Tasting - "Sawtooth Riesling"

Name: Sawtooth
Type: Riesling
Region: Snake River Valley
Country: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Year: 2011
Price: $13.95

Shop Review:

Spicy and substantial, this authoritative Reisling snaps into tight focus around apple and melon flavors.  Hints of clove and ginger add complexity.

My Review:

This was another good white wine that proved my opinion of white wines was incorrect.  This wine had a smooth sweet taste which reminded me of sparkling cider.  There was no acidic or tart after taste.  Instead it there was a sweet buttery after taste.  The smell was light and fruity with a hints of pear.

Tasting - "Flondheimer Adelberg"

Name: Flonheimer Adelberg
Type: Silvaner
Region: Rheinhessen
Country: Germany
Year: 2010
Price: $18
Sale Price: $4.95

Shop Review:

The fruity, mouthwatering wine has a nice acidity-sugar balanced and comes from the so called 'Rheinhessen-Switzerland', the heartland of Rheinhessen.  It has a floral bouquet and is full of lemon zest, hint of passion fruit., and smells like yellow fruit, lemon-grass and green tea, all wrapped around a pleasant creaminess and a semi-dry profile.  The finish is zippy and refreshing.

My Review:

My original opinion of white wine was wrong; it based off to small a sample size.  This wine was acidic and had a tartness to it after-taste.  This after-taste balanced of the initial sweet taste.  It had a refreshing smell which had hints of pears and other light fruits.  Overall, this wine provided good refreshment without to much sweetness.

Tasting- "Arrow Creek"

Name: Arrow Creek
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $8.59

Shop Review:

A tribute to coastial California's distinguished reputation for fine wines this Cabernet Sauvignon embraces ripe, fruit-forward aromas of blackberries, dark raspberries and a hint of earthly terroir.  The tannis are soft and the mature berry favors are evident throughout the lingering finished.

My Review:

This wine was smooth and sweet.  When I smelled the wine I did recognize a hint of raspberry mixed in with the common grape scent.  The wine had a dark red tint.  The wine had a strong fruit flavor which provided its sweetness; it was not bitter.

Tasting- "Duck Commander"

Name: Duck Commander
Variety: Red Blend
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2011
Price: $9.99

Shop Review: 

This Red Blend exposed the fresh, ripe, jam like fruit that is the calling card of California wine.  This medium bodied wine is fruit forward, silky and soft with smooth tannins.

Personal Review:  

I enjoyed this wine, it was smooth and when down easily.  It had a fruity hint but I was unable to determine the specific fruit flavors.  It was not as sugary as many cheap wines but the fruit flavors gave it as sweet taste.  The smell did not have any distinguishable qualities and smell allot like most red wines I have tried.

Initial Wine and Tasting Experience:

Thus far in my life, my experience drinking wine is limited to drinking cheap wine and brutal hangovers.  Most of my tasting experience has involved tasting beers.   My family loves going to beer tastings and visiting micro-breweries around the state.  Through these experiences I have tasted a wide variety of beers.  Despite my experience tasting beer I have essentially no experience tasting wine.

My current pallet has not developed an understanding for the taste for wine.  I cannot detect flavors in wines like I can in beer.  However, I have discovered I prefer red wines as oppose to white wines.  This is based solely on the fact I have founded that white wines tended to be sweeter.   I prefer the dry smooth taste of red wine.  

Most of my wine drinking has been socially among friends with very little attention to the taste of the wine. Over the past semester my roommates and I have started to mix in wine during the week. I really enjoy the buzz provided by wine and I would like to gain a good understanding of the wines I am drinking. I am hoping that by taking this class I can learn to understand regional differences in taste and how to differentiate flavors.  By the end of the semester I am hoping to have close to the same understanding of wine as I do beer.