Be Kind. Rewin[e]

[amandadovewine]

Wine Event - Fork and Cork

Free souvenir wine glass for attending the event

Yesterday, my friends and I went to Fork and Cork, a food, wine, and art festival, in Blacksburg, Virginia. With finals looming around the corner, this festival provided a good outlet to release some stress while trying out some delicious wines and food dishes.

Crowds of people came out to sample wines

Over the course of the day, I tasted more wines than I could count, but for the purpose of this blog, I took notes about the wines from Vincent's Vineyard.

Name and variety (same): Cabernet Franc Price: $13.00 Winery Review: A slightly oaked dry red wine. The full bodied wine has rich flavors of black cherry and plum complimented by elegant armoas of toasted oak. My Review: Tasty! Dark fruit, especially plums on the nose. Full bodied and medium finish. It has a salty and sour characteristic... reminds me of salty Asian plums.

Name: Angler's Choice Variety: N/A Price: $11.00 Winery Review: An off-dry blended white wine created just for that special seafood or fish dinner. Pairs well with pasta and cheese. My Review: Unmistakable leechee nose with some slight notes of oaky funk. Tastes just like leechees and has a nice texture to it. Interesting and I would try it again!

Name and Variety (same): Traminette Price: $11 Winery Review: A Gewurztraminer hybrid with a fresh fruity aroma and floral-spicy flavors. This table wine is a semi sweet palate pleaser. Good with fruit and cheese or just sipping My Review: Pear and floral nose. Also tastes like pear, but where is the leechee flavor I was expecting? Sweet, but crisp.

Name: Make Me Blush Variety: Chambourcin Price: $11 Winery Review: Made from the Chambourcin grape, this semi sweet blush will blossom in your glass with aroma's of black cherry. Crisp and well balanced. with baked ham, spicy foods, and cheese or just sipping with a friend. My Review: This winery describes this wine as being semi sweet, I found it to be overwhelmingly so. I definitely got the spicy and black cherry flavors, but the sweetness turned me off. Probably my least favorite of the day.

Name: Shepherd's White Variety: Chardonel and Vidal Price: $11 Winery Review: A pale yellow sweet table wine made from blend of Chardonel grapes produces a fresh fruity aroma. A perfect complement to seafood and pasta. My Review: This one didn't taste like much... very watery with a sugary aftertaste. Light bodied and basically no finish. I also did not enjoy this one because it really didn't have that much going on.

Name: Shepherd's Red Variety: Chambourcin Price: $12 Winery Review: A full bodied, mildly oaked, sweet red wine that has a mild floral nose. Pairs nicely with Italian foods, spicy barbeque and summer sausage. My Review: Interesting! Light tannins, but it tastes just like a combination of apple and pineapple juice. I usually don't like it when wines have a juice quality to them, but this one was delicious. My friends ended up buying this one. Name: Ambrosia Variety: Stuben Price: $14 Winery Review: Made from the Stuben grape, this crisp sweet red ruby wine has hints of honey. Its characteristics will compliment many meals or make a great porch wine. My Review: This one smells of cut grass and flowers. It tastes exactly like what I think potpourri would taste like. Extremely floral and herbally. Not my thing...

For lunch, my friends and I got pulled pork BBQ sandwiches with chips from Bull & Bones, which we paired with Shepherd's Red from Vincent's Vineyard. On its own, the BBQ sauce in the sandwich was very sweet and smokey. However, when paired with the wine, the sweetness of the BBQ sauce diminished significantly. On the other hand, the wine really brought out the smokey flavors in the pork and the spiciness of the homemade mustard sauce. Great pairing in my opinion!

My favorite wine of the day was definitely the sangria from Horton Vineyards. The zesty orange and delicious berry flavors in the wine were nicely balanced. In the heat of yesterday's sun, the sangria made for the perfect refreshing drink.

My best friend, Nassrin and I, enjoying some wine together.

[amandadovewine]

Winery visit: Attimo Winery

Today, Nick and I decided to visit Attimo Winery in Christiansburg, VA. We initially wanted to check out Villa Appalachia in Floyd, but their business hours end at 4:30 PM on Sundays.

Upon arriving, my first impression of the winery is that it is relatively small. Whenever I think about wineries, I imagine a vast amount of land with acres and acres of vines and a large production facility. It was interesting to learn that Attimo is a young winery that only opened up to the public in 2011. Before this, the owners, a married couple who also happen to be Virginia Tech alumni, would host tastings at their home.

We found out that the husband is a Biology major who once got in trouble for making wine in his dorm during his time at Virginia Tech. His family has always had a passion for wine making. Currently, he serves as the head wine maker. On the other hand, his wife graduated as an architecture major and is responsible for designing the entire winery.

Although the winery is only 7 acres, the winery has over 11,000 vines and thousands of blackberry and raspberry plants as well. All of these grapes are harvested and then used to make wine in the Old World style. Everything is done by hand. They are also the only winery in Virginia to employ a method where they bury grape vines in clay pots to produce their Chambourcin. Because the couple stresses the importance of producing wine in the Bordeaux style, they do not want to mass produce their wines.

Attimo Winery's assortment of grape vines

Since Attimo does not offer any winery tours, Nick and I decided to go for the $5 wine tasting, which includes eight different types of wine.

One of my favorite things about Attimo is that they have special names for each of their wines. Attimo means "In the Moment" in Italian, so they base all of the names on special moments in life or in history. For example, Yesterday's Song was named after one of the owners' mother who had a song stuck in her head that she couldn't remember the name of.

Taking notes of all the wines we tasted

Here are the 8 wines we were able to taste:

Yesterday's Song - Chardonnay: Pear nose, oak flavors, light body, quenching

Sonnet 98 - Vidal blanc: Crisp, fresh, slightly dry with a pear flavor and vanilla undertones.

Off-the-Cuff - Riesling/Chardonnay: 2/3 Riesling and 1/3 Chardonnay. Interesting mix that will satisfy those who enjoy sweet wines, while appealing to others who prefer drier wines. Distinct leechee flavor, slightly funky and floral nose, light bodied and well balanced.

After Midnight - Merlot/Zinfandel/Blackberry: A red with training wheels. Brownish red color.  Smells like caramel on a flan and tastes exactly like my mom's flans. Very slight blackberry and a spice aftertaste.

Bull Frog Symphony - Blend of 6 Different Wines (not specified): Smells just like an expo marker. Hot nose. Red cherries and raspberry flavors with notes of pepper. Not completely balanced.

Deep Silence - Cabernet flanc: Smells like crispy, burnt rotisserie chicken skin. Herbally, smoky. Tannic, but not overly so. Full bodied.

AD 325 - Chambourcin: Produced by burying vines in clay pots. Dark ruby color. Distinct dark cherry flavors.

Sweet Berry Sunset - Raspberry/red blend: 50% dessert wine and 50% table wine. All I can say about this wine is that it smelled and tasted exactly like raspberry jello before it hardens and becomes a gelatin. Very strange! Was this really a wine?

   Attimo Winery's Tasting Room, officially opened in 2011

A young grape vine

After the tasting, I asked what last year's vintage will look like. We were told that Attimo was forced to buy more Chardonnay than in past years because the summer was too rainy.

Nick enjoying After Midnight

I had such a fun time at Attimo Winery today. Although I wish they offered tours, I was still able to relax and to learn a lot of new things about this local business. I even felt inspired to open up my own winery one day because I realized that having a massive property is not a mandatory requirement. It really is amazing how this couple was able to follow their dreams of making wine together.

[amandadovewine]

Wine Dinner #2

Chris and I thoroughly enjoying our dessert wine and chocolate cake.

The gang and I decided to plan another wine dinner together since our last meal was such a success. As you can see, we are still keeping it classy on the ping pong table...

Once again, we did not decide on a central theme for the dinner. We each picked wine pairings that we've either heard about or wanted to try.

For the first pairing, my boyfriend, Nick G., and I decided to partner up on the dish again. He prepared the Mahi Mahi and toasted the tortillas, while I fixed the pico de gallo and cabbage for the fish tacos.

Since Nick G. read about Henry Fessy Crus Du Beajolais in Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, specifically the 2009 vintage, he suggested that our friends, Carlos and Ian, buy it for the dinner.

Henry Fessy Crus Du Beaujolais

On it's own: This wine smelled hot, but it had a very pleasant black fruit aroma that was reminiscent of many Syrahs. It was medium bodied and tasted both tart and dry. When paired with the fish tacos: The Crus du Beajolais actually made the fish taste fishier. It also accentuated the spiciness of the pico de gallo, while the fish tacos muted the tartness of the wine.

For the second course, our friend, Nick S., felt compelled to make a spicy pasta with Italian sausage and peppers. In the past, my dad told me that Zinfandels pair nicely with spicy foods, so I decided to pick out this Cellar No. 8 Zinfandel.

Cellar No. 8 Zinfandel

On its own: Cherries and raspberries on the nose. This wine had a delicious spicy quality to it. Light tannins, but high in alcohol content.

When paired with the spicy pasta and Italian sausages: The dish brought out more spicy notes in the wine, but completely masked the fruitiness that I first observed. The Zinfandel made the pasta taste sweeter, which I thought was odd, but overall, I liked the pairing!

For the final course, Chris and his parents contributed dessert. Chris baked a chocolate cake with fudge sauce, while his parents purchased the Virginia Chambourcin, a dessert wine, from the Beliveau Estate Winery.

Virginia Chambourcin

On its own: This wine had an interesting cinnamon raisin bread nose on it. It also smelled like apples and tasted like a sweetened apple juice. I actually preferred it by itself and would have been content if that was the dessert.

When paired with chocolate cake: Strange combination for me... Everyone else at the dinner thought this was the best pairing of the night, but I disagree. I think the apple taste in this wine and the rich chocolate flavors in the cake completely clash. One of my favorite parts about chocolate cake is the richness, but this wine diminished a lot of those exuberant flavors. The aftertaste was less than desirable. In my opinion, the cake and Chambourcin should remain separate.

Once again, I found the wine dinner to be a fulfilling experience. Not only did we get to enjoy good company, we also were able to learn a number of new things. In the future, I hope to continue the wine dinners with my friends. The best way to learn about wine is to actually taste and interpret it for yourself. Over the course of this semester, my sense of smell and taste have improved dramatically. I am really looking forward to the next time we all get together.

[amandadovewine]

Garnacha de Fuego - Tasting

Name: Garnacha de Fuego Variety: Old Vine Grenache Region: Aragon Country: Spain Year: 2009 Price: $8.95 Winery Review: 92 Points, Wine Advocate

The Garnacha de Fuego, a 100% Grenache cuvee, was aged in both stainless steel and neutral French oak. There are 10,000 cases for the United States. This amazing wine boasts a dark ruby/purple color along with a sweet kiss of jammy black cherries intertwined with crushed rock notes that give the wine an undeniable minerality. As it hits the palate a full-bodied, voluptuous texture takes hold and the flavor profile moves towards blacker fruits (ripe raspberries and black currants) intermixed with camphor and forest floor. This full-bodied, rich, glycerin-filled effort should drink well for 4-5 years, perhaps longer. My Review: This wine was my favorite of the day. Blackberry and black cherries on the nose. Delicious dark fruit, smoke, and oak flavors that complemented each other nicely. Full bodied and nice tannic structure. I would definitely have this one again.

[amandadovewine]

Yealands Estate - Tasting

Name: Yealands Estate Variety: Sauvignon Blanc Region: Seaview Vineyard Country: New Zealand Year: 2008 Price: $21 -> $7.95 Winery Review: This aromatic wine shows lifted flavours of blackcurrant with underlying notes of wet stone and thyme. The palate is elegant yet full with sufficient weight and texture, balanced by a flinty minerality. This wine is a fantastic match with foods such as cheese salad, poultry dishes and a wide range of seafood dishes including freshly shucked natural oysters, prawns, green lip mussels and creamy scallops. My Review: On my first sniff, I immediately smelled a funky must from this wine that made me grimace. When I smelled again, I was able to pull out a pleasant earthy, spicy, and thyme nose as well. This wine had an interesting flavor profile...minerally, well-balanced, and good spice. Overall, I enjoyed it and would probably have it again.

[amandadovewine]

Angove Nine Vines- Tasting

Name: Angove Nine Vines Variety: Viognier Region:  N/A Country: Australia Year: 2009 Price: $15 -> $5.95 Winery Review: Bright light straw in colour with some green hues, this wine has a lush ripe tropical fruit aroma. This is a fuller bodied white wine which fills the mouth with heady flavours of apricot, peach and citrus. Angove Nine Vines Viognier is perfect for today's relaxed life-style and is the ideal accompaniment to grilled prawns with chilli and garlic or roast pork. My Review: Apricot and tropical fruits on the nose. Full bodied with nice acidic balance. This wine tastes of more tropical fruits, peaches, and citrus. Unfortunately, I was not able to pair it with any food, but I would like to try the wine again in the future.

[amandadovewine]

Librandi Ciro - Tasting

Name: Librandi Ciro Variety: Rosso Classico Region: N/A Country: Italy Year:  N/A Price: $14 -> $7.95 Winery Review: Don't let the pale garnet color fool you: this is a substantial wine. Aromas of red fruits and spice complement undertones of cranberries, wild berries, and plums. On the palate, ripe tannins and good body make for an incredibly rich, yet easygoing red wine. Pair this wine with sausage, spicy curry sauces, hot soppressata, and tandoori chicken. My Review: Bouquet of peach, plum and an assortment of berries. This wine is slightly tannic and tasted of spices. Medium bodied, but nothing too special. It did not really stand out to me at the tasting. I would not recommend buying it.

[amandadovewine]

Rosemount Estate - Tasting

Name: Rosemount Estate Variety: Moscato Region: N/A Country: Australia Year: 2012 Price: $12 -> $3.95 Winery Review: Clear, medium-lemon yellow in appearance; lovely citrus and honeysuckle aromas with lemon, honeysuckle, apple and ripe yellow plum flavours. Serve chilled with angel food cake or fresh fruit and mild cheeses. My Review: I just cannot get into these Moscato wines. This one smelled and tasted like lemony dishwasher soap or Lysol with hints of flowery potpourri. It also had a sweet, syrupy characteristic to it that I disliked. I ended up giving the rest of the wine to someone else because I could not finish it.

[amandadovewine]

The First Food and Wine Pairing Dinner

Ian and I are excited for the dinner

Over the weekend, my friends and I got together for our first wine and food pairing dinner. Although we did not have a central theme, we still envisioned this dinner to be somewhat classy and refined. However, once we arrived at our friends' house, we realized that our dining table for the night was a large ping pong table. If that does not scream college, then I don't know what does... so much for classy!

As mentioned previously, we did not have a theme for our wine dinner. Instead, we decided to take advantage of this time to try out the different wines that we learned about from class.

My boyfriend, Nick G., and I prepared the first dish together. Because our friend, Nick S., wanted to try a Gerwurztraminer, I decided that a spicy chicken lettuce wrap would be a good way to go. I had this exact wine earlier in the semester with Pad Kee Mao, a spicy Thai drunken noodle dish, so I knew that the spicy Asian flavors in the lettuce wraps would pair well with the Dopff & Irion Gerwurztraminer.

Dopff & Irion Gerwurztraminer

On its own: Distinct leechee aroma and flavor. Pleasantly sweet with balanced acidity and a tart finish. Buttery texture.

When paired with the chicken lettuce wraps: Wow! This pairing took the Gerwurztraminer to a new level. The leechee taste was still present, but it also gave way to other flavors like lemon zest and ginger. The wine caused the lettuce wraps to become spicier and left a lingering heat on my tongue.

Bright and shining Gerwurztraminer in the glass

Our friend, Hasan, contributed the second dish, a spaghetti dish with spicy beef meatballs, which was paired with a Monte Antico Toscana (85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot) that our friend Chris bought for the dinner.

Monte Antico Toscana

On its own: Bouquet of oak and blackberry. Full bodied and well balanced. This wine starts off tasting like black cherries, but transforms into an earthy mid pallet, which concludes with a medium and bitter finish. Subtle tannins.

When paired with spaghetti and meatballs: The oak flavor in the wine becomes more pronounced after pairing with the spaghetti. The two compliment each other well and rounds out the flavor of this wine. It is not as tannic, but becomes chalky and acrid instead. Although it stopped drying out my tongue, the rest of my mouth is still left with that drying feeling. Minerally texture. I think I enjoyed this wine more before it was paired with the spaghetti.

Monte Antico Toscana in glass

Ian cooked the final dish, a deep fried salted pork loin, while Nick G. provided the Castello di Montespertou Chianti Montespertoli for the pairing.

Castello di Montespertou Chianti Montespertoli

On its own: Not as dark as the previous wine, but still quite dark. Herbs and strong black fruit aromas. This Chianti smelled particularly hot. Upon tasting, it was very alcloholic. Although there were medium tannins at first, the tannins quickly built.

When paired with the deep fried salted pork loin: The wine became more complex with food. A black cherry flavor comes out of the wine and makes the wine less tannic, while the saltiness is intensified in the pork.

Chianti in the glass

I did not get the refined experience that I was hoping for when we first planned this dinner, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my night with friends. My favorite pairing was Gerwurztraminer and the spicy chicken lettuce wraps, but maybe I am a bit biased because I cooked the dish. Overall, I thought the night was a success. We tried some delicious wines and filled up on food, but most importantly, I think we got a lot out of the tasting. I learned a lot of things about the wines that I couldn't have if I had just read a textbook or a wine review.

Nick G. finishing up his glass of Chianti

[amandadovewine]

Heinz Eifel Shine - Tasting

Name: Heinz Eifel Shine Variety: Riesling Country: Germany Year: 2012 Price: $9.95 Winery Review: This drier-styled Riesling is bright, fruity and floral with crisp acidity and clean flavors of apple, pear and peach that compliment its stony minerality and earthy complexity. It serves well as an aperitif and matches a wide variety of foods, like lighter salad dishes, shellfish, cream sauces and also anything with a touch of spice.

My Review: Believe it or not, but I was a big fan of this Riesling. The nose was both floral and fruity, but I liked that the wine wasn't very sweet. Although it began with a sweet start, it ended with a pleasant acidic bite. Light bodied and nicely balanced. I would like to have this one again.

[amandadovewine]

Atlas Cumbres - Tasting

Name: Atlas Cumbres Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon Region: Mendoza Country: Argentina Year: 2010 Price: $15 --> $6.95 Winery Review: Intense red color with violet highlights, with clean, fresh and complex aromas of berries, plums, figs and pepper. Strong personality is in perfect balance with a medium body and pleasant tannins. Ideal for: red meats, cheeses and strong sauces. My Review: I was pleasantly surprised to find that this wine looked, smelled, and tasted like a Syrah more than a Cabernet Sauvignon. Distinct blackberry preservatives and spice on the nose. Medium body and subtle tannins, but delicious. I would definitely have this wine again. If I didn't have to buy a wine for the wine and food pairing dinner, then I would've bought this one.

[amandadovewine]

Georges DuBoeuf - Tasting

Name: Georges DuBoeuf Variety: Beaujolais Nouveau Region: Beaujolais Country: France Year: 2013 Price: $14 -> $3.95 Winery Review: Balanced and light creamy, offering pretty flavors of plum sauce and raspberry coulis threaded with hints of ground spice. Elegant with a floral finish. Drink now. My Review: A few weeks ago, I tasted this wine and said I wasn't a huge fan. I was surprised to find that the aromas and flavors had changed significantly even though it hasn't aged for very long. Although I still smelled strawberry and banana yogurt on the nose, it no longer smelled like a freshly opened yogurt container...it was as if someone had left out the yogurt for an hour or so. Aside from that, the flavor was exactly "raspberry coulis threaded with hints of ground spice" It was interesting to find that the sweetness was muted only after a few weeks. Not bad, but still not crazy about this wine.

[amandadovewine]

Bricco dei Tati - Tasting

Name: Bricco dei Tati Variety: Rose Region: Piemonte Country: Italy Year: N/A Price: $7.95 Winery Review: Fresh with aromas of strawberries, cherries and rose petals. This is ideal with shellfish, salads, chicken, and with appetizers. My Review: Strawberries and hints of potpourri on the nose. Very fruity, but I quite enjoyed the strawberry flavors and the light body of this wine. I would definitely have it again with a salad or light appetizers like the winery review suggests.

[amandadovewine]

Frascati Volpetti - Tasting

Name: Frascati Variety: Malvasia, Trebbiano, Greco Region: Volpetti Country: Italy Year: N/A Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Straw yellow in color with a soft, delicate perfume, fruitful flavor, dry and harmonious taste. Perfect with appetizers, soups, fish.

My Review: This wine smells of citrus fruits. Light bodied with floral and fruit flavors. Nice acidic bite. I did not have this wine with any food, but I would try it again. Decent price point too.

[amandadovewine]

Tasting - Jam Jar

Name: Jam Jar Variety: Muscat Region: N/A Country: South Africa Year:  2011 Price: $8.95 Winery Review: 100% Muscat. Soft floral hints add depth to the otherwise straightforward ripe peach and nectarine aromas. There's a good balance in the mouth, with a nice acidic lift and slightly lime edge to cut the sweetness on the finish and close with the faintest hint of honeydew melons. My Review: I definitely got the nectarine aroma and ripe peach aroma mentioned in the winery review, but upon tasting, it reminded me a lot of those fruit cocktail tangerine cups. It didn't taste like alcohol. It was more like a sweet fruit juice. This wine was way too sweet for my liking. Almost headache inducing. I'm not a fan of these sweet wines and won't be trying it again anytime soon.

[amandadovewine]

Tasting - Entrada

Name: Entrada Variety: Malbec Region: N/A Country: Chile Year: 2012 Price: $5.95 Winery Review: Firm and structured, this is a solid wine, laced with mineral acidity and tight tannins. It has a juicy ,blackberry fruit component cutting through the texture. My Review: This wine has an interesting aroma that reminded me of shesha. Very fruity, but smokey too. Tastes like blueberry muffins and oak. The mid-pallet is slightly chalky and acrid. Nice tannins in the finish.

[amandadovewine]

Tasting - Vina Borga

Name: Vina Borga Variety: Borsao Region: Campo de Borja Country: Spain Year: 2012 Price: $6.95 Winery Review: 86 Points - Robert Parker Also made from 100% Grenache, the 2012 Vina Borgia was fermented and aged in stainless steel. Its medium dark ruby color is followed by abundant notes of strawberries and black cherries offered in a straightforward, medium-bodied, soft, hedonistic, round style. It is hard to believe a wine this good can sell for $7 a bottle. Enjoy it over the next 1-2 years. My Review: Black cherries on the nose. Medium bodied. Slightly sour, but still pleasant. This wine is well balanced and tastes of dark berries. I wish it had a longer finish, but this is a solid wine considering the low price. I would try it again.