Last Wednesday was the second and last evening of my beginners wine class, SDEN 1. This night it was finally about the reds, which I was looking forward to, as red wine is my favorite. We started out with Pinot Noir, and ended the night with a Port.
It was about the grapes, the aroma’s, flavours and old and new worlds wines.
As far as recognizing aroma’s: this still stresses me out. What do I smell; strawberry, black currant, wet wool, what?! This appears to be going easier with the rounder, fuller wines. Yesterday I found myself in the local supermarket sniffing at some fruit. Practice makes perfect, but a lot of work to be done still.
List of wines tasted:
Goldwater Estate, Pinot Noir, 2014, New Zealand €11,95
De Meye, Merlot, 2012, South Africa €8,95
De Martino, Cabernet Sauvignon Legado Reserva, 2012, Chili €8,95
Chateau la Temperance, Médoc
(Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon), 2011, Bordeaux, France €10,95
Bujonis, Brut Reserva Cava, Spain €8,95
Fattoria Le Pupille, Morellino di Scansano (Sangiovese), 2013, Toscane, Italy, €9,95
The Stump Jump, Shiraz, 2011, Australia €8,95
Pascual Toso, Malbec Selected Vines, 2014, Argentina €12,95
Monteabellón, Crianza Ribera del Duero (Tempranillo), 2013, Spain €13,95
Quinta das Carvalhas, Late Bottled Vintage, 2010, Portugal €13,95
The favorite of the night was an Argentinian Malbec from Pascual Toso Selected Vines, 2014.
As a gift of completing my class, I bought a Francis Ford Coppola Diamond Collection Zinfandel 2013 to celebrate. This I paired with a little pizza, which seemed like a good combo.
Next year I will be headed to the USA for a vacation road trip, and I have been buying some US wines.
So up next is that I have registered for the second course, SDEN2, which starts in September. This seems like forever at this moment. Luckily there are some upcoming wine tastings that I also will attend.
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