Ryan's Wine Blog

 Finca Bacara Time Waits for No One Mouvedre/Montrasell Spain 2021 $16.80      Wine.com describes this wine as " Deep garnet with violet rim. Powerful and intense ripe fruit aroma with hints of wood. Reminiscence of spicy and smoky notes that enhance the taste of Monastrell. Well-balanced and round tannins. Ripe black fruit notes are perfectly balanced with lightly toasted aromas. A long finish with a juicy acidity is working together harmoniously.  The perfect wine for a barbecue. Ideal to be paired with pasta, rice, braised beef, and lamb. Unrivaled with charcuterie and cheese board."     I actually quite liked this wine as well. It definitely had a smell of alcohol which was interesting, I couldn't really point out a smell outside of that. This wine was definitely fuller-bodied with a pretty high tannic structure, which is outlined as the most prominent characteristic of this grape in Wine Folly (pg. 140-141). I also got a hint of blackberry when si...

  Il Forte Cortese Gavi, Italy $17.85 Bowlerwine.com describes this wine as " 100% Cortese. The grapes used in this classic example of Gavi grew in the shadow of “Il Forte,” the iconic fortress that towers over the region’s namesake village. Cool temperature fermentation for 20 days, aging in steel through the winter months.  Bright, balanced, aromatic, fruity wine. Floral aromas, with delicate scents of lemon, green apple, honey; notes of almonds in the finish." Right off the bat, I knew that I was going to enjoy this wine. It had a nice caramel kind of scent on the nose which I actually enjoyed. With that being said I thought it was going to be very sweet and more along the lines of a desert-ish wine but it really wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. I couldn't find anything in my Wine Folly book for this varietal but it reminded me of the Riesling I drank a couple weeks ago since it was light, crisp, had strong fruity flavors aligning mostly with pear, but almost getting t...

  Rubus Old Vine Zinfandel Sonoma County, California 2019 $13.99      Wine Enthusiast describes this wine as  Quite oaky and smoky, this full-bodied wine slathers charred wood and cedar flavorings over modest fruit flavors for an extreme take on Zin.     My first impression of the scent of this wine was it was very strong on the nose, I definitely got some spice on the sniff. Going into the tasting, it was definitely a very moderately bodied red wine, with some spice and blackberry notes, aligning with the dominant flavors that Wine Folly lists for a Zinfandel (pg. 128-129). Interestingly enough, however, I got some chocolate flavors on the back end which I had never experienced before, and it was kind of nice. The tannin structure was also fairly moderate, which I enjoy more in red wine. Overall, I enjoyed drinking this wine, and for the price, I would definitely drink it again.

  Evviva Stella Mia Prosecco Italy 2019 $10.99      Tastings.com describes this wine as having a  pale straw color. Aromas of dried lemon, diced pear, straw, and bread dough with a supple, bright, dryish light body and a sleek, breezy panettone finish with no oak flavor. An easy-drinking Prosecco quaffer for any time indulging.     The first thing I got when sniffing this wine was pear, which is one of the dominant flavors as Wine Folly mentions in its section on Prosecco (pg. 52-53). I also got a little bit of a floral scent in the later few sniffs. Then sipping the wine pear was again a dominant flavor, but I also got a little bit of apple which was kind of a nice addition. This was a nice, light wine and the carbonation added a nice mouthfeel while making the wine taste a bit less sweet. While I enjoyed this wine, there was a little bit of a metallicy aftertaste which kind of threw me off, but overall would drink this again.     

Wines: 19 Crimes Snoop Dogg Cali Gold, Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling, 19 Crimes Snoop Dogg Cali Red Cheeses: Kroger cheese flight- sharp cheddar, chipotle gouda, dill rubbed fontal cheese This is the second time I'm writing this since I accidentally deleted the text when formatting the pictures so that's fun. But to preface, we didn't do the best job picking the cheeses to pair and none of them were overly good. The first wine that we tasted was Snoop Dogg's Cali Gold. I thoroughly enjoyed this sparkling wine and should've known that Snoop was going to create an enjoyable product. It was light, crisp, and had nice notes of pear to finish it off. When drinking it while eating the cheese, like I mentioned earlier there wasn't a good pairing. The cheddar overpowered it and that's all I tasted. The spice from the gouda was interesting and was made more intense by the carbonation. The fontal cheese brought out more of the pear flavors, but I personally did not en...

 HWY 5 Merlot California 2021 $4.95 - Aldi I couldn't really find much about this wine from any critics on the web, but Vivino characterizes this wine through multiple reviews as a medium dry merlot with black cherry, vanilla, and raspberry flavors. It was also mentioned that this would pair well with beef, lamb, and veal dishes. I really did not enjoy drinking this bottle. For a $5 bottle I guess I shouldn't have expected anything out of it, but went into tasting it with an open mind. The main flavor that I got from the first sips was an oaky-type flavor which makes sense since Wine Folly lists cedar as one of the main flavors of Merlot (pg. 116-117). Outside of that, there was almost a chocolate flavor there as well. Will definitely not be drinking this one again.

  Villanella Pinot Grigio Valdadige, Italy (Tre-Venezie growing region) 2022 $9.99 - Aldi Reverse Wine Snob describes this Pinot Grigio as " beginning with a pleasing aroma of peaches, melons, a little bit of stony minerality and a touch of petrol.  Taking a sip reveals a delicious and highly quaffable light-bodied wine which features lots of acidity and a smooth, lively mouthfeel. It's fairly straight forward stuff but done quite well and just like the last time we reviewed it, quite satisfying.  You'll also find lots of green apple, more melon and peach flavors with the fruit turning a touch tropical on the dry, fresh and satisfying finish." The initial smell from this wine was interesting for me personally, It was tough to gauge what exactly was going on at first, but after a few whiffs, I got a lot of melon with a little bit of a more stony back end aligning with Wine Follys description of the main flavors of Pinot Grigio (pg. 62-63). Getting into the taste, the b...