Tasting - Yellow Tail Moscato

I was in the mood for a sweet dessert wine and decided to buy this moscato at Food Lion.

Name: Yellow Tail Moscato
Varietal: Moscato
Region: South Eastern Australia
Country: Australia
Year: not specified
Price: $6.99

Label Description: "in the small Australian town of Yenda, the Casella family has been making wine for generations. It is here that Yellow Tail was created with a simple philosophy- to make great wines for everyone to enjoy."
"This Moscato is everything a great wine should be- zingy, refreshing and easy to drink"

Online Review: The bottle describes the wine has having flavors of passionfruit and melon. There is also a sticker on the front of the bottle that calls it the "Best Moscato". This wine received a 3.8 out of 5 star rating online from Vivino with mostly positive reviews commenting on the sweet fruity flavors present in the wine.

My Review: I typically tend to gravitate towards sweeter wines, so I decided to try this moscato because it was on sale. The initial aroma of the wine was sweet and fruity. I served the wine chilled which I think helped accentuate and bring out the fruity flavors. It tasted sweet and crisp, but not as sweet as some of the other moscatos I have tried in the past, but I could definitely taste the hints of melon described on the label. I drank this wine by itself, but next time I may try to pair it with spicy asian food as the bottle suggests. I would definitely buy this wine again!

Tasting - Pinot Grigio - Marchese Di Pani

My roomie and I decided to have a wine night while catching up on last weeks episode of The Bachelor. We decided to try a Pinot Grigio that we bought at Food Lion.

Name: Marchese Di Pani
Varietal: Pinot Grigio
Region: Abruzzo
Country: Italy
Year: 2015
Price: $8.59

Online Reviews: There were not many online reviews of this wine, nor was there a description from the winery. The reviews online from Vivino gave this wine a 2.2 out of 5 star rating. Some of the users who reviewed it online described it as "very dry" and having "strong oaky undertones."

My Review: I have tried a few other Pinot Grigio's in the past, so I had a general idea of what I thought it might taste like. I was initially intrigued by this particular label because it said it was from Italy as opposed to some of the domestic wines I have tried before. I served the wine at room temperature since I did not have time to refrigerate it. The first sniff smelled sweet and fruity but to me it actually tasted a little dry and more bitter than the sweet aroma it initially gave off. After taking a few more sips I could taste a little bit of the oaky undertones described by some of the online reviews I read. Overall it was okay, fairly easy to drink, but I probably would not buy it again.

Tasting- California Roots Red Blend

While I was out running errands at Target this weekend, I stumbled across some wine on sale and decided to try it for my first tasting of the semester.

Name: California Roots Red Blend
Varietal: Red Blend
Region: California
Country: US
Year: 2017
Price: $5.99

Wine Label:"Crafted from premium grapes grown under the warm California sun, our Red Blend's smooth berry and cherry flavors with hints of spice offer the perfect antidote to the workweek. Pairs perfectly with wild mushroom pasta and grilled vegetables. Enjoy pure vineyard-to-table goodness in every sip."

Online Reviews: Some online reviews suggest that this wine "seems Zinfandel or Shiraz like at first, with pleasantly surprising notes of coffee and warm earth." Other reviews from blind taste testers said "It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be" and "I'm actually impressed by this."

My Review: Since I am still a little wary of what red wines I like, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked this one. From my initial sniff of the wine, I could immediately smell the hints of different fruit present in the wine. After tasting my first sip, I noticed that the wine was a little sweeter than I had expected but still had a little bit of a bitter aftertaste. It also felt warm as I drank it. I served the wine at room temperature and initially tasted the first few sips of the wine by itself. I finished the rest of my glass with some chocolate chip cookies which brought out some more of the fruity flavors. For the price, you really can't beat it. I would definitely buy this wine again in the future and try it with pasta and vegetables like the label suggests.

First Post!

Welcome to my WINE BLOG!!

My name is Erin and I am a second semester senior double majoring in Marketing and Spanish. I am very excited to be taking Geography of Wine this semester and am hoping to learn a lot throughout this course! I don't have much prior blogging (or wine) experience so this should be very interesting! I hope you enjoy reading my posts and going on this wine journey with me☺

My experience with wine thus far has been very limited (I typically prefer beer to wine). Considering my sweet tooth, my taste in wine has been comprised of mainly white wines and sweet wines (mainly sparkling wines, rosés, and moscatos). Only recently have I started to like some red wines (Pinot Noir). I am definitely looking forward to trying new things this semester, and am hoping to expand my palette, and knowledge wine throughout this course! I love to travel and had the chance to study abroad in Spain in the summer of 2017. I would like to learn more about the wines from that region and those native to different regions of the world. Another personal goal of mine is to start cooking more. I would love to learn more about what wines to pair with the food I make!

Since turning 21 in May, I have begun to experiment a little more with different wine. I will occasionally drink wine at dinner with my family and when I am out to eat (specifically at Italian restaurants). I have been to one formal wine tasting, where I got the chance to try different things and began to learn more about my likes and dislikes. I also have yet to go to a winery, even though there are many nearby my hometown of Leesburg, VA, (crazy I know, but I am a busy girl). I am hoping this will change after this semester.

Love for wine runs in my family. Though I never got the chance to meet him in my lifetime, I have heard many stories of my great-grandfather and the amazing wine he would make from the grapes in his small vineyard, the wine my mother and grandmother grew up on. I look forward to being able to discuss in more detail the wines I drink with my family in the future and further develop my love for wine in the process.

Thanks for reading! Check back later for more updates on my personal wine journey!