As I've said before, I enjoy a glass of wine. I'm not amazing at wine tasting skills, but I'm always willing to work on developing my palate. As always, my notes are just that: Notes. Don't expect proper grammar or well-structured thoughts.

Yesterday, I sat down with a bottle of "Bordeaux". I use the quotation marks since this bottle actually isn't from the Bordeaux region but apparently close enough to classify it as such. 2005 was supposed to be a banner year for Bordeaux, and I'm always on the lookout for some deals. This wine supposedly fit both bills.






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As I've said before, I enjoy a glass of wine. I'm not amazing at wine tasting skills, but I'm always willing to work on developing my palate. As always, my notes are just that: Notes. Don't expect proper grammar or well-structured thoughts.


It's been a while since I've posted one of these. Today, I sat down with an Italian white and an Australian Red.





Not really familiar with Italian wines, and, since the label is written in all Italian gibberish, this is almost like a blind taste for me.

Look: Light in color. Just a tinge of yellow. Similar to a Sauvignon Blanc or maybe a Chenin.

Smell: Straight tropical. Kiwis right off the bat. Sugar cane action makes it smell mouthwateringly sweet. Just a hint of lime zest.

Taste: Absolutely DELICIOUS! Acidity for days. Holy cow, this one has a bite. That kiwi is...

As I've said before, I enjoy a glass of wine. I'm not amazing at wine tasting skills, but I'm always willing to work on developing my palate. As always, my notes are just that: Notes. Don't expect proper grammar or well-structured thoughts.



Today, I felt like going a different route. I tried out a couple of bordeaux's the other evening, but I haven't gotten around to typing them up. Instead, I want to address something that it is imperative for both wine drinkers and novices to experience: Training your palate. Hopefully this week for work, I will be holding a palate training party, so we all can learn more about how to properly taste wines. Through the help of Gary Vaynerchuk's Wine Library TV and a handy flavor wheel (http://www.goodlifeguy.com/Taste%20Tools/bwwheel.jpg), I have compiled a list of things that I will hopefully have for the party.

If you are new to wine or need a refresh course, some of this stuff is pretty important that you...

As I've said before, I enjoy a glass of wine. I'm not amazing at wine tasting skills, but I'm always willing to work on developing my palate. As always, my notes are just that: Notes. Don't expect proper grammar or well-structured thoughts.




Came home with three bottle for me, my wife and some Heroes/Chuck. These are all fairly budgetory with one being from an extremely popular vinyard.

All three of these wines were tasted freshly corked (i.e. no decanting or time to breathe).





Look: Pale gold. Crystal clear.

Nose: Surprisingly floral. Lilacs and tulips. Apples and pears - typical for a California Chard. Smells crisp.

Taste: Nice bite to it with the acid. Hits me right on the back corners of my mouth. The crisp finish lingers on your tongue like a little ballet. Taste...

As I've said before, I enjoy a glass of wine. I'm not amazing at wine tasting skills, but I'm always willing to work on developing my palate. As always, my notes are just that: Notes. Don't expect proper grammar or well-structured thoughts.

It's been a while since I've posted another wine tasting. This is one I did last month, so I'm going strictly off of my iPhone notes.

This was from 9-11-08, and the wine that I had was Jacob's Creek Centenary Hill.






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As I've said before, I enjoy a glass of wine. I'm not amazing at wine tasting skills, but I'm always willing to work on developing my palate. As always, my notes are just that: Notes. Don't expect proper grammar or well-structured thoughts.

Tonight I sat down with two wines. Both of these can probably me found for around $15.




Sur de los Andes
2005 Malbec Reserve
Argentina

This wine was decanted for 2-3 hours.

The first thing I notice is the deep, dark burgundy color. Already this is scaring me because it's telegraphing big fruit.

On the nose, I am taken a-back by the heat coming out of it. By smell alone, I can tell this is a wine high in alcohol. Looking on the label here... 14.6%. I'd probably peg it at over 15%. I like heat in my bourbon, not my wine.

Still on the nose, there's a ton of fruit coming out of it. I smell a handful of blueberries and maybe something...