Chalkboard Moscato

Name: Chalkboard Moscato

Variety: Moscato

Region: Terra Siciliane IGT

Country: Italy

Year: 2017

Price: $9.99

Winemakers notes: Pale straw green silver color. Fresh, fruity aromas and flavors of white blossoms, poached peach, honeyed raisin soda nut bread, and jasmine tea with a supple, crisp, petillant, off-dry light-to-medium body and a polished, appealing, medium-length finish that shows notes of clementine and honeyed pear with no oak flavor. A tasty off-dry moscato with nice fruit and length, perfect for picnics.

My review: This moscato certainly had acidic notes that overpowered the sweetness of the wine. Initially the sharp acidity hits you followed by a fruity and sweet finish. As a whole, the wine was very light and easy to drink. It was subtle enough that I would enjoy drinking it on its own. It was slightly carbonated which helped make it seem lighter. It was not dry at all and definitely seemed like something that would quench your thirst on a warm summer's day!

Pairings: I did not pair this wine with any food.

Stella Rosa Stella Pink Rosé

Name: Stella Rosa Stella Pink Rosé

Variety: Rosé

Region: Piedmont, Italy

Country: USA

Year: 1917

Price: $12.49

Winemakers notes: Fresh peach, honey, and red berry characteristics. Natural acidity and low pH. This is in perfect balance with the sweetness. Natural carbonation.

My review: I was immediately drawn to the sweet smell of this pretty pink rosé. The wine was a perfect balance of sweetness with fruitiness. It did not have that artificial aftertaste that I’ve noticed in other sweet rosés or moscatos. It was sparkling but not enough to take away from the wine itself. It contains hints of berries but without the acidic notes. You can certainly taste the subtle sweetness from the honey which results in a very nice finish.

Pairings: I did not pair this wine with any food.

Boen Pinot Noir

Name: Boen Pinot Noir

Variety: 100% Pinot Grigio

Region: Russian River Valley, California

Country: USA

Year: 2017

Price: $21.99

Winemakers notes: The first sip of this tri-appelation Pinot Noir envelopes the mouth with a velvety richness. Flavors of bright cherry, dried herbs and hints of vanilla, is supple and sumptuous, to the finish.

My review: This wine has a very sweet aroma but a much more subdued taste. No strong flavors seem to stand out, just the subtle hints of cherry. This wine was much lighter than I was expecting. It had a nice and warm finish without the “vinegar-y” taste many other pinot noirs seem to have. Overall it was very smooth and easy to drink.

Pairings: I did not pair this wine with any food.

Recipient Pinot Grigio

Name: Recipient Pinot Grigio

Variety: 100% Pinot Grigio

Region: Friuli Grave

Country: Italy

Year: 2017

Price: $12.99

Winemakers notes: Yellow straw color. Aromas and flavors of peach skin, hint of olive, pickled lemon, and grass with a supple, bright, dryish light-to-medium body and a smooth, interesting, medium-length finish with notes of apple and citrus relish and honeyed peach with no oak flavor. A round and savory pinot that will shine at the table.

My review: This wine was very light and refreshing. There were definitely hits of citrus but they were not overpowering and resulted in a very clean finish. The wine was very easy to drink with subtle flavors and fruitful aromas.

Pairings: I did not pair this wine with any food.

Toasted Head Chardonnay

Name: Toasted Head Chardonnay

Variety: 7% Chardonnay, 3% Viognier

Region: Mendocino County, California

Country: USA

Year: 2017

Price: $11.49

Winemakers notes: This Chardonnay has aromas of bourbon, butterscotch, white peach, and Asian pear. On the palate, creamy toast and peachy caramelized custard flavors are complemented by a clean, hot finish. Barrel fermentation and aging is obvious in the wine, with a full, broad finish. Braised meats (lamb shank, pork loin), smoked salmon, or pasta with a cajun cream sauce.

My review: I’ve come to know chardonnays as being predominantly dry which is why I was surprised when I tried it. This chardonnay was dry but not super dry. I could definitely taste the “caramelized” flavors and the “hot finish”. The flavor profile was definitely much darker than I was expecting for a white wine. The finish was relatively subtle with no major lingering flavors.

Pairings: I did not pair this wine with any food.

Introduction

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! My name is Karly and I am a senior at Virginia Tech studying business management and spanish! I’ve elected to take this course because I heard it was super fun and I’m also hoping it’ll teach me some cool things about wine! I definitely think I was inspired after working a summer internship with a company that was crazy about wine. They were even members of a wine club so once a month, we’d all get to pick a bottle to take home and try! While this was super fun, I was incredibly intimidated from being surrounded by so many wine people with such strong opinions. I’m hoping I’ll come out of this class with the knowledge and palate to be able to hold my own against future corporate wine lovers!

My wine experience is definitely what I would consider “limited”. As a college student, I can proudly say that my knowledge of wine does not stretch far past the wine aisle in a grocery store or the local 711. Aside from that, I’ve only had small tastings of what I would consider actual or fancier wines at family dinners or special events. Of course there has been a few occasions where I’ve gone to wineries with friends but that usually just winds up being a total guess as to what to get and which snacks will pair best.

Usually if it has a pretty bottle, a fun name, or a not-so-expensive price tag, I’m sold. I definitely prefer white over red but I can also humbly admit that I haven't had many red wines. I usually prefer the sweeter wines but I do not like wine that's super sweet tasting or artificial tasting. I’m fond of the moscatos and pinot grigios but I’m pretty much lost after that. I cannot tell you the difference between a cabernet and a merlot or a chardonnay and a reisling. If its red its red and if its white its white, that’s about as far as my current knowledge extends.

Here’s hoping this semester is full of yummy wines, fun experiences, and some super cool knowledge that’ll make it seem like I actually know what I’m doing- Cheers!