Tasting- Reserve Grand Veneur Côtes du Rhône

Name: Reserve Grand Veneur Côtes du Rhône
Variety: 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Cinsault
Region: Rhone
Country: France
Year: 2010
Price: $14.95
Shop review:

As for their other values, the 2010 Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone

Reserve (70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Cinsault) displays loads of ripe flavors. It is very concentrated for a Cotes du Rhone, and is actually an amazing wine. Classic garrigue, black cherry liqueur, lavender, licorice and spice box are all present in this full-bodied, intense, and rich Cotes du Rhone. This is a sensational effort to drink over the next 4-5 years, although it might last even longer.

My review: Driest wine I have had in a while! Very sweet for a red but the blend is distinct. Probably go well with a steak dinner and some pasta.

Tasted with food or not: None.

Tasting- Lobetia Tempranillo

Name: Lobetia Tempranillo
Variety: Tempranillo
Region: La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: 2011
Price: $9.95
Shop review:

Organically and naturally grown and made, this wine

allows the varietal and the terroir to stand out cleanly. It shows a nice cherry

color with a violet shade because of its youth. Red berries and cherries on the nose. On the palate it is fresh, slightly astringent, and harmonious with a long finish.

My review: Very dry to the taste and the skin can be present in the taste. Licorice taste and smooth finish.

Tasted with food or not: None.

Tasting- Lobetia Chardonnay

Name: Lobetia Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: 2011
Price: $9.95
Shop review:

Organically and naturally grown and made, this wine

allows the varietal and the terroir to stand out cleanly. Clean, bright color with

a greenish-yellow tone. On the nose, exotic fruits like pineapple. Full flavored, fresh, with good acidity in the mouth, it finishes with tropical fruits.

My review: Apple scent and very fresh like a soda. Very warm taste and stings the throat a bit while drinking.

Tasted with food or not: None.

Tasting- Trattoria Busa Alla Torre Da Lele

Name: Trattoria Busa Alla Torre Da Lele
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Region: San Juan
Country: Italy
Year: NV
Price:$7.95
Shop review:

Named after the famous restaurant in Italy! This is

their house white wine! Coppery color from extended skin contact, round and

rich texture with juicy melon aromas and flavors with a sweet

fennel note on the ultra smooth finish. Great value Grigio! Drink now.

My review: The nose is pungent with white grapes and cantaloupe almost. It has a rubbery taste with very little tart for a Pinot Grigio.

Tasted with food or not: None.

Fork & Cork!

HORTON CELLARS
1) 2012- Viognier (Spicy Rhone White)- Viognier - $20
My review: Dry white, very refreshing. Not very tart but a crisp finish.
Winery review: Exotic Honey and tropical fruit aromas jump from the glass.

Full-bodied, viscous mouth feel. A classic Condrieu.

2) NV- Sweet Concord (America's Sweet Red)- Concord- $12
 My review: Favorite wine! Sweet and delicious like juice.
Winery Review: Highly aromatic, fruity grapey flavors, sweet crisp finish.  Wine for "Hard Times!"

3)NV- North Ridge (Dry Earthy Red)- Cabernet Franc - $15
My review: It was very hot, and had a balanced finish. Not as dry as I would have expected.
Winery Review: Made from the Portuguese grape Touriga Nacional, this dry red

has earth undertones and a black pepper spice finish.

4) NV- South Ridge (Off-dry Red)- Cabernet Sauvignon -$15
My review: I enjoyed this wine more than the North Ridge, it was sweeter like a white. It smelled like a blend of berries and had an off-dry finish.
Winery review: A sweeter wine made with Touriga Nacional, this wine has

notes of anise, cherry and sweet pepper spice.

5) NV- Raspberry- Cabernet Franc- $12
My review: This wine was delicious! It tasted like a raspberry smoothie, and had a distinct raspberry scent.
Winery review: Raspberry with a small blend of Cabernet Franc

6) NV- Blanco XOCO (White Chocolate Dessert Wine)- Vidal Blanc- $16
My review: Tasted like a tootsie roll. It was sweet but not too sweet and had a syrupy finish.
Winery review: Made with Rkatsiteli, Vidal Blanc & Chocolate essence

7) NV- Rojo XOCO (Red Chocolate Dessert Wine)- Touriga Nacional- $16
My review: This one tasted just like a Hershey's Dark Chocolate kiss. Perfect dessert wine!
Winery review: Made with Touriga Nacional & Chocolate essence

This was a great experience I had with my friends at this wine festival. The lines were a bit long for my liking, but the secret was to buy a bottle with your friends in order to drink during your wait. Definitely made for a more interesting wait. I ended up buying a barbecue pork sandwich to eat with my Sweet Concord Wine, which probably sounds weird but it was a good pairing I think. Maybe I had already drank a bit too much wine but the sweet taste of the Concord balanced the pork barbecue well because they were both sweet and it dulled the salty pork taste.

 Check out this guy!

Dinner- David Doan's Apartment 2/26

#1- 2011 Flip Flop Pinot Grigio
California $5.99
The Pinot and crab dip were an interesting pairing. The creamy dip was complimenting the sweet and semi-sour taste of the pinot. I think it could have been a bit better with perhaps a chicken or a light fish such as a tilapia.

#2- 2010 Fontan de Falliere White gasogne wine
France $4.00
A very bland wine, did not have a distinct scent or even taste. I think this was a "miss" as far as a pairing was considered. The wine almost had too much of a plastic taste, very artificial and the marinara only augmented this taste.

#3- 2011 The Usual Suspect Cabernet Sauvignon
California $7.95
Pairs perfectly with the pasta with homemade marinara sauce! The pasta makes the wine taste almost fruity and accentuates the flavor. Very hearty meal.

#4- 2009 Beringer Riesling
California $5.99
The Riesling pair well with the trout and asparagus! I am biased of course because I love Riesling wines. It was sweet and medium-dry, just the way I like it. It gave the trout a very distinct richness that could not be done without a white wine. This was the perfect pairing of the evening.

#5- Morada Sangria
Spain $3.95
This was my plate and pairing of the evening. The Sangria was a minute-maid type flavor in that it was very fruity, almost like a juicebox. This reminded me of an after-school snack of cheese and a capri-sun! The cheese makes the wine taste almost dry but the variety of cheese was very good. Overall a decent pairing.

#6 2012 Alamos Malbec
Argentina $9.99
This was a heavy Malbec! It had a heavy body and went down like a liquor almost, very smooth and kind of spicy. I think the dark chocolate was a good pairing for this because it gave the wine almost a cherry coke or Disarrono taste. I enjoyed this as my "dessert", definitely a great choice.

 This was a fun time between some good friends. Some stayed a bit longer than we expected, and probably drank a bit more than we expected (all of it) but it was so worth it! I hope to do this again in the future after college. Get-togethers between friends breaking bread is something that you can only do once in a while, and to share wine is a great thing.

Tasting- Ksana Bonarda

Name: Ksana Bonarda
Variety: Bonarda Piemontese
Region: Piedmont
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Price: $9.95
Shop review:

The bouquet is floral and lightly jammy, with berry aromas and a savory note or two. To the uninitiated, this is a great introduction to Bonarda. Finishes solid. Very sweet, berry smell with some rooty undertones. Kind of dry, makes your lips pucker.

My review: Another distinct scent of jam, almost too jammy if that makes sense. Licorice taste and smooth like a liquor.

Tasted with food or not: None.