Blog 83 Are you a petite wine taster or a big wine drinker?
A petite wine taster likes to try different wines. A big wine drinker likes to drink more of one wine.
A petite wine taster can spit when trying a great wine. A big wine drinker will swallow when trying a great wine.
A petite wine taster likes to match up their wines with what they are eating and may not finish a bottle. A big wine drinker wants to drink more, and more, and more wine with their meal and finishes several bottles at dinner.
A petite wine taster will leave some wine in their glass. A big wine drinker will never leave wine in their glass.
A petite wine taster will be sober after a full day of tasting. A big wine drinker will be sloshed after a full day of tasting.
A petite wine taster will take their time trying a wine. A big wine drinker will have their glass finished and ask for more before anyone else gets a chance.
A petite wine taster will not want to drink a bad wine. A big wine drinker will drink any wine if they are out of the wine that they like.
A petite wine taster is the one that is still standing at the end of the day. A big wine drinker is the one that you will find asleep in their glass.
Tell me what you think! I want to hear from you! Give me your thoughts! Bon Vin! Veronica
When looking at what makes one wine better than another, you need to look in all directions. You need to look at the quality of the grapes, the terroir and region the grapes are grown in, the winemaker’s background and the consistency at which a great wine is made.
You can also look at the type of wine you are making, what additives you are using, if any, the way the grapes are grown including pesticides, watering, or are you a green certified winery? Are you pruning the vines? How are you storing your wine and for how long? When do you release the wine? Are you using new oak, old oak, a combination or no oak?
The passion that is put into making wine is the most important component that makes one wine better than another. You have to care more about the wine’s quality than the quantity. You have to care more about the taste than the value.
You should not have to make fancy labels in order to sell your wine, but your label can’t be cheap either. You should talk about the wine that is in the bottle on the label as well as the terroir, and list the percentage of each grape varietal on the label if your wine is from California. You should let the wine buyer know what they are buying by looking at the label.
What influences me into liking one wine over the other is the temperature of the wine, where I am drinking the wine, and who I am drinking the wine with. And, the wine just has to taste great!
Tell me what you think! I want to hear from you! Give me your thoughts!
33. Robertson Winery Tasting: Pinotage vs. Cabernet Sauvignon Part 1
The Three Wine Girls are ready to taste some more wine. You can view the video Part 1to go with Blog 33 and video Part 2 to go with Blog 34. Pinotage is not pronounced “pinot-tauge,” it is pronounced “pin-oh-tauge,” according to a good friend of mine. Here in America, we don’t say anything right. Spain should really be Espana and Italy should really be Italia. Being American, it is hard to pronounce other country names. So, we have officially decided to pronounce it correctly, hopefully we have it right this time.
Our tasting consisted of the Pinotage and the Cabernet Sauvignon. Both wines are vintage 2008, from Robertson Winery in South Africa. Both bottles were about $9.99 each and are drink now wines. The Pinotage is made using Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. Cinsaut is pronounced “sin-sew” in South African and in France, the spelling is Cinsault and the pronunciation is “san-sew”. Cinsaut and Pinot Noir used to be called Hermitage in South Africa but it is now known in South Africa as Pinotage.
We did not do a blind tasting this time. We compared the B wine, which was the Pinotage, to the C wine, which was the Cabernet Sauvignon to see which one we like better. The night before the tasting, I had a Cabernet Sauvignon from Robertson Winery that was a 2007. I don’t know if wine critics want to hit me over the head for loving it so much, or if it’s a brilliant choice. I think that the wine is affordable and one of my favorites. The 2007 Robertson did not have a twist cap like the 2008. The Three Wine Girls feel that it is nostalgic to have a cork. It’s a ceremony! What is the world thinking with the twist cap? It is fun to try to find a bottle opener in the middle of the night.
Lindsay started the tasting with wine B first, the lighter wine, the Pinotage. We got some air in our glasses by swirling glass B around, looking for color and clarity. We then held it up to the light with our white background. We felt the color of wine B looked like a plum. Alma felt it was not that thin. She liked the smell and felt it was not that strong. She really liked the nose on it and felt it was smoky. Veronica noted that it had toasty oak and a great smell. She also smelled banana, chocolate and coffee and it tasted that way too. Alma felt it had the perfect amount of sweaty man. It tasted pretty light, medium bodied with soft tannins. It was not bitey, it tasted plumy and was pretty good with a nice mild finish. It also lingers a little bit.
I like to look at my fingers through the wines by putting my fingers behind the glass to see the weight of the wine. If you can see your fingers through the wine, it may not be very heavy. The Cabernet Sauvignon and the Pinotage were not heavy because we could see our fingers through the wine in the glass. We have those darker colors in many of our California Cabs including dark, rich, deep reds and heavy oak with spice.
We felt the pin-o-tauge was…mmmm…very good! Part 2 is the next blog where we will taste the Cabernet Sauvignon.
Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me. Bon Vin! Veronica
