100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 34 Robertson Winery Pinotage vs. Cabernet Sauvignon Part 2

34. Robertson Winery Pinotage vs. Cabernet Sauvignon Part 2

We tasted the 2008 Robertson Pinotage from South Africa and thought it tasted mmm mmm good. We then tasted the 2008 Robertson Cabernet Sauvignon. I wanted to compare it to the 2007 that I had a few days before.

Alma jump-started the tasting. She felt that wine C, the Cab, had a smoky and spicy nose. Veronica felt it smelled like cassis. Alma felt the taste was good, smooth and silky on the tongue, and barely medium-bodied like skim milk or 1 per cent. Lindsay and Veronica felt that it was heavier than the Pinotage. It had a lighter texture. The colors for both wines are see-through plum. The taste to Veronica was plumy and berry.

Alma and Lindsay felt that they would like the Pinotage with a steak and cracked pepper. Lindsay felt the Pinotage also would be good with a smoked sausage or pork. Veronica loved the nose on the Pinotage. She felt the Cabernet Sauvignon had a heavier nose, taste and mouthfeel. Alma felt that both were good and it depended on the occasion, but she liked the spices in the Cabernet.

Lindsay thought that the Pinotage had a unique nose. I told her that our viewers wanted to know what we meant by unique and distinct. We are used to our United States wines and our California wines. The nose is different on the South African wines. They have more smoky and toasty notes that we are not used too. The chocolate and plum taste has flair to it. The color is also different, when we have a heavy Cab, our Cab is very heavy and very dark. They are just big.

Veronica can tell the difference between the 2007 and the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon from Robertson. The 2007 is better. Veronica would not bring it in to share with the group, because it is her favorite and she is stingy. (We all know that I am Veronica.)


Veronica liked the Pinotage better and Alma and Lindsay liked the Cab better for an everyday choice. The Three Wine Girls then said “Cheers!”


We decided that we were not done with the video and we started talking even more. Then, Ryan (“the guy” behind the camera) snuck in when the girls left and stated, “for the record, I was saying ‘pin-oh-tauge’ the whole time, not ‘pinot-tauge’!” The nerve of him!

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 33 Robertson Winery Tasting: Pinotage vs. Cabernet Sauvignon Part 1

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

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 31 What are the names of the two wines, what do their Web sites have to say about them and what’s on the label?

31. What are the names of the two wines, what do their Web sites have to say about them and what’s on the label? In Blog 29 and Blog 30, we tasted two wines. C was the Pinot Noir and B was the Pinotage. Alma and Lindsay liked the Pinot Noir better than the Pinotage. Patti liked the Pinotage better. Let’s look at the names of the two wines.
Wine C:

Laetitia
Harvest Moon Ranch Reserve
Pinot Noir
Arroyo Grande Valley
2008

Wine B:

The Winemaster’s Reserve
Pinotage
Vintage 2007
Wine of Origin Western Cape
Product of South Africa

Let’s look and see what the Web sites had to say about them:

Laetitia Vineyard and Winery

The Laetitia Vineyard and Winery is located four miles from the Pacific Ocean in the Arroyo Grande Valley AVA. The vineyard is in an area of California’s coolest grape growing region. The estate sits on 1,888 acres with 620 acres currently planted to grape vines with Pinot Noir being the most widely planted varietal. They also plant Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Tempranillo, Syrah, Pinot Gris and White Riesling.

I did not find specific tasting notes on this bottle of wine but they did have notes on their Estate Pinot Noir. The tasting notes on their Estate Pinot Noir:
“Dark mulberry tones and aromas of cranberry and spiced plum, this 2008 vintage Pinot Noir is rich and medium-bodied. Youthful flavors of pomegranate, sandalwood and red cherries are married beautifully with earthy cola and smoke. The palate is framed with bright, crisp acidity and will age gracefully. Pair with salmon croquettes, braised lamb shanks or wild mushroom risotto.”

Nederburg

Nederburg is a winery located in South Africa. It is an award winning winery. The appeal according to their Web site lies in their ability to make classically structured wine with fruit-rich flavors.


The Winemaster’s Reserve Collection:

“Nederburg’s core super-premium wines are accommodated in The Winemaster’s Reserve ensemble, named to honour the long-established tradition of winemaking excellence. These classic wines treasure the integrity of our grapes in every step of the wine-growing and winemaking journey. Every glass demonstrates an unwavering commitment to world-class vineyard and cellar skills. This wine is made from 100% Pinotage grapes.”

“The grapes were sourced from vineyards in and around the Western Cape. Tasting notes: Plum and cherry aromas with slight oak spices in the background. Well-balanced, rich fruit flavors with soft tannins and a lingering finish. Excellent served with pasta, pizza, roast leg of lamb, bobotie and even chocolate.”

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 29 Blind Tasting of Pinot Noir & Pinotage Part 1

29. Blind Tasting of Pinot Noir & Pinotage Part 1

Video Part 1


1. Visual Inspection: Color and Texture (Legs)

Two red wines were tasted blind, one labeled as B and one labeled as C. We first tasted wine C. You can view the video Part 1 for the tasting or read along.
We use a lot of our senses when we taste wine. We use the sense of smell, touch, taste and feel. Everyone has a different palate and may like different wines. Some may like a lighter wine with fruit, while others may like a heavy wine with spice and oak. There are so many different combinations; these are not the only choices. Let’s get to the tasting.

We used tasting mats so that they could look first against the white background to perform a visual inspection of the wine. They looked at the color of the wine and swirled the wine in the glass to view the texture and color. They put the glass down on the white paper and swirled it by the stem for a better swirl. You do not want to swirl the glass from the bowl because it will change the temperature of the wine. How does the wine look in the glass? Is it light, is it heavy? Does the wine have legs? Is she walking?

2. Aroma (Smell)

We then went to the sense of smell. They swirled the glass again, sticking their nose deep into the glass towards the upper part of the glass. I like the Bordeaux glass or even the Burgundy glass for smelling reds.

Try to describe what you smell in that wine? In wine C, some of the terms that they used to describe the wine were; woody, wood chips, earthy, cherry and berry. You might smell some type of fruit since it is made out of grapes and made from the earth. You may have a fruity or berry smell as well as a possible earthy smell. You do not want to have a taint or corky smell to it. If it smells like old newspapers stop and return the bottle.

3. Flavor and Texture (Taste, Mouthfeel)

They swirled it a little bit again, aired it out a little, to let it breathe. The temperature needs to be just right to get a better mouthfeel. The length of time it has been left out prior to tasting the wine is also important. You want to feel the wine in your mouth and taste the wine. Is it a heavy wine? Is it medium? Does it have texture and body to it? Is it a light wine? Both whites and reds can have a heavy feel in the mouth. Do you taste anything? Do you taste any oak?

One of the wines we were tasting, was an African wine and one was a California wine. Most of the time, the California wines will have some oak in their wine. The South African wine may also have some toast or oak.

Lindsay felt it was pretty light and tasted like a Pinot Noir. Alma felt it might be a Pinot Noir or Syrah. Patti felt a medium to heavy taste, and maybe an oaky taste. If you are a heavy wine drinker it might feel lighter and if you are a light wine drinker it may feel heavier. Alma and Lindsay thought that it tasted good but Patti felt that it did not taste good and wanted to know if anyone wanted it. I think it tasted light and flowed in the glass. I didn’t see any heavy legs and I thought it tasted ok, which is not a good word for me when describing wine.

4. Finish (Lasting Impression, Completeness)

The last thing that I look at in a wine towards the end of the tasting is…does it have a finish? Does it finish? It might have a cute body in it but no finish or does it finish what it was trying to accomplish? Does the flavor linger or does it end? C is just a nice drinking, easy going, light wine. Patti said she must be having an off day. She did not like it. Alma and Lindsay thought C was good.

In Part 2, we will see what wine B has to offer and we will cast a vote for the winner!

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica