Wine Tasting - Tera Box Cabernet Sauvignon

Today I am tasting a Cabernet Sauvignon from Tera Box. This boxed wine was produced in Manteca, California, in the San Joaquin Valley. It comes in a 3 Liter box, and at $16.99 that is a pretty good deal. I was unable to find a vintage for this wine, as it wasn't listed on the box, possibly since multiple wine vintages were mixed for a consistent taste.

First, I smelled for aromas, I noticed mostly cherry, with some violet aromas as well. After tasting, I noticed a bold juicy taste. Like most Cabernet Sauvignon's this wine has a strong body and is very tannic in composition and is very dry.

I also tried this wine with some food. From Owens Hall on the Virginia Tech Campus, I got steak with a mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, and a dinner roll. The wine paired excellently with the steak, the tannins of the wine complemented the richness of the steak and the gravy. The wine also paired really well with the mac and cheese, the richness of the cheese went well, exposing more flavors in the wine itself. The wine went alright with everything else but definitely went best with the steak and mac and cheese. Overall, I enjoyed this wine, it tastes good for the price, and I think it's quite good value for money.

Wine Tasting - Vendange Pinot Grigio

Today I am tasting a Pinot Grigio box wine. This wine is from Vendange Wine Cellars, in Lathrop and Lodi in California. I purchased this wine late night at a Sheetz for around $4 in a 500ML tetra pack. I was unable to find a vintage for this wine, its possibly made from a blend of different vintages as to ensure a consistent taste from year to year, but I'm not too sure.

First, I smelled the wine, it had aromas of apple and pear, with some hints of apricot. Next, during the tasting, I noticed a crisp bite, with a strong green apple flavor. There was also a less pronounced pear flavor. This wine was also quite acidic, and also pretty sweet. The body was very light, with a very smooth and almost watery mouthfeel. For a cheap gas station box wine, I would say it's quite good, and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase it again if I needed a predictable tasting wine at an affordable price.

Wine and Dinner Pairing Spring Break Edition: Spagetti and Meatballs, Salad, and Garlic Bread

During Spring Break with a few friends, while on vacation in Charlotte I did my first Wine and Dinner Pairing, on the menu we had Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad with Italian Dressing, and Garlic Bread.

To go with this meal I decided on three wines, an Italian Garofoli Piancarda (Vintage 2020, $14.99), a French Château Roc de Segur Bordeaux (Vintage 2022, $10.99) and a German Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese (Vintage 2022, $15.99). Side note, I purchased these at a wonderful Liquor/Wine Store in South Carolina called Frugal MacDoogal, if you are ever in the Charlotte, North Carolina area I highly recommend going there, they have an amazing selection and a very knowledgeable staff.

 

The first wine I tried was the Riesling. It was relatively sweet, but not too sweet, and paired best with the salad. The vinegar taste of the dressing and lettuce of the salad contrasted well with the acidity and sugar of the wine. The Riesling went alright with the pasta and garlic bread, but I think bolder red wines went better with those. Speaking of the bolder red's, lets move on to the Piancarda. The bold, heavy body of this wine paired extremely well with the pasta, the flavors of the two complemented each other exquisitely, with the sauce binding to some of the tannic components of the wine allowing the more subtle notes to express themselves, this wine also went very well with the garlic bread. Finally onto the Bordeaux. The Bordeaux also paired incredibly well with the pasta, the combination of the two, like with the Piancarda allowed some of the more subtle flavors to be expressed. The Bordeaux also went incredibly well with the garlic bread, and as sacrilege as this might be to say, I think went better with the garlic bread then the Piancarda did. The Bordeaux and Piancarda are definitely neck and neck as far as pairing with the pasta goes, both were excellent choices. Overall I'm really happy with my wine choices, each of the wines paired really well with at least one food item, and two of them paired exceptionally well. I look forward to attempting future wine and food pairings, as it is a really fun process!

Drink This Now Lesson 4: Oak on Wine

For this Month's Drink This Now lesson, I chose Lesson 4: Got Wood? The influence of Oak on Wine. The purpose of this assignment is to determine how aging wine in oak barrels effects the flavor. I started out this assignment by going to Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg to select two Chardonnay's: One aged in a metal cask, and one aged in a oak barrel. Vintage Cellar did not have the wines listed in the book, but Randall recommended Foxglove Chardonnay (Vintage 2019), and Butter Chardonnay (Vintage 2023) as good substitutes for unoaked and oaked Chardonnay respectively. Both of these wines are from California, and I spent around $20.00 each on both of these bottles.

First, I opened each bottle and poured a glass of each, while still at room temperature. The first one I decided to try was the Foxglove. It had a more fruity smell, with notes of crispness and golden delicious. The taste had a bit of an apple flavor and was also nutty. This wine had a lighter body, with a relatively watery mouthfeel. Next I tried the Butter Chardonnay. This wine had a woody, toasty aroma, with hints of vanilla. Unsurprisingly, when I tasted it, it had a very buttery taste. This wine had a heavier body compared to the Foxglove. The two wines were very similar in color, I was unable to discern a difference.

 

  

After tasting the wines at room temperature, I then proceeded to chill them for about an hour. After letting the wines chill, I repeated the tasting. The Foxglove had the same aroma notes and tastes as before, but I did notice the aromas and flavors were much more pronounced when served chilled. Same with the Butter Chardonnay, the aromas and flavors were more pronounced, but I also additionally smelled a smokey aroma in the Butter Chardonnay after chilling. I definitely prefer these wines after chilling them, it allows the flavors to be more pronounced and really expressed the wines more. I think this experiment would be interesting to attempt again with Chardonnay's from different regions, perhaps with French or Australian Chardonnay's. I really enjoyed this lesson because it allowed me to really get a feel for just how much of a difference oak barrel aging can make on wine.

Welcome!

Welcome to my Wine Blog! I'm starting this blog as part of my journey into the world of wine! I'm currently enrolled in The Geography of Wine, a college level course at Virginia Tech taught by the wonderful John Boyer! I hope to document my experiences in this course throughout the semester, and perhaps once the semester is finished as well, only time will tell for certain.

I have been exposed to wine for quite a long time, but I only started to drink it for myself quite recently. In the basement of my home, there is a room that used to be a wine cellar, my grandfather had it built when the house still belonged to him. The walls were covered with the labels of many different wine bottles, and the ceiling, which is all that remains of the wine cellar still is! My grandparents have always been big wine drinkers, no matter where they are, from the beach in North Carolina, to Europe, South America, Africa, Asia and even on a cruise to Antartica! If they've been there, they've probably enjoyed a glass of wine there. My grandfather has a preference for red wines, whereas my grandmother has a preference for whites. Myself I think I lean more towards reds, but I like whites as well. I started drinking wine around 2-3 years ago, although I definitely wasn't the most informed drinker. I would just drink what was being served, and I would enjoy it, but I wouldn't necessarily think deeply about the flavor or smell of the wine. That is something I am hoping to change on my journey.

As to what this blog will entail, I hope to bring to you wine tastings from an assortment of wines. Entries regarding some wine dinners I plan to do with friends, as well as some wine and cheese pairings I also hope to do. One thing I would also like to do is a blog entry on a tour of a winery, but we'll see if we can make that happen. I look forward to sharing my experiences and bringing you along for my journey into wine!

- Kolby