WINE WEDNESDAY - Christmas Dinner Special

So…I didn’t have enough time to do a wine review this week because of the birth of Jesus.  Instead of a traditional #WineWednesday I decided to briefly review my Christmas dinner pairings!  Shout out to the Bedards for excellent meals every day and for taking me and the fam to some more Charlottesville wineries (side note: Central VA may make it as the Napa Valley of the east coast soon).  Perhaps some winery reviews will be coming???  Who knows.  Also, shout out to the rest of my fam for trying out all the pairings and giving feedback.  I am homing in on everyone’s preferences and should be well-informed for next time a major dinner happens.  After all, pairing isn’t about getting it right by the book, it’s about knowing who is sitting with you at the table 💙.


Dinner #1:  Kielbasa and sauerkraut stew with Spätlese Riesling.

WINERY: Weinbau Adolph Mueller
GRAPES: Riesling
REGION: Nierstein, Rheinhessen
COUNTRY: Germany
VINTAGE: 2016
PRICE: $13 Total Wine

“Why is a Polish dish being paired with a German wine?  Be a little more considerate here Austin!”
Response: Because it’s good.  Also, this was meant as a Lithuanian heritage dish so HA.  Who’s inconsiderate now?  Hmmm?

A very hearty European dish. Perfectly delicious on its own, yet the Spätlese enhances the meal, bringing a well-received fruity aspect. The sweetness of the sauerkraut is matched by the sweetness of the wine and after that initial skirmish takes place, the rest of the flavors mingle like a party crowd.

Wine: Smell is mineral and floral. Honeysuckle. Slight bit of tropical fruit.  Very sweet…body medium. Acidity kept relatively low. Tropical fruit of all kinds. If you let it sit, a viscous layer of goodness coats the mouth and calms you down. In the same way a good bourbon makes you slow down, this super sweet wine puts you in a contemplative mood. It is both similar and different from the zingy sweetness of Moscato.

“But I thought white wines shouldn’t pair with darker meats…”
Generally speaking you are correct, but there is more to it than just alcohol percentage and tannins.  Here, the sweetness and acidity make up the deficit.  White wine can go great with steak if you know what you’re doing (I do not yet).



Dinner #2: Classic Christmas dinner (Ham, Potatoes, Stuffing) with Oregon Pinot Noir, Argentina Sparkling Pinot Noir. 
Apple pie and vanilla ice cream with Vin Glögg Spiced Winter Wine (Mulled Wine). 

WINERY: Samuel Robert Winery
GRAPES: Pinot Noir
REGION: Willamette Valley, Oregon
COUNTRY: USA
VINTAGE: 2015 Vintner's Reserve
PRICE: $15 Total Wine

WINERY: Mascota Vineyards
GRAPES: Pinot Noir (Sparkling: Blanc(/Rose) de Noirs)
REGION: Nierstein, Rheinhessen
COUNTRY: Germany
VINTAGE: N.V.
PRICE: $15 Total Wine

WINERY: Glunz Family Winery & Cellars
GRAPES: Not Really Sure...No one knows apparently.  Half dry red and half port style, then mulled with spices and fruit.
REGION: California (Maybe Central Coast)
COUNTRY: USA
VINTAGE: N.V.
PRICE: $12

I gave a choice in case some people don’t like still Pinot Noir which turned out to be a good call.
Both Pinot Noirs went with the meal, the still more so than the sparkling. In future I would get a sweeter sparkling based on reception from the crowd and my personal taste (The only brut I have ever liked was actual Champagne). Pinot added a fruity element to an otherwise starchy and earthy meal. Acted as a cranberry sauce does to turkey. This Pinot was slightly heavier than normal, but instead of shedding delicate characteristics it just meant it was more versatile. I feel like it could go with a lot of things, all the way from steak to fish and a lot of different side dishes. Dark berries and lots of woody spice that goes away with food balance.

Sparkling Pinot also went with the meal but served a different purpose. I found it was a good cleanser in between bites to reset my taste buds. It handled the stuffing especially well, making that dish better by negating the salt and adding flavor.  It was in the cherry flavor range with a bit of pear acidity.

Apple pie, ice cream and mulled wine were excellent. I still have a decent bit left over and want to try it hot as it says it should be served (and how mulled wine is made). But even room temp it went incredibly well...matching the sweetness of the dish with its own but adding real spice (not just notes). Acted as a syrup would to a sundae.  The wine was more like a spiced liqueur in its flavor profile. It didn’t have hints, it simply WAS a spicy and fruity brandy with some wine to round it out.



Dinner #3: Italian chicken tortellini soup with bâtard and old vines Zinfandel. 

WINERY: Michael David Winery
GRAPES: Zinfandel
REGION: Lodi, California
COUNTRY: USA
VINTAGE: 2013 Old Vines
PRICE: $15

As a precursor, this was just a wine that was lying around and we figured we might as well try it since I had not picked anything for this meal.

The food was incredibly good by itself. If it weren't creamy I don't think this would’ve worked but still, it was not bad. I thought we could get away with zin for an Italian dish because it is the closest to Italian red that America probs has.  It was a nice try but no revelations. A good zin but still too big for this particular dish. Alone it was nice…felt both big and small at the same time. Cherries, wood, spice, leather? I am learning the residual sugar left in zin makes it appear bigger than it is.  It should generally be classified as a light to medium red wine.  Probs my fave zin I have tasted in limited experience with that grape.


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See! You can have good pairings for $15 and under.  You just have to think about it a bit.  The best pairing isn't what the book says it is; it's what tastes the best to you.  Figure out your own taste and use that as a starting point.

WINE WEDNESDAY - Francis Coppola's Red Label Zinfandel 2015

After sufficiently boring you with a lesson in old world wine last time I decided to do a complete 180 this week and talk about a wine label that is doing cool new things in California.  If you’ve ever heard of The Godfather …… You’ve heard of The Godfather, so let me give you a sneak peak into famous director Francis Coppola’s plans for his up and coming wine empire that may turn into the Disneyland of wine??? Plz tell me moarrr Austin!

This week’s #WineWednesday bottle is a bottle of ‘Murica: Francis Coppola’s Red Label Zinfandel (Diamond Collection).

WINERY: Francis Ford Coppola Winery
GRAPES: 95% Zinfandel, 5% Petite Sirah*
REGION: California (Mendocino and Lodi)
COUNTRY: USA
VINTAGE: 2015
PRICE: $11 Total Wine

*In America, a wine has to be made from at least 75% of a grape to put its name on the label.  Once you reach 75% you can use whatever blending grapes you want to round it out.

Californ-I-A wine: basically everything good is near San Fran.
Note locations of Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, and Lodi.

BACKGROUND: Alrighty … I first stumbled upon the Diamond Collection one day at Olive Garden when I was offered a wine sample of the Ivory Label (Cab Sauv).  It was enjoyable and unique so I got a glass.  It was especially good with some Godfather-esque Lasagna.  After a bit of research, I found out that it was actually very affordable (like $14 in the right place).  I have sort of left that in the back of my mind til the other day.  I decided this week to expand my Zinfandel experience for your benefit and saw the familiar diamond label mid-peruse.  I snatched it without question and here I am now learning about how this Disneyland winery is taking shape in Sonoma County.

Basically an amusement park gate already.

Soooo now I will explain myself.  Apparently, wine has been a thing in the Coppola family for generations.  Even the confines of a NYC apartment didn’t stop Francis’ grandfather Agostino.  So, it is fitting that as soon as Francis got a ton of money from the Godfather he would slide right into the California wine scene.  The original plan was to carry on the family tradition of making “pleasant, everyday drinking wines” in a small Napa Valley cottage with his wife.  They settled for the Niebaum Mansion (lawl nice “cottage”), which is apparently a huge part of American wine history where Gustave Niebaum made camp sparking Napa Valley’s (specifically the locale of Rutherford/Inglenook) rise to fame and power in 1879.  He started making quality wines as he was keeping a name of great weight in his new Niebaum-Coppola Winery.  He eventually bought and brought back the historic Inglenook name and flew that flag over his growing wine collection.  After a 30 year-long restoration of the famous estate, Francis turned his attention to the 2nd jewel in Northern California’s crown: Sonoma County.

White star in Rutherford area is the Niebaum-Coppola Winery. 

Black star in Alexander Valley is the Francis Ford Coppola Winery.

Right off US-101 is now found the Francis Ford Coppola Winery.  My understanding is this is the new home for the more affordable, everyday wine collections (such as the Diamond Collection) while the big sluggers are still in Inglenook.  He also has other wineries now but that’s not important.  This new Sonoma home already sounds like a must visit and will become a family destination once Coppola’s plans materialize.  Right now you can basically show up, watch the Godfather (among other famous movies) while sipping wine in a cinema on the premises, then waddle on through the estate whilst snapping pics of some famous movie memorabilia, eat at his restaurant to try his wine pairings, then finally take in the amazing California vineyard views.  They also have a nice pool.

“Austin, how can this get better?”  Let me tell you: Basically, he is inspired by his idea of the baseline amusement park: Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen, Denmark).  So, the final plan is to make the Francis Ford Coppola Winery into a “pleasure garden” where entire families can go and be thoroughly entertained.  Kids can run around with/without their parents and ride classic amusement rides while those of age get handed wine with food pairings as they lounge around amidst a beautiful backdrop engaged in jovial small talk.  In a nutshell they combine two of my favorite things: coasters and vino 😍.  I AM SO EXCITED I HAVE ALREADY CHECKED AIRLINE PRICES FOR THIS SPRING.  It would be quite a trip though...time to start racking up them airline points.

Now about the wine.  Zinfandel is America’s wine grape.  It has grown super well since its introduction to Californian soil during the Gold Rush and until fairly recently, nobody knew what it was.  The name Zinfandel is an American construct, but it has been DNA fingerprinted to be identical to Italy’s Primitivo, and originally the Croatian Crljenak Kastelanski.  California had long grown it in bulk (and still does) as a common “jug” and blending varietal.  Little did people know it could be really good til some genius started devoting more attention to the grape.  As far as Coppola’s Red Label, it is not as decorated as its Diamond Collection brethren, but nonetheless has a cool fact sheet from Coppola’s amazing website.

[Petite Sirah (Durif) is a rather rare worldwide grape, despite its popular flavor profile.  It is mainly found in California as a blending grape.  It's a cross between Syrah and Peloursin (the latter being basically extinct).]

Zin.

Petite Sirah.

MY REVIEW:

Look:  I love the label.  It reeks classic Hollywood prestige and even says “Francis Coppola presents…”  The color is very dark and lush but not purple like our friend Shiraz.  It maintains the vibrant garnet red hue that is found in most of your big name recognition reds (Cab Sauv, Pinot Noir).

Sniff:  The old sniffy sniff reveals that this wine has a lot to say and has a booming voice for it.  You can basically smell the power of it from across the room.   I would say there is a lot of vegetal stuff and spice and a huge whiff of alcohol.  As my parents said just a bit ago, “It has notes of big and bold.”  Haha 😂 I wouldn’t disagree.  Putting names to things is tough for this one but it smells very woody, in some ways it reminds me of a pine forest like the pine cone smell and maybe the needle resin.  There is a dried pepper smell but I hesitate to say black pepper…perhaps one of the spicier Hispanic peppers.  As far as fruit there is something but it is overpowered by other things.  I would say it is a black cherry.

Taste:  So much for big and bold (at least in body), this wine is as thin as some Pinot Noirs.  It goes down easy.  Still if you swish it around it builds and the tannins make a bold stage left entry (teehee theater jokes).  There is a feeling that some grainy particles are present in the wine (something I call sandiness) and is usually present with more tannic wines.  I am usually bad at judging acid in reds but I am gonna go out on a limb and say pretty acidic for red…medium to medium-minus.  Not really any sweetness.  There may be a slight bitterness.  Flavor profiles include (get this) grapes: I don’t really ever say this because it’s usually not a main thing believe it or not (except maybe in Beaujolais and native American grapes).  I suppose the tannins are strong enough that not just the tannins are present but the flavor of the grape skin itself.  Funny enough this wine is not very spicy, nor vegetal in the mouth (as anticipated from smell).  It may have some bit of the pepperiness but very slight.

With Italian Food (because duh): Complete 180; fruitiness galore.  I taste cherries, berries, Sun Chips (garden salsa variety), plum (?), and a slight mint or maybe thyme thing (???).  This wine is really good with Italian food, as it should be.  All the tannins and acid go away and you are left with an abundance of flavor.

Overall:  I would say this wine needs food.  This tends to be the case with a lot of “Vino da Tavola” (table wine); that is, cheap, every day wine that Italians have stocked for their weekday tables.  Alone, it seems a bit unbalanced with not too much flavor, but add a little Italian sausage and marinara and you’re golden.  It doesn’t surprise me at all that it is more similar to the behavior of an Italian wine than a Californian as there is obviously some Italian wine-making tradition put into this.  Even ignoring that, California and Italy (I would say) tend to have a lot of varietal comparisons.  Still, the smell of this wine is vibrant and enjoyable, saving some uniqueness points in my book.  Meh, I think there is better value to be had elsewhere but as an everyday wine still pretty good…just food for thought (teehee I am a jokester because the wine gives you more to think about with food).  Meh meh, the other Diamond Labels are probably better.  I am still gonna visit the winery someday.

Francis Coppola made me an offer I could refuse (unless he also handed me some lasagna).

RATING: 4 of 10 without Italian food, 6 of 10 with Italian food
VALUE: $$ of 5

WINE WEDNESDAY - Famille Bougrier Vouvray Grande Réserve 2016

Woooooo! I am always looking forward to Wednesdays now.  More so I have enjoyed hunting the shops of NOVA for cool wines and good deals.  Also, don’t be afraid to comment below or on my fb/twitter posts to tell me how trash my blog is haha.  But seriously I have no idea what I’m doing so if you want me to review something in particular, or if you have suggestions for the blog, or if I’m completely wrong about something then let me know.  Live show sometime???  If you’re too scared to comment then send me a fb message 😊 or slide into my DMs 😉.

So, this time around I am excited to announce we gon step it up a notch and I think I may have found a wine that you can impress your friends and dates with.  Better yet one that won’t break the bank.  Total Wine & More is a maze of alcohol but usually has exactly what you’re looking for and a friendly staff 😊.  Don’t be afraid to ask and even if you already know a lot, play dumb.  I learn new stuff all the time.

Today's #WineWednesday subject is a bottle of Vouvray!

Translation: Frenchy McFrench frenchly frenchs the french.

This is probably you right now:
“WHAT DOES ALL THAT FRENCH MEAN AUSTIN?!  This is why I stay away from bottles I can’t read.  I feel like I need to take a class before I can be caught dead by the sales staff looking at it on the shelf.  Egad!  I’m going to stick to my Americanized wine so I can keep my dignity while shopping.  Hmmmpffff.”

NO! Don’t keep your dignity! This is a great example to ease you into the saddle.  It is tough I know!  You gotta know a lot of terms and regions especially for French wine (then German, Spanish, Italian, etc. 😟).  All will be explained in short order and I’ll even give you a French cheat sheet or two!

Interpretations:

“Vouvray” coupled with “Appellation d’origine Protégée” or AoP (fomerly AoC as in Contrôllée):
Translates to “protected designation of origin” (formerly “controlled…”) In a nutshell: what it is and where it is from.  Bear with me this is *the most important thing on the bottle*…

AoP is the top tier (out of 4) of prestige for French winemaking regions.  If they want to put this on their bottle (and make wine in the region for that matter) the wine must meet the AoP standards of the particular viticultural area.  For our purposes, “Vouvray” means the wine is from Vouvray and is 100% Chenin Blanc.  There’s more to it than that but we don’t really care about how far away they can plant rows of vines and other nonsense.  "Chenin Blanc" is also printed on the center of the label (lol see it's slightly Americanized) so it’s a safe bet they didn’t use a minor blending grape that is also permitted (though rarely used) in Vouvray called Orbois.

“Loire Valley”: Region
Sometimes the bottle might only give the AoP and you are expected to know that Vouvray is in Touraine which is in the Loire Valley which is in northwest France.

“2016”: Vintage
Easy…what year the grapes were harvested.

“Famille Bougrier”: Château/Domaine
This is the family estate label that heads the winemaking process.  Think of it as the winery although that’s not really the whole story.  Wine is usually synonymous with family in France.

“Grande Réserve”: “Great Reserve”
This means more or less it’s the best bottle of this style that they make.  The grapes chosen were very good and/or from their best plots on the property.  The AoP may also have rules for printing this.  Also, in this particular case they age the wine in oak barrels for a few months as opposed to the regular version which is unoaked.  Perhaps this goes hand in hand with…

“Vieilles Vignes”: “Old Vines”
This wine was made with grapes from old plantings.  Winemakers agree that grapes from older vines make better wine.  Grapevines are perennial plants, so they suffer through the winter and produce fruit in the growing season each year.  For the first 6 years or so grapevines aren’t ready for a full-time job (just a wee baby).  A normal vine’s best yielding years are something like 6-30.  After then the amount of fruit produced begins to decline.  A generally agreed upon minimum age of 50 puts vines into the old vines club.  Well kept vines can get SUPER old (Slovenia lays claim to a vine nearly 500 years old), so old vines are not uncommon if the grower wants to trade quantity of grapes for quality.  The general theory is old vines have less grapes to take care of so it takes care of them all very well and therefore imparts better characteristics of the terroir.

“V”: Probs the winemaker’s nickname for the wine.

"Product of France": 😜

Price: $15 Sale from $18.  The regular (non-Grande Réserve) was $11 Sale from $14.

You: “Ugh, when do we get to drink it?”
Blfkhgerigjhrggerkn!  Wine is so much more than a drink!  But you are right we should be talking about this while enjoying it!  Still, let me give you a bit about Vouvray and Famille Bougrier.  Also, here are cheat sheets for the Loire Valley and French wine terms for future reference.

*We can talk more about "Cru" if I ever review a Champagne, Burgundy, or Bordeaux.  

For now know that it is a ranking system of Châteaux for which the lowest class is still very good.

Other countries put this on their bottles sometimes but it doesn't mean as much as it does in France.

Background: Ah the Loire Valley…the “Garden of France.”  The scene for St. Joan of Arc’s military dominance, picturesque castles, and of course great (mostly white) wine.  An incredibly diverse geographical region extending from the Atlantic coast to the continental heartland.  Each of the 4 major sub-regions is different, but let’s focus on Touraine.  World-renowned Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc hail from the Loire and Cher valleys surrounding the city of Tours.  Just to the east of Tours are the vineyards of Vouvray, a place synonymous with Chenin Blanc.  Sparkling or still, Vouvray makes a plethora of renditions in their limestone-rich soil with one thing in common: It be good 😋.

Château de Chenonceau.  A very famous castle literally on the Cher.

Famille Bougrier prides itself on being one of a few family houses to offer wines from throughout the Loire Valley.  However, Touraine was the site of their first Domaine.  6 generations later they have multiple holdings in Touraine, Anjou, and the Muscadet.  Their top winemaker, Guillaume Noiret, works with the Vouvray (pretty sure, google-translating their website didn’t clarify too much haha).

Famille Bougrier vineyard and cellar/caves locations.
1 is the original Domaine (near the Cher), 2 is in Vouvray (near the Loire).

Perhaps the only rival to Vouvray for the Chenin Blanc crown is South Africa, who calls it “Steen.”  It is a varietal not grown with too much acclaim elsewhere, though some good wines pop up in the US and Argentina.  A very versatile grape, it can range from dry to sweet, it comes sparkling or still, and it can handle oak well.  Flavor profiles are all over the place but I would describe it as golden nectar in my limited exposure.

Alrighty…Let’s get sloshed! 😈

My Review: Upon opening the bottle I already knew I was going to love it.  IT SMELLS SO GOOD.  Chilled in fridge for 30 mins or so.

Proud of this pic.

Look: Pale yellow, almost has a hint of green…this leads me to guess it’s a more delicate, acidic wine.  (Too bad I was dead wrong!)

Sniff: After the swish and flick (copyright infringement?) I stick my nose in there and smell a slightly tropical but mostly grassy field aroma.  I need to go into a flower shop and sniff around so I can actually tell you that it smells like something in particular, but alas, all I can offer is that there are floral notes 😐.  Fruit-wise we are in the range of melons and potentially some yellow tree fruit like a peach.  I could sniff this wine for hours…it reminds me of warm weather.  BTdubs, it is cold as eff outside.

Taste: Mmmmmmmmm, smooth creamy butter.  Semi-sweet, which is a lot more than I was expecting based on the color.  Body is pretty substantial for a white wine: I would say a solid medium.  Acidity that kinda comes off as a lemon rind’s bitterness but in a good way.  Also some minerality.  Honeysuckle? Honey? Honey you need to try this wine.  Cantaloupe? Alcohol is not too present.  Sweetness remains on the tongue for a long time after swallow.  Give it a little air and the grassy-flowery-peachy notes come back.  Good balance for being so strong in some categories.  No complaints whatsoever.

Overall: Exactly what I was looking for.  I have been a fan of Chenin Blanc since first tasting it but had never had a Loire Valley rendition (I have had a decent number of South African Steens and also an American one I think).  What differs is it is less tropical and more continental than its South African counterpart.  Also, I am a huge fan of retaining the sweetness of Chenin Blanc…the others I’ve enjoyed have been substantially drier.  I think the Loire has converted me to prefer its terroir.

Pairings: The bottle says try with some apple pie.  I think that's a great idea.  I might also add this: I would be curious to see how it does with lobster.  Also, I feel like it's big enough and sweet enough to handle some bigger meats and spiciness.  Don't blindly follow me on this though cuz pairings are a notorious weak point for me 😛.

Rating: 8.73275325 of 10
Value: $$$ of 5

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Credit:
http://www.internationalwineguild.com/aoc--aop
http://www.courtofmastersommeliers.org/pdfresources/loirenotes.pdf
https://vinepair.com/wine-geekly/what-the-heck-is-old-vine-wine-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/
https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/this-grapevine-has-been-around-for-nearly-500-years/
http://www.totalwine.com/wine/brand/bougrier
https://shop.winefolly.com/products/loire-valley-wine-region-map-poster
http://winefolly.com/review/chenin-blanc-wine-guide/
https://learn.winecoolerdirect.com/chenin-blanc/
Zraly’s Windows on the World Wine Course Book
Copyright Harry Potter

WINE WEDNESDAY - Jacob's Creek Classic Shiraz 2016

Yoyoyoyoyoyo! For those of you that are returning to read again: THANKS!  I hope you find this as useful or entertaining as I find it fun!  For those that are first-timers this is the weekly segment where I give wine tips and taste a bottle within my friends’ budgets and generally available in the NOVA area.  I have already gone through the tough trials of initiation into the snobby world of wine and am here to make your transition far easier.

Last week I did a bit of a black sheep varietal but I am bringing it back to the wheelhouse today with my FAVORITE red wine: SHIRAZ (say it with an Aussie accent).  If you are wondering why it is my favorite I will direct you back to my Featured Tasting of Fox Creek’s Shiraz: a nicer bottle of the varietal that showed me a different side of red wine.  Since then I have loved basically every bottle of Shiraz I have tasted.

Today's #WineWednesday bottle is also creek related: Jacob’s Creek “Classic” (???) Shiraz 2016.

Here's the creek!

Winery: Jacob’s Creek
Grapes: Shiraz (Syrah)
Region: South Eastern Australia
Country: Australia (lol ^^^ new world wine is easy)
Vintage: 2016
Price: $5 Sale from $10

(Sometimes grocery stores especially will raise the price then put it on “sale” to make you think you’re getting a great deal.  Tread lightly with seemingly huge savings and get the vivino app if you want a quick reference.  This happened to be a pretty good deal!)

Background: South Eastern Australia is exactly what you’d think it is…south, east, and Australia.  The (super) wine region encompasses parts of the provinces of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia (yes, Australia doesn’t care to give cool names to the areas of their country that are mainly outback).  Inside South Eastern Australia there are smaller, more prestigious wine regions.  If you know Australian wine, perhaps name drops like Clare Valley and McLaren Vale ring some bells.  Now, Jacob’s Creek is a label whose vineyards originally bordered…Jacob’s Creek.  WOAH.  For those interested it is north of the city of Adelaide and home to their visitor center in Barossa.  Since then they have purchased more land and become a large-scale operation.  The Shiraz in this bottle is mostly from Barossa as their other holdings in Adelaide Hills and Coonawarra have terroir (an all-encompassing French term for soil and climate) that doesn’t cater as well to Shiraz in their opinion.  Since the label doesn’t say Barossa but rather South Eastern Australia, you can bet they brought in some grapes from vineyards in other regions to blend with their own supply.

Jacob's Creek vineyards. The pin is Barossa.

Shiraz/Syrah is kinda blue.
This is why the wine is kinda purple in color.

Now a bit about the grape!  Shiraz is the name given to Syrah grown in Australia (and occasionally in South Africa).  Syrah is a French grape made most famous from wines in the northern Rhone Valley.  Hermitage (some of the most expensive wine in the world), and the GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) blends of southern France use this grape as a basis for making great wine.  The name change is somewhat of a mystery but my bet is some outback homeboy Australian tried explaining it to his “mate” morphing “Syrah is…” into “Shiraz” with his drawl and accent.  The wine makers decided to roll with it and continue to make tons of money today off this misunderstanding.

My Review: Now the main event.  I decided to try a technique called decanting on this wine.  Usually decanting is a must for expensive, age-worthy wines to allow “breathing time” for the wine to “gather itself” and catch any sediment that falls out of the liquid after its long slumber in the cellar.  Long story short I heard decanting cheaper wine can also help it to express itself better and decided to try.  Though I caution to only decant wine that you plan on drinking NOW or within 24 hrs or so as the huge influx of oxidation starts the natural vinegar-ization process of wine off with a bang.  This is where you realize wine is very complex and can be described as a sentient being in some ways.

Here’s a vid of me decanting the wine.  Get a decanter from the thrift store and do it next time to impress your friends!  Shout out to mom for filming.  If it doesn't work I shared the vid here.  I am still trying to figure out the best technique for embedding videos.

Sniffy Sniff: Ripe red fruit, licorice, forest floor, smoldering French oak, red clay soil, shaving cream…JKLOL<3 😅.  1) These are some terms I have heard sommeliers use in movies to sound impressive that I sometimes break out to have a laugh.  2) If I got that much from a cheap bottle of wine then we got a deal for the ages at Harris Teeter.

Nose (on the real tho): Definitely berries: a healthy mix in the range of raspberry to blackberry. A whiff of alcohol.  A sorta fireplace thing (wood and spice).  Maybe a hint of (bell) pepper on the end.

Taste: Mmmmmm I like Shiraz and it’s a good time of year for your favorite red wine.  I hear snow could be coming Friday.  The smell is definitely more complex than the taste.  I would say the most prevalent thing is a sort of gritty, sandy tannin structure that has a hint of what I love about Shiraz: the tannins are creamy and slightly vanilla flavored.  Medium body like 1-2% milk in my humble estimation.  Acid is noticeable.  Pretty dry.  Spices abounding (one that comes to mind is cinnamon).  What I don’t like is there is not too much fruit on the forefront despite that being so in the sniff.  THIS WINE IS A LIAR.  Still there is enough lingering on the back of the taste that it keeps the experience enjoyable.

Overall not bad and an absolute steal for $5.  Incredible complex smell (probs cuz of decanting).  The fact that I’m drinking it at the right time of year plays a positive role.  I would say it definitely shows a more complex side than a Yellowtail or Lindeman’s for instance, but it lacks a certain balance of flavor that I (personally) prefer in Shiraz.  I like Shiraz with hamburgers, so I would start in that range for pairings.

Rating: 9π/4 of 10
Value: $$$$$ of 5

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Credit:
http://www.uncorklife.com/2010/04/australia-2010.html
http://www.jacobscreek.com/au/