Sunday, April 20, 2025

Petit Verdot Reserve - American - Well Hung Vineyard

Varietal: Petit Verdot

Region: USA/Virginia

Country: USA

Year: 2021

Price: $49

Wine Review: Well Hung Petit Verdot | Vivino US

WineFolly: Considered a minor blending grape that is in Bordeaux, Petit Verdot has shown promise as a single-varietal wine in warmer climates where it makes smooth full-bodied red. This grape makes a bold and boisterous wine with a shorter finish which does well with roasted meats.

My Review: This wine was very smokey smelling and flavored, with hints of leather as well. I could taste plum, leather, smoke and hints of blackberry. This was a very dense dark wine, but very smooth and not terrible. 








 

Friday, April 11, 2025

Oak Leaf Vineyards - Merlot

Varietal: Merlot

Region: Napa Valley

Country: USA

Year: established in 2008 could not find a year, but assuming 2024

Price: $3.96

Wine Review: Oak Leaf Merlot | Vivino US

WineFolly:  Merlot can be a bit of a chameleon; ranging from fruity, smooth, and easy-going to age-worthy, full-bodied, and sophisticated. Often mistaken for its blending partner, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot is not one to be underestimated. 

My Review:  You can definitely smell and taste the vanilla in the wine. I also never had a Merlot before and it's not as dry as a Cabernet, which is nice and refreshing for a red wine. I can also taste plum, and even a little bit of the Oak barrel. It's a really good wine and next time the food I'd choose with this wine I think it would go well with steak and potatoes. 














Sunday, April 6, 2025

Winking Owl - Chardonnay

Varietal: Chardonnay

Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2023

Price: $3.08

Wine review: Winking Owl Chardonnay | Wine.com

WineFolly:  California is characterized by a climate similar to the Mediterranean making it ideal for full-bodied red wines. Areas closer to the Pacific Ocean receives layers of fog which allows great success with cooler climate varieties including whites and Pinot Noir. 

My review: It was slightly tangy with a lack of better words for it. However, I could taste the pears and apple flavors. It's not a bad wine, but it certainly wasn't my favorite.



 



Sunday, March 30, 2025

Wine Blog - Pacific Fruit Vineyards

Varietal: Melon

Region: Napa Valley

Country: USA

Year: 2022

Price: $3.99

Wine review: NV Burlwood Cellars Sweet Pineapple Pacific Fruits Vineyards, USA, California - CellarTracker

WineFolly: Melon, or Melon de Bourgogne is the grape of the Muscadet region of France, known for its lean, mineral, and saline driven white wines that pair well with seafood.

My Review: It's a very sweet, fruity, tropical wine. It has hints of vanilla, and I can definitely taste the pineapple. I would say that it was a dessert wine if I had dessert. It would go really well with a coconut cream pie. Not very bold, but it has flavor.


 



Thursday, March 20, 2025

Winking Owl - Cabernet Sauvignon

Varietal: Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon Blanc grapes

Region: Napa Valley

Country: USA

Year: 2025

Price: 3.95

Wine Review: Community Tasting Notes - 2015 Winking Owl Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon - CellarTracker

WineFolly: What to expect from a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: they are deeply colored and have dark fruit flavors, high in tannins, though sometimes they can be silky and smooth or dusty and firm. They have oak flavors, such as vanilla, toast and smoke. And after a few years they have aromas of fresh tobacco, dried fruit and cedar.

My Review: it is dry, but has sweet flavors, like blackberry and vanilla. It is a robust wine and not very bold. However, I really like it, and it tastes really good. I had it with spaghetti and it matched the spaghetti really well.






Wine Dinner Blog #2

 Meal and wine #1 - Rose and Pot roast with green beans and a white role

-  Grande Alberone, Rose Italia - Italian grapes, brilliant pink in color

- not dry, kind of sweet, very full, no wine stuck to the glass, little tangy, strawberry flavor

- Wine did actually pair well with this meal, I had looked up that rose would go with chicken but I didn't have that and so this pot roast was an experimentation. The roast took away some of the wine's tanginess, as well as pulled out the flavors in the roast. The wine made the meal less salty in flavor as well as made the meal and wine taste sweeter. The wine definitely made the meat taste better but with the green beans by themselves it was not great, it made everything bitter and taste funky. I don't think either overpowered the wine or the food it was a good in between and very well-balanced flavor.


Meal and Wine #2 - Moscato and Alfredo pasta

- Winking Owl Moscato - Muscat Blanc grapes

- sweet, like a sparkling cider but without the bubbles, pear/peach flavor with flowery after notes

- This wine bought out the flavor in the Alfredo sauce which really helped me to enjoy the meal more. I had made the Alfredo kind of bland, and it needs salt and pepper by itself, but with the wine, the flavors of pear and peach go really well with the white sauce bringing a more sweet and savory flavor moment. This wine pairs really well with this meal and the only thing that I would add would be some grilled chicken if I had thought of that. 


Meal and Wine #3 - Cabernet Sauvignon and Spaghetti and meatballs

 - Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon - cross between cabernet franc grapes and sauvignon Blanc grapes

- very robust, and dry, had notes of oak, blackberries and vanilla 

- This wine melds with the spaghetti and each doesn't really make one flavor stand out more than the other. The wine compliments the red peppers that I put into the spaghetti and the meatballs make the wine taste less dry and pulls more of the oak flavor out. 

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Wine Tasting - Winking Owl

 Winking Owl Moscato

Varietal - Muscat Blanc grapes

Region - Rosa Pablos

Country - USA

Year - 2022

Price - $4.99

Wine Review - 13 popular Kirkland liquors At Costco, ranked by online reviews

WineFolly - 5 different wine styles that go with Moscato. There is sparkling and semi-sparkling Moscato, Still Moscato, Pink Moscato, Red Moscato (red muscat), and the dessert wines of Moscato. 

My Review - It had pear/peachy flavors, as well as a sweet like candy taste. The after tones were not bitter like some dryer white wines like the Pinot Grigio's I've had. This wine was very smooth and tasted almost like a sparkling cider bit without the bubbles. Not a very bold wine, but it was certainly fun to drink.





Petit Verdot Reserve - American - Well Hung Vineyard

Varietal: Petit Verdot Region: USA/Virginia Country: USA Year: 2021 Price: $49 Wine Review:   Well Hung Petit Verdot | Vivino US WineFoll...