Adri's wine blog

 Next, I tried Chandon Brut Rose. It is a sparkling varietal. I tend to like Rose, I had it a lot when I went to London over spring break! Located in Napa Valley, California, the winemakers use  a blend of the three traditional grape varietals used in Champagne —  Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier ; the Pinot giving the wine a nice deep salmon color in the glass. The  grapes are harvested at night to keep the fruit cool and preserve the freshness. Harvest is early August to retain acidity. This was given as a gift so I am unsure of the price! Online, the 750 mL seems to go for $22-25. Based on reviews, this seems to be a very popular wine  getting very good reviews. People say it is very well priced and holds up for days in the fridge when properly stored and tastes just as nice. Many called it the perfect summer wine and commented on the freshness and lightness. Like I said, I like Rose and I also like bubbly's so I figured I would like this and I did. The color was beautif

 The first wine I tasted this week was Il Casato Pinot Grigio Valdadige. It is from 2020 and the winery name is Il Casato. The grapes used are 100% Pinot Grigio from the Northern Italy region go Trentino-Alto Adige and the alcohol content is 13%. I purchased it at Wegmans when I was home for $10.99. It got positive reviews as many said it was a nice dry wine but also fresh with some notes of honey and apple. I have found that apple and pear have been common themes in wines. Many people also said they tasted green bell pepper which I thought was interesting to read and very different. When refrigerated, it tasted very crisp and I almost want to compare it to a Moscato because it was so refreshing to drink and I could taste the fruity notes in it, but not so much bell pepper or honey. I think this would be a nice wine to have with a light salad or a charcuterie board. From the book, I learned this is the most popular white grape in Italy but called Pinot Gris in France and it is a user-f

 Over spring break, I had the privilege of traveling to Dublin, Ireland and was able to take a tour of the Guinness Storehouse and learn how Guinness is made. Guinness is such a special and famous beer and it was at every restaurant and pub in Dublin so it was cool to see the intricate steps that go into making it. I will be honest, it was not my favorite beer, I was not a fan at all but it was fun to try. Here are some pictures that describe how it is made and some fun things I learned along the way. My face printed on the beer from the end of our tour! Some of the advertisements made for Guinness at the time of creation. They used animals a lot to convey their message. Our first tasting. They had barrels in the room with the four main aromas of Guinness: roasted barley, malted barley, hops and beer esters. The smell of chocolate was so prominent and they said that was normal due to the roasted barely. They then taught us how to taste it. First we smelled, then a big sip and swished i

 For my wine and food pairing of this month me and my friend Masan paired Champagne, Prosecco Rose, and Merlot with Brussel sprouts, spaghetti and lemon chicken. The merlot is by Bay Bridge Vineyards and was bought a Kroger for about $3 - crazy. The Prosecco rose is by LaMarca which is a brand I have had before and was the Piccolo sized bottle and I am unsure of the price. The champagne was the brand Andre which I think is a popular brand, especially by the college kids in this area. We also used white wine in the cooking of the chicken in the sauce.  On the Brussel sprouts, we used honey and balsamic vinegar to give a nice sweet taste and I found that the Merlot did not go well with that dish in particular. I also was not a fan of the wine in general. It was a very distinct smell and taste, very earthy and toasted and I think it was definitely put in an oak barrel. The sweetness of the sprouts did not match that earthy taste and the wine just overwhelmed the taste and that was all I t

 The next wine up that I tried is a 2018 Rioja Crianza by Montecillo Winery. From Vivino,  Rioja is one Spain's most famous wine regions and is one of only two regions classified under the Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa) system. Its two most important red grapes are Tempranillo and Garnacha. The Crianza part of the name speaks to the aging process and this process is the wines being in their  3rd year, with at least 12 months spent in oak barrels. It was about $15 and uses Tempranillo,  Graciano, and Garnacha grapes. that 2018 was one of the best vintage years for Rioja! Montecillo is also a very well known winery in the area in Span. (pg 201). Something I found interesting from the texWhen I first smelled it, I got notes of dark fruit like cherries and maybe some raspberry? It was a very full bodied wine and tasted slightly sweet and acidic but became a little sweeter as it was drank. Some reviews also agreed with how the sweetness/acidity changed with time and one pointe

 This wine I am reviewing is one of my favorites but now with all this terminology and knowledge, I can dive deeper into it! Barefoot Moscato is one of my go to's because of how sweet and crisp it is. It is a white wine from California with notes of peach to compliment the sweetness. It is also very cheap which is great for a college student on a budget, only $7.99! This wine is produced in  Modesto, California , and was originally created in the early 1960s by Davis Bynum in Alameda County, just east of San Francisco.   Moscatos are made from the  Muscat grape, which is  a table grape also used for raisins. I was able to make the connection from the lectures that the sweetness is due to a high sugar content in the wine. I could not find any information in the book about  this  type of wine but reviews online are great! People tend to love how easy it is to drink, which can also be dangerous, and the sweetness of it and how well it pairs with cheese and some desserts. My birthday i