Madison Wines a Lot

  Enticing aromas of strawberry, rose petal, and cherry with complementary notes of toasty oak, fresh berry, and cocoa, led to a delicate, lingering finish.  Black Box, Pinot Noir, 2021, California, $5.79 Nicely spicy with some tannins. Red fruits like cherry, strawberry, and I even think a little plum. Juicy and jammy... good back porch Pinot and for $3.00? No contest! I thought the pinot noir was very dry. It had a very blackberry and cherry flavor base to it. The after taste was very metallic and like a cherry cough medicine. 

  Wine 1- Honey Moon- Viognier, California 2021, $5.99 "A “lush, full-bodied wine with peach, apricot and honeysuckle aromas” and “a luscious honey, mango and nectar finish,” this white Viognier wine produced in Manteca, California is bright, refreshing, and sweet-fragranced.  Highly drinkable and enjoyable during summer meals with chicken, seafood or even coconut-based curries, we loved pairing this wine with our own little Hawaiian-themed barbeque with chicken, rice and mac salad." The wine was very bright, and airy. It had notes of apricot, honeysuckle and pear. It was fairly dry, but still had some sweet notes. With cheese- I tried it with a apricot stilton. I think it made the wine kind of bitter and the apricot flavors seemed to clash. The cheese melted in my mouth. It would have been better if it was more melted or if it had more salt to it.  Wine 2-Josh, Chardonnay, Hopland California, 2021, $6.99 " oak butter vanilla but also some fruit, pear and some citrus but...

  Stella Rosa, Stella Peach, Moscato grapes with other varietals, Piedmont, Italy, unknown vintage or price.  "Talk about an absolutely gorgeous wine! I can really taste peach and almond in every single sip. Goes exceptionally well with chilled shrimp &/or warm scallops. Plus it’s gluten free and a low alcohol wine at only 5% by volume."- Elicia Orsbourn. I enjoyed this semi sparkling wine. It says it is semi-sweet though I feel as though it was very sweet. I would compare it to drinking the juices out of a peach fruit cup. There were some slight notes of some kind of nut within it, as well as almost a peach-ring kind of sugar after taste. It was not dry whatsoever, and paired fairly well with the fat of the ham that I made for dinner. 

  Label: Chateau Ste Michelle, Sweet Riesling Chateau Ste Michelle, Harvest Select, Sweet Riesling, USA, State of Washington, 2021, $9. "I normally would not prefer a sweet Riesling, but this one changed my perspective. Light easy drink, slightly sweet and a great drink without food. Can’t wait to have a glass as a summer wine on a hot July day. honey apple peach orange orange citrus butter tropical" by De Blade. I enjoyed this wine very much. The label said that it had mostly notes of peach within it, which was very apparent throughout. I also found notes of melon, some pear, a bit of grass, and a finishing of honey and smoke. It is rated as a medium sweet, and it held true to that. It had the same sweetness that a cheap bottle of wine would, but it was still so refreshing, light, and crisp so it was enjoyable. Unfortunately, I wish I was able to pair it with something better than chicken nuggets, but that is what was for dinner. 

 I recently visited Gatlinburg, Tennessee for Spring break. While there, I visited many wineries as they offer free samples on every corner! I participated in a wine trail that allowed to try a wide variety of wines and test my tasting and conversationalist skills. It was really exciting to be able to talk to the servers about the wine on a deeper level than just "that's good" or "that's sweet". I even had a server compliment my process on tasting wine! I taught my friend how to taste wine properly as well which made the experience so much more interesting. This particular wine is from Sugarland Winery. It is a Riesling blend, and labeled as a semi-sweet white. It was easily one of the nicer wines I have ever had, and I really enjoyed it. It has a deep flavor, which I found interesting for a Riesling. It was very smooth but still had a fairly full body. There was a strong taste melon and citrus, with a strong honey after taste. We ended up buying a bottle of...

 My mom gifted me a Stella Rosa wine tasting pack for Christmas, and I've decided that this class is the perfect opportunity to break into it. The pack comes with 5 splits, ranging in flavor and types, but all are sparkling wines. I have enjoyed sparkling wines for awhile as I always found it sweeter and more enjoyable. I selected at random and first chose the Moscato rose. I have been a fan of Moscato and rose, but have never had them combined. I of course chilled the wine, as per recommendation with sparkling wines. It smelled very floral, though I am getting over a cold so I can not fully smell still. The taste seemed floral as well, with the very fruity undertone. There was a strong taste of peach and pear, with a bit of honey. There was an underlying bitterness though that seemed almost like biting into a flower. It was enjoyable, but a bit too sweet after awhile. The amount of carbonation was nice though, as it was just sparkling enough, without feeling like I'm drinking ...