100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 30 Blind Tasting of Pinot Noir & Pinotage Part 2

30. Blind Tasting of Pinot Noir & Pinotage Part 2



Two red wines were tasted blind, one labeled as B and one labeled as C. We first tasted wine C in Part 1 and Blog 29. You can view the video Part 1 for the tasting and read Blog 29, then come and join us by viewing the video Part 2 and reading Blog 30.

The Pinot Noir was picked to be comparable to the Pinotage. However, the Pinot Noir was $29.99 and the Pinotage was $12.99. The Pinotage was literally the only one in my city at the time and I don’t know why. It is a mass produced wine and may not represent the best that Pinotage has to offer to our taste buds. Pinotage is a cross between the Pinot Noir grape and the Cinsaut. Cinsaut being from Rhone. Cinsaut in South Africa is called Hermitage, giving Pinotage the end of its name. Pinotage has its origins in South Africa.

Let’s see what we had to say about wine B in comparison to wine C.

1. Visual Inspection: Color and Texture (Legs)
2. Aroma (Smell)
3. Flavor and Texture (Taste, Mouthfeel)
4. Finish (Lasting Impression, Completeness)

Lindsay thinks B is not a brown color but a dinghy red color and smells like smoky sausage. I think B smells like the Philadelphia Eagles, toast or coffee. Alma thinks B smells musky, and like a sweaty man. Patti thinks B is light and fruity with toast and coffee as well. She likes it. It stands out because it is different and distinct. B is more memorable. For us, it had a unique nose.

Alma felt that the strength of the aroma did not match with the taste of the wine. She thinks that it smells like a South African Cabernet. It is too big on the nose with a strong aroma and too light on the body and taste. B deserves a heavier body. I think that B was unique and different and I loved the nose on it. I couldn’t get past the nose. Alma and Lindsay did not like the finish. Patti liked the finish. Alma felt that C tasted more like table wine.

I would like to taste a boutique winery Pinotage from South Africa and compare it to another Pinotage from a different country. The Pinotage had a different nose than we are used to in the United States.

The California Pinot Noir has some oak, the Pinotage has some toast. The nose on the Pinotage was distinctive and we liked it. And then, I was distracted by the smell of some caramel in the Pinot Noir.

Lindsay and Alma liked C, the Pinot Noir and Patti liked B, the Pinotage. Lindsay said that if she was having a smoky cheese or some Gouda though, she would pick the Pinotage. It depends on the situation. We all felt the nose on the Pinotage was too big for its taste.

All of the girls have had wine tastings but none have taken any wine classes. They like to drink a variety of wines and have had some skill in tasting wine but not studying it. They were just going by trial and error from having parties, entertaining, and trying to pair food with wine.

This Pinotage was unique, but lacked in its finish and what it had to offer. It needed to offer us women just a little bit more. It was not standing up for its name. Alma said that this Pinotage was used on an airline as the official airline wine. The Pinot Noir to me did not live up to its reputation of a California Pinot Noir. We would like to see a good Pinot Noir from Oregon. Patti took the bottle of Pinotage and did not give it back. We have not seen nor heard from her since.
Just three girls trying two wines! Oh, make that four girls. I forgot about me!
In Blog 31, I will let you know the names of these two wines, what their Web sites have to say about them and tell you about the labels.

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