Tasting - Marz & Venus Chardonnay

Name: Mars & Venus
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: 2014
Price: $5.95

Winery Review:
A very nice value Chardonnay that comfortable over-delivers vs. its modest price tag. No oak here, just bushels of clean, crisp, Chardonnay apple and stone fruit with a hint of caramelized pineapple. Juicy and clean, this is a mid-weight white that's just perfect for parties or weeknight sipping.

My Review:
This wine definitely smelled like some sort of muted grapefruit. It had a weird heavy smell at the beginning - that heavy smell wasn't anything specific, but that smell muted the rest of the nose. You can also smell the heat on the end of the sniff with a touch of vanilla. One tasted, the sour smell was the only thing that stuck out. It tasted like a sour bath towel that you left in your bathroom for a while. It was super tarte and dry, and over all I did not find this wine to be enjoyable. This was tasted without food.

Tasting - The wine that opened my eyes (special edition)

Name: Alvear Solera
Variety: Pedro Ximinez 
Region: Andalucia
Country: Spain
Year: 1927
Price: $27

In the movie Sideways they talk about a bottle of wine that opens your eyes and changes your view, for me this was it. Every week this semester, my roommates and I go to Vintage Cellar for their wine tastings, and this time we got a store manager (possibly the owner) to administer our tasting. While the people at the rest of the table seemed to hurry through the tasting, we took our time, striking up a conversation with this man. At the end of it, he started talking about different wines and asked us if we wanted to taste 90 year old wine.

So I tasted this $90 year wine, in sweatpants.

And it completely changed my viewpoint on wine. The way they age it, where it comes from - these were all things that I was completely interested in. The fact that 90 years of other people have drank this wine literally blows my mind, and I am utterly in love with it. I felt the intense need to shake the administrators hand and say thank you after I drank it - I cannot stress how cool an experience this was.

This desert wine smelled fantastic. It smelled rich with a scent that lingered in your nose for a long time. But the taste is the best part. The flavor was coffee and toffee and chocolate all rolled into a great flavor that was rich and syrupy and heavy and supremely enjoyable. The administrator said that often when he and his wife are eating simple things like nuts and chocolate they will have a little bit of this and it pairs so nicely. This desert wine can only be drunk in small batches because of its extreme richness, but I am obsessed with it. This wine changed my view on wine.

Tasting - Beringer Chenin Blanc

Name: Berginer
Variety: Chenin Blanc
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2014
Price: $5.95

Winery Review:
A fresh green-apple aroma an vivid citrus and crisp apple flavors are supported by vibrant acidity in this medium-bodied wine. The texture is smooth but crisp, making lots of good food pairings come to mind, from pre-meal cheese, to salads, seafood and veggie pastas.

My Review:
This wine tasted like pears, apples, and like grapes who have sat out in the heat that day. It has a more richer smell for a chenin blanc than I expected. The color was very translucent. When tasted it was sweet with a more bitter en taste to it. It seems like a good dessert wine cause it doesn't taste like sugar water, it actually has some substance. The aftertaste was nice as well, not too sweet or bitter. This was tasted without food.

Tasting - Carraia Aglianico

Name: Carraia
Variety: Aglianico
Region: Campagna
Country: Italy
Year: 2013
Price: $15 (Sale $9.95)

Winery Review:
Produced in the Campania region of Italy, this Aglianico has delicious black fruit flavors with hints of licorice, volcanic soil and tar notes. Classic in nature, yet in a lighter, more crowd-pleasing style, the Carria is made of the ancient Aglianico grape. This black grape originated in Greece and today is widely grown in Basilicata and Campania.

My Review:
This had a more richer smell with hints of tobacco. The best descriptor would be a stale smell of an old man who had smoked for real. The label on the bottle was also pretty attractive and classic. When tasted it was super bitter with a sweet touch. The wine seemed to taste just like it smelled and they correlated. There was a tarte blueberry aftertaste. This wine seems to go bitter to sweet to sour. Not my favorite wine, and this was tasted without food.

Tasting - Siema Vino Rosso

Name: Siema Vino Rosso
Variety: Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo
Region: Piemonte
Country: Italy
Year: Unknown
Price: $10 (Sale $6.95)

Winery Review:
Intense ruby red with soft garnet nuances in the glass, the Rosso is intriguingly fresh, fruity and spicy on the nose. Perfectly round and balanced, the wine is particularly soft and dry. Pair with simple dishes like fresh cheese, ham, salami, or pizza for a divine culinary experience.

My Review:
To me, there was a lot of heat in this smell, but that is distracting from the rest of the smells that this wine has to offer. There is a little chocolate and little bit of dark red fruit like pomegranate in the smell, but those smells are very small. When sipped. there was a bitter beginning with a sweet taste on the mid palate. This wine almost had an earthy flavor, like the floor of a forest. It was enjoyable. This was tasted without food.

Tasting - Dom de la Foret

Name: Dom de la Foret
Variety: Grenache Cinsault Rose de Mediterranee
Region: Provence
Country: France
Year: Unknown
Price $13 (Sale $8.95)

Winery Review:
A stony, pure style, with a warm paving stone note framing the dried cherry and rose water notes. The long, watermelon rind - inflected finish is finely tuned. Shows length and cut, staying lacy in feel. 50% Cincault and 50% Grenache.

My Review:
This wine smells almost of bubble gum but not quite. It smells like a pretty peach color with a sweet pleasing hint of watermelon. It was a nice smell but nothing special, nothing really stuck out. The taste was more dry for a rose with a clean finish that is very nice. When you finish this sip, the wine is gone and the flavor does not linger. There was a little bit of watermelon flavor, but just a touch. Overall it seems this wine would pair nicely with light lunch food. This wine was tasted without food.

Tasting - Bricco dei Tati

Name: Bricco dei Tati
Variety: Cortese
Region: Piemonte
Country: Italy
Year: 2013
Price: $10 (Sale $6.95)

The Washington Post Review:
Great value! Treat this terrific little white like a red: Don't chill it too much, then let it open for a half-our to develop its enticing tropical fruit flavors. It's dry, but the fruit gives an appealing illusion of sweetness. Great as an aperitif or with light seafood dishes.

My Review:
This wine smelled greatly of grapefruit and orange peel. This was not an outwardly fruity smell, but you can definitely smell the heat on the end of it. The taste is entirely too tarte with almost a sour flavor. So there are not any noticeable fruit flavors. This wine was pretty one dimensional and smelled better then it tasted in my opinion. This was tasted without food.