:
Price $9.95

Winery Review: This wine’s light, airy mouthfeel belies its sweetness and intensity of flavor. Honeyed pineapple aromas; similar flavors on the palate, adding gentle citrus notes toward the long, sweet finish.

My Review: As most Reslings it was sweet and dry, but had a little bitterness. It made it more interesting, and I really like earthy Reslings, which this also had a little of.

Tres Ojos

Name: Tres Ojos
Variety: Garnacha
Region: Calatayud
Country: Spain
Year: 2012
Price $6.95

Winery Review: 88 points – Robert Parker
"The 2012 Tres Ojos Garnacha contains 15% Tempranillo (I wonder why), and unoaked cuvée of 200,000 bottles that matures in vat for at least seven months before bottling. What I tasted was a very honest, fresh and fruit-driven red with aromas of cherries, garrigue and thyme with a medium-bodied palate, some weight and tannins that would do better with food. This is a red that sells for a song.”

My Review: I got a really cool rubber scent on the nose of this wine. It was pretty heavy, but i'm afraid that the taste was as unique as the nose.

Torre Castillo

Name: Torre Castillo
Variety: Monastrell
Region: Jumilla
Country: Spain
Year: 2011
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: 89 points - Stephen Tanzer
100% Monastrell, aged in American oak for four months. Bright ruby. Powerful, spicy aromas of dark berry preserves and lavender. Fleshy and round on the palate, offering spicy blackberry and blueberry flavors and gaining sweetness with air. Finishes smooth, long and slightly warm. "

My Review: I did not like this wine. It was very tarte and dry, like I needed water afterwards. It had some spice notes in the taste as well as some berry flavors.

Chateau Suau

Name: Chateau Suau
Variety: Bordeaux rose
Region: Bordeaux
Country: France
Year: 2013
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: 88 points - Stephen Tanzer
100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Light, lurid pink.  Tangerine, raspberry and white pepper on the fragrant nose.  Juicy and focused in the mouth, offering zesty red berry flavors with a refreshingly bitter edge.  Closes clean and tight, with lingering spiciness and a touch of orange zest.

My Review: This wine had a very pleasant floral nose. A nice wine with floral tastes, some oak, raspberry, and pretty tannic. Overall, a nice wine, but nothing special. 

Terre di Poggio Laude

Name:  Terre di Poggio Laude
Variety: Pecorino

Region: Terre di Chieti 

Country: Italy

Year: 2013

Price: $8.95

Winery Review: Bright and savory, this floral scented Pecorino offers juicy tropical fruit and lemon drop sensations accented by notes of mint and thyme. The ripe fruit is balanced by brisk acidity that leaves the palate feeling cleansed and refreshed.  

My Review: Hints of floral notes, like rose petals on the nose. Got some nice acidity coming through, and and I did taste some of the mint. This wine just didn't do enough for me to want to come back and buy some.

Insomnia

Name: Insomnia
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California
Country: US
Price: $9
Year: 2012

Winery Review: Aromas of cedar box, dried tobacco leaves and mission fig lead to flavors of black cherries and sugar plums and a hint of vanilla. Enjoy this wine with beef stroganoff, prime rib, or a grilled portabella mushroom on a bed of rice pilaf.

My Review: This wine is both dry and smooth. It smells and tastes of cherries with slight vanilla hints to it. Overall, a pretty goes wine, I imagine it goes well with food.

Chateau Morrisette Chardonnay

   
Name: Chateau Morrisette
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Virginia
Country: US
Year: 2013
Price: $10?

Winery Review: Smooth and Creamy. Oak and Steel aged. Served chilled. Pair with seafood. Roasted Poultry and white mushroom dishes.

My Review: I was never a chardonnay fan, but this is a great wine. It is very creamy, not very oaky, with a little vanilla flavor. I get a good taste of apples coming from it and just a fantastic wine. I would definitely go and buy this again and I highly recommend it.

Bolla Moscoto

Name: Bolla
Variety: Moscato
Region: Pavia
Country: Italy
Year:
Price: $9.95

Winery Review: Loaded with juicy exotic fruit, mature apricot, yellow peach and tangerine flavors, this sweet and delightful wine is perfect for Sunday brunch or picnics.

My Review: Very sweet as most moscatos, but nothing special about it. Its as good as most moscatos nothing that really makes it different from them. I would go out of my way to buy this moscato over any other

Name: Monte Degli Angeli
Variety: Sangiovese
Region: Puglia
Country: Italy
Price: $7.95
Year: 2013

Winery Review: The aromas are rich and dark, with lots of black cherry and a hint of balsamic. In the mouth the wine is round and energetic, with cherry and black raspberry fruit complemented by hints of damp earth. If you like Sangiovese-based wines like Chianti or our best-selling Colsanto from Umbria, you'll love this! The wine is ripe, fresh, and fruit-driven with a wonderful dash of earthy complexity at the end. Buy it by the case and drink with pizza, grilled poultry, and pasta.

My Review: It was a dry wine with fresh fruit flavors that came through. This wine was also not my favorite just nothing special or anything that grabbed my attention about it. I would not go looking for this in the store.

Monte Aman

Name: Monte Aman
Variety: Tempranillo
Region: Castile and Leon
County: Sapin
Year: NA
Price: NA

Winery Notes: Destemming, slight maceration, which provides delicate aromas and freshness, then fermentation in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperatures between 18ºC and 20 ºC.

My Review: This wine had good cherry flavors coming through, but it didn't offer too much else. Some acidity to it, but this wine just didn't do anything for me. I would not get it again.

Tinto Classic

Name: Tinto Classico
Variety: 40% Trincadeira 40% Aragonez 20% Alfrocheiro
Region: Alentejano
County: Portugal
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95

My Review: The wine had a spicey finish to it, with cherry-like tastes. It was smoother than what I thought it would be. Overall, I kinda liked it, but was the bets wine I've ever had.

Winery Review: Paulo Laureano’s Classico is a delicious blend of the native Portuguese varietals Trincadeira (40%), Aragonez (40%) and Alfrocheiro (20%). This is a full bodied red that reveals all that the terroir of Portugal has to offer. Light cigar tobacco and soft leather present beautifully on the nose. Dark, black fruits fill the mouth, but the wine flows smoothly over the palate, with a good bit of spice on the finish. Pair with spicy, cured meats and hard cheeses.

Bodegas Atalaya Laya

Name: Laya
Variety: 70% Garnacha Tintorera 30%                  Monastrell
Region: Almansa
Country: Spain
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95

My Review: This wine was a little grapey to the taste and had some cherry tastes as well. I didn't like this wine very much something about it didn't really make it taste right. So I would not go out of my way to buy this wine even though it scored well.

Winery Review: A blend of 70% Garnacha Tintorera, a.k.a. Alicante Bouschet, and 30% Monastrell; fermented in stainless steel, followed by four months in French oak.  Bright purple.  Cassis, blueberry, pungent herbs and mocha on the nose.  Smooth and open-knit on the palate, displaying fresh cherry and dark berry qualities and a hint of black pepper.  Finishes with gripping tannins and good length, leaving a subtle floral note behind.

mars and Venus chardonnay

Name: Mars and Venus
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Central Valley
Country: Chile
Year:
Price: $5.95

My Review: There was good apple flavors that came through and I got some  citrus flavors. I'm not a huge fan of chardonnay but this one isn't oaky like the others. I still think its a good wine, but I don't think I would go out of my way to buy it.

Winery Review:A very nice value Chardonnay that comfortably over-delivers vs. its modest price tag. No oak here, just bushels of clean, crisp, Chardonnay apple and stone fruit with a hint of caramelized pineapple.  Juicy and clean, this is a mid-weight white that's just perfect for parties or weeknight sipping.

Name: Cortenova
Variety:Pint Grigio
Region: Veneto
Country: Italy
Year: 1013
Price:$6.95

My Review: This wine had nice fruity taste to it. The fruity taste wasn't too over powering and was a wine I enjoyed.

Winery Review: Brilliant straw color with emerald reflections. Fresh and floral bouquet with a hint of pears, apricots and bananas. Fresh and inviting with bright fruit and an easy drinking style with a pleasing hint of almonds in the aftertaste.

Wagner Finger Lakes

Name: Wagner Finger Lakes Riesling Ice wine
Variety: Riesling
Region: New York
Country: USA
Year: 2013
Price: $10

Winery Review: Riesling Ice is a full-bodied, luxurious wine made from frozen grapes. Aromatics and zesty, each sip explodes with vibrant fruitiness and leaves you with a lively, lingering finish. Savor alone or along with dessert, fresh fruit or soft cheeses and nuts.

My Review: This is a very good dessert wine. It has a very unique sweetness when I taste it, I can't say what the flavors are exactly, but it does kinda hit you. Better yet it does not finish with this sweetness, but lessens in the end. It went well with the ice cream sandwich I was eating.

Offley Ruby Port

Name: Offley Ruby Port
Variety: Port don't know grape variety
Region Duoro
Country: Portugal
Year: nonvintage
Price: $12

Winery Review: Offley Ruby Port has an attractive and well defined red-ruby hue and lively aroma reminiscent of red fruit with some more complex notes arising from its ageing in oak wood. In the mouth, it has a fine balance between sweetness and mature tannins, it is well structured and it has a long finish. Its elegance and liveliness make it the ideal option for those who enjoy young and accessible Port.

My Review: This wine was hard to describe. At first it seems really sweet, but then the sweetness levels off at the end. I do get a strawberry taste to the wine with a very slight tannic componet at the end.

Name: Risata
Variety: Muscat
Region Piedmont
Country: Italy
Year:
Price: $14

Winery Review: This Moscato d’Asti is fresh, fragrant, and frizzante with vibrant, flavors and aromas of ripe stone fruit, tangerines, and honey. The wine is concentrated and flavorful, but not overly rich or heavy- sweet, yet balanced.

My Review: Very good wine, able to drink by itself. I would prefer to drink this as a desert wine. It was sweet, but not to sweet, and would recommend to new wine drinkers or someone who have a slight sweet tooth.

Twisted Zinfandel

Name: Twisted
Variety: Zinfandel
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2012
Price: $8

Winery Review: Twisted 2012 Old Vine Zinfandel is medium-bodied with aromas of black cherry, red currant, blackberry bramble and a hint of spice. Concentrated ripe fruit, dark berry flavors
and black pepper carry through to the palate while nicely balanced acidity and plush tannins lead to a lingering finish.

My Review: This is a very tannic wine that I drank while I was eating. It had good cherry flavors and a peppery flavor at the end. I ate it with a cheeseburger, but it didn't do anything with it, but the baked beans I thought took the tannic flavors away and more of the fruity flavors were present.

Ruffino Chianti

Name: Ruffino
Variety: Chianti
Region: Tuscany
Country: Italy
Year: 2013
Price: $10

Winery Review: This medium-bodied, well-balanced wine is approachable and aromatic, with classic Chianti aromas of violet and wonderful cherry fruit flavors. It finishes with spicy hints of wild cherry and hazelnut. It retains these fresh and fruity flavors since it receives no wood aging.

My Review: This wine is very dry. It has a fruity taste to it, but is very dry. I would expect this to be made to be paired with food and for casual drinking. I feel it would have gone well with pasta with a good red sauce.