V Paul’s August Vino Magnifico
A full crowd tonight at V Paul’s August Vino Magnifico. Melissa and Bob check in with a run down of the tasting.
The night started out with Charles De Fere Blanc De BlancNice bright sparkling wine. apple and peach on the tongue with some easy acidity. A wine you can drink anytime, for any reason.Next, Condo Sur ChardonnayVanilla and oak notes but still very green. The flavor is actually somewhat diluted.Cheese risotto for the interlude. Not bad.Then Gabbiano Chianti Classico 2019 Dark plum color with soft tannins. Raspberry notes roll easily off the back of the tongue. A perennial favorite, this wine can stand well without food and never fails to deliver a great value every day.Now, Uppercut Cabernet Sauvignon 2021. Deep garnet color, heavy tannins and a sweetness n the tip of the tongue. There are dark berries but they dissipate too soon. This is a typical fruit forward California Cabernet that is made to appeal to the masses.To end the evening, Marietta Old Vine Red NV Claret with cherry notes lead to some nicely formed tannins. The dark fruit lasts a good while and the enjoyment of the wine is long lasting. This one is a good value.Hope to see everyone at the next Vino Magnifico!-Melissa and Bob
Emerald Coast Chapter of the American Wine Society Oct Tasting
Wines of Bordeaux! Less I say more.
Other than going to all of the local wine tastings, the single best way to improve your wine brain is going to the monthly American Wine Society tasting. Our local chapter, the Emerald Coast Chapter, picks a wine, or a region, or a genera, to feature once a month. Last month was a selection of wines from Greece. This month was a tour of Bordeaux France. You do not need to be a member to attend, just reach out to the Chapter using the American Wine Society website and find your local chapter contact information. A great bunch of folks who all love wine. No wine snobs here. And there is always A LOT of wine! Members take turns during the year presenting the wines so that you learn out the grapes, the wine making methods, the region’s soils, and some history. You also learn how to “grade” wines using a Wine Evaluation sheet developed by the folks from U.C. Davis. Then at the end we vote on which one we liked the most, and why we liked it. Yeah, reps for the wine brain. The winner, and Featured Wine, was Chateau de la Huste 2019, from the Fronsac area of Bordeaux. French wines are classified differently than most everywhere else. Chateau la Huste is the property where the grapes were grown and made into wine, Fronsac the area, Bordeaux the overall region, which has laws governing the wine. No mention as to what is in it. For the French, the wine laws of Bordeaux govern what grapes are in it, and the area gives you an idea of the style. So, for the French, why waste more ink if you already know all of this. My personal favorite was Chateau Tour Bessan 2019, from Margaux. You should have been there to find out why.No local chapter tasting next month due to the National tasting up in Washington State. December will be Sparkling Wines and bubbles.
12 October wine tasting at The East Hill Bottle shop
A tie in this evenings wines makes for fun conversation.
A true neighborhood vibe is a good way to draw the wine tasting experience at the East Hill Bottle shop. Have wine, talk about wine, hang out, a fun time. We had a tie in our evening wines, so two Featured Wines. In the order that we tasted them; Muralia Manolibera 2019 Tuscans Rosso and The Soldier 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Rosso was dry, it even says that in big letters on the back of the bottle. Made from a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, it gave you light red berry flavors with some earthiness. Pasta with red sauce wine. The Soldier, from the Columbia Valley of Washington, gave you that deeper fruit with a sense of mixed dry garden herbs. This would pair better with red meat. Come out and be part of the wine conversation.
V Paul’s October Vino Magnifico tasting
October’s monthly tasting at V Paul’s with members of the local Italian Cultural and American Wine Societies.
Several folks have said that it is just too difficult to get out to a wine tasting during the week. I totally understand, and tis a true shame because we have A LOT of local wine tastings during the week. If you can bend your schedule a little from time to time look for one of the once-a-month tastings on our calendar. Not because the wine is better than the weekly tastings, rather they tend to be slightly more entertaining.V Paul’s monthly wine tasting is a great example. We got some Italian Wine history and tales of Christopher Columbus by the head of the Local Italian Cultural Society wine sipping through the tasting line up. Tonight’s Featured Wine didn’t make it up to Crowd Favorite, nor will it ever be a Wine of Note, but it is a quintessential Italian Wine. As a quick refresher: a Wine of Note is our highest classification of wine at a tasting. It must show uniqueness in a good way and be a Crowd Favorite. Uniqueness is actually hard to find these days in wine. A Crowd Favorite was liked by at least 75% of the tasters, so it was probably a good wine. A Featured Wine was preferred by 51% of the tasters, which usually means there was a very close “2nd.” That “2nd” might have been your favorite.Cavaliere d’Oro (Cavalier of Gold) 2019 Chianti, from Tuscany, made from 100% Sangiovese grapes, is a wine to have with good, at an Italian Restaurant. A mouth full of dry red berries and medium acid would chop right into a dish of Eggplant Parmigiana. And it has a cool looking label, which is how a majority of people buy wine. Try to tell me that you have never bought a wine because you liked the look of the label. Sad, funny, and true.