(15-19) What happens when your pourer is good

Got a different pourer this time, and it made a difference; portions were big enough that you could get a good feel for the wine's...well...feel, and small enough that I could drive home like a responsible adult. There's a reason people use spitbuckets for this.




Le Jade Sauvignon Blanc 2013

The official review by The Beverage Testing Institute describes this below:

"Lively aromas and flavors of pineapple, yellow apple, melon, and Meyer lemon with a silky, bright, dry-yet-fruity medium body and a tingling, complex, medium-long finish with notes of lemongrass, pear, and lemon with no tannins and no oak." 

Give that one your best Mr. Burns voice.

Smell: apricot and orange is all I got. But fruits seem to be the overriding smell in most whites.

Taste: Really light body, meaning it goes easy on the taste, feeling really smooth on the way in. I got the pear.

Verdict: 3.5/5



Petrucco Ribolla Gialla


Ribolla Gialla is a grape grown in the most northeastern region of Italy, or IT-LEE, as my grandma would say.

Smell: The subtle fruit smell is great here, how it hides. Kind of like an aftersmell, it that's a thing.

Taste: Sour to me, but not too overwhelming, which saves it. Pair it with something spicy Asian food, and you're set.

Verdict: 3/5









Riebeek Cellars Shiraz 2013

The Riebeek Valley in South Africa is often called "Shiraz Country." Keep in mind that shiraz and syrah are interchangeable when referring to grapes.

Smell: Very strong. I've learned that what I used to call the overwhelming "alcohol evaporating" smell is what the sommelier snobs call "smokiness."

Taste: Heavy, like its smell. Fruity too, with spice.

Verdict: 3.5/5 

Cortenova Primativo 2012

100% Zinfandel grapes here. Sounds Spanish, but it's Italian.

Smell: Very intense, like smelling a fresh bouquet of flowers. "It stings the nostrils."

Taste: Wow. This one goes down very smoothly, with a silent middle of the palate that reds usually reach. Raspberry and blackberry. This could go great just by itself, and is the first one I would call a "dessert wine".

Verdict: 4/5

Opera Prima Pink Moscato

Not again. This beats Mike's Hard Lemonade on the list of "things I ask my mom to buy." If this one was actually good, that is.

Smell: Like opening a box of mints.

Taste: What do you want me to say? The strawberry sparkling flavor changed my life? Since drinking it I've seen the Virgin Mary in my toast three times? The carbonation gave me the inspiration to solve world hunger? Don't be silly.


Verdict: 1.75/2

(14-18) Vintage Cellar Wine Tasting #3

For the record, the guy that was pouring wine last week(2/12) was a chump. He must have thought I was about to enter the priesthood or something with the portions he was giving. So it was tough to get a gauge on some of these.

If you want it done right...




Santa Luz Sauvignon Blanc 2013

Another Chilean white. I'm told Chile has really come onto the wine scene in the past decade, because no one wants llamas as their chief export. Or maybe that's Peru...

Smell: Apricot/orange. Notice a pattern? This means I need to open up the smell/taste palate a bit.

Taste: pear, with a good balance between bitter and sweet. Easy to drink.

Verdict: 3/5












Riebeek Chenin Blanc 2014

Speaking of the wine scene, South Africa is the place to watch now, with vineyards shooting up over there. They've successfully grown agave over there too, a plant previously native to Mexico. What is it used to make? Tequila, the beverage only George Clooney can down without making a face.

Smell: apple, and some other fruits I don't eat enough of to recognize.

Taste: Can taste the fruits in the mid palate, near the mid-back of the tongue. Needed more time w/ this.

Verdict:  ???










San Elias Carmenere 2014

Looks like a really dark bottle, right? This dark color comes from the skin of the grapes, not the juice (which is clear). The process of deriving this color is called maceration or skin contact, in which the tannins/colors are leached from the grape skins into the fruit juice. The longer you let purple/red grapes do this, the darker the color. So for white wines, we barely macerate, if at all.

Smell: Cherry. That's all I got.

Taste:  Like a chocolate bar with cherries inside. Damn Chile, you fine.

Verdict: 3.75/5









Ilurce Tempranillo 2008

Spain wasn't gonna sit this one out. Spain and its European counterparts were early producers of "old world" wines, which were meant to be paired with food. "New world" wines, like those in California, can be more standalone. No colonists dancing for gold required.

Smell: the alcohol is strong with this one. tough to smell.

Taste: dark plums, and licorice. Richer than Donald Trump's toupee guy. This didn't sit well with me as a novice.

Verdict: 2/5








Coastal Vines White Zinfandel 2013

Why is it pink? Because the skins of the Zinfandel grape produce very different colors based on how long they're under skin contact, from snow white to blood red. In this case, we call it "white" because the pinkish grapes used were in skin contact for just a short time.

Smell: strawberry/cherry. Very easy on the nose.

Taste: very balanced between tangy and not too tangy. I didn't wince when I drank it, so that's a good sign, right?

Verdict: 4/5

(13) mars and venus Chardonnay 2013

mars and venus Chardonnay 2013

This Chilean white has a nice, astronomically accurate label upon second glance. Don't ask why it's half empty. We've got a blizzard going over here...and well..you know.

Smell: a bit strong on the alcohol smell. But hints of apricot and orange.

Taste: much better than it smells. A great initial fruity taste of pear and lemon, but followed by a harsh tangy aftertaste. Given the price ($6.95), its a steal.

Verdict: 3.5/5

Wine #12: Canyon Road(again...) White Zinfandel

Canyon Road White Zinfandel 2013

Here's a little science for you: Why are all white wines more recently bottled than reds? White wines like this one contain little to no acidity, so the fruit flavors are very apparent. More acidity can deter sugar-craving bacteria that make wines go bad, so the lacking whites need to come into a bottle and off the shelves sooner rather than later (2013).

So when we use the phrase "like a fine wine," we're talking about reds most of the time.

Smell: bright, like its color. A bit like fruit grown with fresh flowers.

Taste: The fruitiest one by far, with hints of strawberry and other berries. The whole gang's here. Not terrible.

Verdict: 3.5/5

Beer(s) in Baltimore

The hotel view from Baltimore's inner harbor.

What follows is an unrelated Geography of Wine post. So if you're checking this for credit, nothing to see here.

I was able to attend the 59th conference of the Biophysical Society in Baltimore, MD this past weekend. I work in a synthetic biology lab at Virginia Tech, and through my PI(private investigator)'s funding, I was able to go with the graduate students in my lab.


A lot to see, a lot to do, and a lot to eat. Scientists from across the world came to give talks about their projects, and if there's one thing I learned, it's that public speaking skills were optional. Talks ranged from a three-hour lecture on molecular software(yawn) to building fluorescent microscopes from smart-phone parts(cool).

But in keeping with the theme of the blog, I'll chronicle this based on wines and beers.






Canyon Road Merlot 2013

I had this at the conference reception, which was...interesting. I got to check "Watch strange old men try to dance to modern-day music" off the bucket list, which was a plus. The only thing more exciting that the whole affair would be going to bed at 11.

Smell: cherry, and a little chocolate.

Taste: The chocolate turned out to be vanilla. The acidity is a little much, though. I feel like they're this way to be paired with food, like pasta.

Verdict: 2.5/5

Hole in the wall is an understatement: seating for ~15

"Try a whiskey bar" also got crossed off the list. This one was called "Birds of a Feather," a favorite of one of our grad students, a Johns Hopkins alumni. The menu gives a spreadsheet of whiskeys and scotches, with a map of Scotland/Ireland to see their origin.

I had Laphroaig 10(years aged). I'd recently learned in wine class that the color and solute you see in most liquors is the result of aging in a barrel.

This could not have rung more true; it was the purest, smoothest whiskey I've ever had. How good was it? I felt like I could taste the exact barrel it had been aged in, and the tree that was made into that barrel.
                           


Brewer's Art Resurrection (7% ABV)

Consider this the flagship beer of Brewer's Art, a popular Baltimore brewpub in Fell's Point, one of the more collegiate nightlife scenes. The place has over 90 selections on tap, including a Jalopeno inspired brew. And I thought I'd seen it all.

Smell: Nice try.

Taste: Smooth, with no aftertaste, which is unusual given it's an ale; very little fermenting yeast at the top. That said, balanced overall, and would be great w/crab.

Verdict: 3.5/5



And here's some more pictures from for no reason:

 I only made the "other crabs" joke about 500 times.

I should buy a boat. 

Wine #11: Canyon Road Moscato

Canyon Road Moscato 2013

Ah Moscato, we meet again.

Smell:  Apricots and fresh oranges, like a clean, polished orange juice

Taste: sweet, like lemonade, and not carbonated AKA non-sparkling. That's the better choice for all you soda-haters like me.


Verdict 3.5/5

Wine #10: Resonato Nero D'Avola

Resonata Nero D'Avola 2013
Known as the "Most Important red wine grape in all of Sicily," the Nero D'Avola grape is named after the Avola wine-growing region of its homeland. Why they named it after Rome's infamous emperor/arsonist is beyond me.

Smell: just plain bad. Too spicy and fruity for both to work together.

Taste: The berry comes out a little bit, but the sourness covers it up. Pair it with delicate meats, otherwise forget it.


Verdict: 1.5/5

Wine #9 : Canyon Road Pinot Noir

Canyon Road Pinot Noir 2013

Sometimes you can just combine geographical features together and they sound like good wines. Like Crater Lake or Archipelago Peninsula. Never mind.

Smell: fruit is fruit to me. I'll be trying fruits from Kroger in the coming weeks to get the palate up to speed.

Taste: sweet, rich and fruity like most pinots. Would be great with pork/fish/steak.


Verdict: 3/5

Wine #8: Maipe Torrontes 2013

Maipe Torrontes 2013

Torrontes is a a white Argentine white grape variant. It's not as Messi as I thought it would be. I'll show myself out.

Smell: Whew, strong scent of alcohol in this one. Not a big fan. Hints of apricot, too.

Taste: Crisp, but so crisp that it becomes very tart. This may be a little too advanced for me, but the alcohol presence is way too strong. Easy on the acidity, though.

Verdict: 2/5

Wine #7: hugl weine

hugl weine: Gruner Veltliner 2013

This one sounds more German than Hitler singing "Das Deutschlandlied" while eating schnitzel in a fresh pair of lederhosen. But really, Gruner Veltliner is a variety of white grape grown primarily in Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, mainly along the Danube river.

Smell: very pear-y.

Taste: fruity, with strong apple/pear. Would be really good with most food




Verdict: 3/5 

Wines 2-6: More for the Power Rankings

Tried a few more wines on Thursday. All of the naming can be a bit confusing; what's on the bottle could be the name of the grape, the winery, or even the wine's region. So when you have a chardonnay, that's the grape, and Cotes du Rhone describes a wine region in France.

Foxhollow Chardonnay
California, USA 2012
$5.95

Smell: a little like orange juice and pineapple. Very fruity.
Taste: like the smell, hints of orange, but a good balance of smooth and bitter.

Verdict: 3/5

Fontana Candida (60% Malvasia Bianca di Candida,  30% Trebbiano, 10% Malaysia del Lazio)
Frascati, Italy
$5.95
Smell: a bit sour, lemony.
Taste: lemony, fruity. Different tastes here probably come the three grapes used in varying percentages. Not bad! I like crisp and bitter tastes that aren't too strong. This wine does it well.

Verdict: 3.5/5

Barton and Guestier Chicken and Turkey (50% Grenache,  30% Syrah, 20% Carignan)
Cotes du-Rhone AKA Rhone Valley, France
$10--> $5.95

Smell: dark, like cherry and licorice.
Taste: really smooth, with texture like black coffee, but fruity too. My favorite so far

Verdict: 4/5

Foxhollow Cabernet Sauvignon
California, USA
$5.95
Smell: a little blueberry/blackberry
Taste: very dark and rich. I feel like this is an acquired taste that I'm not ready for just yet.

Verdict: 2.5/5

Opera Prima Sparkling Moscato

La Mancha, Spain
$15 --> $6.95
Smell: very fruity, but you can smell the carbonation more than anything else.
Taste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcvHZiRirAU ---hated this one. My mom never gave me Coke as a kid, so this is how carbonation makes me feel. Blech. I could've just bought a Fanta.

Verdict: 1/5