Wine Review - Bellagio Chianti

                                                                Name: Bellagio Chianti Wine

Variety: 95% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo Nero
Region: Tuscany

Country: Italy

Year: 2019

Price: $11.99

Wine Critic Review: 

Nice, light wine for anytime. Good for sipping and one of my favorite "lunch wines". This is something the old folks of my family could drink all day. - Vivino Wine Review (January 2019)

Wine Folly: Page 131 - Chianti Wine Page

This wine was aged for 3 months before release whereas most chiantis are aged for 2-2.5 years before release.  Although this wine was not aged as long, it had phenomenal flavor and smoothness.  I get all the flavors of preserved cherry, aged balsamic, espresso, and dry salami as mentioned in wine folly.  

My Review: I really loved this dry red wine. This wine smelt of deep cherry with espresso undertones and tasted of dark cherry with balsamic undertones. What I loved most about this wine was it's extreme smoothness and deep fruity taste.  I paired this wine with a red-sauced sausage pasta dish and felt that the pasta brought out the salami and vinegar tastes in the wine.  The smoothness of the wine made it pair great with the red-sauced pasta dish. 

Wine Tasting - Psyche Rosé

 Name: Psyche Rosé Wine

Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2019

Price: $9.99

Wine Critic Review: 

Ripe and candied fruit character Watermelon jolly rancher, white cherry, orange bubblegum, chalk Unflawed, but didn't care for it. - Vivino Wine Review (December 2020)

Wine Folly: Page 150 - Pinot Noir General Page

I taste the fruity flavors of cherry and raspberry as well as a rich flavor of cloves.  The primary taste and smell is of tarte raspberry.  I did not decant this wine for 30 minutes as recommended but I do not feel as though missing this step made me miss out on many flavors.  This rosé appeared to be light bodied as mentioned in wine folly.  I am missing tastes of mushroom and vanilla that were featured as a flavor in pinot noir wines. 

Page 151 - Pinot Noir Region Based Page

I do get the ripe, boisterous fruit flavors that are present in pinot noir wines from warmer climates such as CA.

My Review: I enjoyed sipping on this Rosé wine! This wine was tasted in flavors of tarte, crisp fruit and smelled of spices and fruits.  I also loved the hint of spice that I got from this dry wine.  I paired this wine with a lemon-garlic chicken meal.  I drank this wine as a pre-meal sip and drank it with my appetizer salad.

Wine Tasting - Ste Chateau Michelle Pinot Gris

Name: Ste Chateau Michelle Pinot Gris

Variety: 100% Pinot Gris
Region: Columbia Valley, Washington State

Country: USA

Year: 2020

Price: $8.99

Wine Critic Review: 

Now that we/I've established that I DO NOT like Pinot Grigio, I needed to discover some Pinot Gris. This Washington state gem is AMAZING for its price! Excellent QPR! Pear, pear & more pear everywhere with some honeydew melon, gooseberry, elderberry, lychee & chestnut. Beautiful structure, perfect, balanced acidity, tartness & dryness with compensating sweetness & a lingering, creamy, yet crisp finish, interestingly enough! 🤔 Just yummy! Amazing for the price! - Vivino Wine Review (11/13/2021)

Wine Folly: Page 149 - Pinot Gris General Page

I definitely get the sweetness mentioned and do taste the zest as mentioned in Wine Folly. It was mentioned that Pinot Gris ranges from dry to plain sweet, and I think this one leans more on the sweet side than the dry side.  I do not sense white peach or raw almond flavors, however I do get a melon and pear taste.  Additionally, I definitely taste a lemon zest flavor as well as experience a tiny scent of crushed gravel. 

My Review: I definitely enjoyed this white wine! It is a perfect in between of dry and sweet and seems to pair excellent with food. Tarte pear is apparent both in the scent as well as flavor of the wine.  The wine tastes of pear, white peach, and some lemon zest after tones.  I paired this wine with a lemon-garlic chicken meal.  This wine really seemed to complement the lemon flavored marinade of the chicken.  Will definitely be trying this wine again with more acidic flavored marinades. 

Wine Experience Introduction

I am very excited to create my wine blog and to share my future wine experiences! In the past year or so, I have gained an interest in learning about and trying new wines.  When I first started drinking wine, I was into the sweet, light-tasting wines such as Riesling and Moscato.  I love the taste of these wines and enjoy drinking them casually with or without a meal.  I found that these were great introductory wines due to the fact that the sweetness and lack of dry/strong taste was perfect for my inexperienced palette.  Once I introduced myself to these sweet wines, I started to appreciate the taste of the wine and decided that I wanted to explore more types of wines that I could drink with meals and experience the flavors of different vineyards around the country and world. 

Last spring, I was introduced to red wine and found that red blends were something that I really enjoyed.  Throughout the spring, I tried a bunch of different red blends.  Usually, I would drink the red blend with my dinner for the night.  I found that red blends paired best with pasta meals such as Penne Alla Vodka. Throughout my time experiencing red blends, I found that the red blends I loved most contained Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Thus, I started trying some Cab Savs and Zinfandel wines and realized I really enjoyed those reds as well.  

After my experience with red and sweet wines, I started getting into dryer, less sweet white wines.  I've tried a few white wines such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio.  From my small pool of white wines, I have tasted, I have found that my favorite white is Pinot Grigio.  I tend to pair my white wines with chicken meals, which has worked out wonderfully so far.  

In terms of my wine experience, I would consider myself a new wine drinker with a lot to taste and learn about wine.  Throughout this wine course, I hope to learn more about what goes into making a wine and what I enjoy in wine.  Right now, I have an idea of the types of wine I like.  After this course, I would like to have an idea of the different grapes I like, the different regions I enjoy wine from, what I like to pair different wines with, and how different wine types vary from one another in terms of production and ingredients.