Tasting: Farmhouse Sangria

Name of the wine: Farmhouse Sangria 

Variety of grapes: not listed

Origin: Floyd, VA. Chateau Morrisette Winery 

Price: $12.99

Alcohol: 8.5%, Residual sugar 3.2%

Color: Mahogany/Cherry  (according to my color chart) 

Winery Review of the wine: Sweet red: We started with a sweet red wine and then infused it with cherry, orange, and lime to create this fun, fruity, summer wine. 

Aroma: Primary aroma is very citrusy and fruit forward, strong aroma of orange zest, and cherry limeade. Tart and sweet aroma of a fruit punch. 

Flavor: Citrus forward, zesty orange primary flavors, mixed with strong cherry and lime flavors, hints of lemon and berries. Pretty sweet. No alcohol/warming flavor. Not drying, refreshing. 

My review: I don't particularly enjoy the flavor of orange, in anything, and I didn't feel any different about it's primary aroma and flavor in this wine. I also didn't think it blended particularly well with the lime-forward flavor, or the strong cherry. I think without the orange, it would've made a nicer cherry limeade, but instead, I was left with a sort of artificial flavor in my mouth. The flavor mixture didn't feel too natural to me, and although I enjoyed it in a small serving, I wouldn't purchase a bottle of this wine. 

 

Tasting: Prosecco Rose D.O.C

 Name of the wine: Prosecco Rose D.O.C

Origin: Northern Italy (Veneto Italy)

 Vino Spumante extra dry millesimato

Grape variety: Prosecco (Glera) and Pinot Noir (typically 85/15)

Vintage: 2023

Alcohol: 11%

Price: $7

Color: light amber with a hint of pink, according to my color chart

Aroma: Floral aromas of rose are primary, with citrus aroma of orange and lemon. Fruity aroma of peach and strawberry. Hints of hibiscus in the aroma. Secondary aroma of vanilla. 

Grape varietal characteristics: Prosecco, "Italy's most popular sparkling wine is created with Glera grapes and grown in Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The traditional Italian pairing include antipasto, cured meats, and almonds, but if you really want to step up your game, try it with spicy asian food. Flavors of green apple, honeydew, pear, lager, and cream."  Prosecco DOC is basic quality Prosecco made in 9 provinces from Veneto and Friuli- Venezia Giulia regions. Serve in flute glass, ice cold. Prosecco Rose is typically about 15% Glera and 15% pinot noir. Pinot noir is "the world's most popular light-bodied red loved for its red fruit and spice flavors, flavors of cherry, raspberry, clove, mushroom, and vanilla." 

Taste: lightly sweet, bubbly, not mouth warming but is slightly bitter/sour, light-bodied, no warming sensation from alcohol, light to drink, medium finish with a slightly bitter, florally flavor with strawberry and raspberry notes. 

My review: I enjoyed this wine, and it's bubbly nature, despite it being on the drier side, which is outside my comfort zone. It was slightly more bitter than I prefer. The floral flavor stood out to me, which tasted and smelled sort of perfumed, but I did enjoy the berry notes as well as the notes of peach, vanilla, and even light hints of pineapple and grapefruit that I noticed. 

Tasting: Sneaky Peach

Name of the wine: Sneaky Peach 

Variety of the grapes: Not listed 

Origin: Fairlawn, VA. The New River Vineyard and Winery 

Vintage: 2023

Price: $19.50 

Winery Review of the wine: Our grape wine with natural flavor is sweet, rich, and bursting with peach flavor. Our wine is handcrafted in small batches and stainless steel aged. The perfect porch sipping wine. 

Color: Linden Blossom (according to my color chart) 

5% Residual Sugar

12% ABV

Aroma: Sweet aroma of honey, fruit forward of white cranberry, 

"grapey," candied, peaches, strawberries. The primary aroma is the 

"grapey" smell that can be compared to candied strawberries or 

white cranberries. The secondary smell is the peachy, honey 

smell. 

Grape Varietal Characteristics: N/A, though if I had to guess

what grape variety it is made of, I would guess concord. 

Taste: Extremely sweet and smooth, no taste of alcohol.

Tastes just like Welch's grape juice, if they made one that was peach.

The peach comes secondary, the "grapey" or candied strawberry, 

jammy, flavor comes first. Very fruity flavors and a light body.

Short finish. 

My review: I enjoyed this wine, and find it to be a refreshing, seamless, sweet wine. I like the added component of peach, it adds another layer in addition to the primary "grapey" flavor. I find it very easy to drink, and tastes like summer in a bottle. I think it would pair perfectly with some fresh fruit, and sunshine. I find that the peach flavored wines that I have tried at a couple of wineries tend to be the sweetest, and taste more like a dessert peach. I have tried a similar peach wine at Nashoba Valley Winery in MA and its called "After dinner peach," and I do find it slightly more syrupy and heavier than this sneaky peach one feels. I do like the name "Sneaky peach" because I think that peach isn't the primary flavor, and it does sneak up on you a bit. 

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Tasting: Cranberry Wine

Name of the wine: Cranberry Wine 

Variety of grapes: Not listed 

Origin: Fairlawn, VA: New River Vineyards and Winery 

Price: $21.50

Vintage: 2024

ABV: 12%

Winery Review of wine: This cranberry wine is light and sweet, with a distinctive aromatic finish. It is a limited edition winter favorite handcrafted in small batches. 

Color: Red Currant (according to my color chart) 

Aroma: Light and subtle smell of cranberry. Has a cider smell to it, 

reminds me of the cranberry seltzey I got from a brewery in MA.

Light lager aroma to it, but also sweet and slightly tart aroma. 

Grape varietal characteristics: N/A 

Taste: Primary and initial flavor is that of cranberry- primarily sweet with some tartness to it. Also faint taste of orange, a citrus flavor. Secondary taste after it sits in mouth, and the finish, is strongly spiced, cinnamon, nutmeg, and earthy. Some layers and complexity to the taste. Slightly longer finish. 

My review: I enjoyed this wine, and understand how it is a limited edition winter wine. It reminds me of the holiday season, and tastes like it would pair well with a thanksgiving or Christmas meal or dessert. The spiced notes aren't my personal favorite as I prefer a sweet wine all around. Personally, it feels a little out of season being February. I would prefer this wine in a small window of November-December, then switching to more spring tasting wines. I do appreciate the layers to this wine and that it isn't overly sweet. I also appreciate the lightness of it. I think it would pair wonderfully with cranberry sauce or cranberry brie bites. 

 

Tasting- Colonel Luze

 

Name of the wine: Colonel Luze 

Variety of the grapes: Not listed 

Origin: Fairlawn, VA: New River Vineyards and Winery 

Price: $21.50

Vintage: 2024

Winery review of the wine: Not your Mamma's sweet tea. This black tea wine is raspberry infused. Your porch sipping wine. 

Color: burnt orange/ onion skin (according to my color chart) 

Aroma: faint and fruity, primary aroma of raspberry, secondary aroma herbal and earthy notes of black tea. 

Grape varietal characteristics: N/A, as the variety of grapes used to make the wine is not listed on the wine bottle or pamphlet from the winery. 

Taste: On the front, it tastes very fruity, strong flavors of raspberry, but once you swallow, the finish has strong herbal notes of the black tea. It's mid sweetness, low acidity, mid-tannins, light taste of alcohol, low-medium bodied, with a few second finish. It is well balanced and has a nice flavor that is less simplistic with the herbal tea notes. 

My review: I really enjoyed this wine and it was the first one I tasted out of my flight. It stands out as the color is more of a burnt-orange, not a white, pink, nor red appearance. It smells very pleasant and mild, and filled my mouth with flavorful notes of raspberry, with a secondary flavor of the black tea that I tasted more so when I let it sit in my mouth and then swallowed it. I love raspberry iced tea, and any fruit iced teas, so I really enjoyed this. It tasted like a spiked iced tea, and I think that the wineries description of it being a porch sipping wine is perfect. A nice cold glass of this with a good book, sitting outside in the sun sounds like a perfect summer evening. 

Tasting- Depot Red

 

Name of the wine: Depot Red

Variety of the grapes: Concord Grapes

Origin: Fairlawn, VA: New River Vineyard and Winery

Price: $19.50 

Winery review of the wine: A light, fruity, fresh pressed flavor profile. It's adult grape juice! Pairs well with poultry and seafood dishes and gorgonzola cheese. 5% Residual Sugar. 

Appearance: Strawberry (According to my wine color guide attached) 

Alcohol content: 13%

Aroma: light and fruity aroma, primary aroma of grapes, similar to that of grape jelly, also a light floral smell of jasmine. Secondary aroma's are lightly earthy and slightly musky. 

Grape varietal characteristics: grape, plum sauce, musk, potting soil, cumin. originated in Concord, MA. Most commonly grown in US and Canada. Pair with peanut butter sandwich. 

Taste: Sweet and rich, strong flavors of grape, musky and spiced flavor on the back. Low-mid acidity, low-mid tannins, seamless alcohol taste, light-mid bodied, 0-1 second finish (very quick finish), well-balanced. 

My review: I enjoyed this wine. It reminded me of Chateau Morrisette's Red Mountain Laurel wine, but with some added complexity and secondary flavors. It had some aftertaste of muskiness, and spice, in a more subtle way than the cranberry wine I tried did, but much more so than the Red Mountain Laurel. I slightly disagree with the Winery's description of it being "adult grape juice" because of this added flavor profile with the notes of musk and slight spice. However, the primary and immediate flavor does match that description and I found it to be a great sweet wine. 

Tasting- Red Mtn. Laurel

 

Name of the wine: Red Mtn. Laurel

Variety of the grapes: Concord and Niagara Grapes

Origin: Floyd, Virginia 

Price: $10.99

Winery review of the wine: Fresh Concord and Niagara Grape flavors bursting with sweetness

Dark red in appearance 

Aromatic observation: primary aroma is grape, tertiary aroma is violet, smells sweet like grape juice, but more faint aroma than the Sweet Mtn. Laurel, a light smell in comparison, smells less sweet. 

Grape varietal characteristics: grape, plum sauce, musk, potting soil, cumin. originated in Concord, MA. Most commonly grown in US and Canada. Pair with peanut butter sandwich. 

Taste observation: sweet and tart, low-mid acidity, low-mid tannins- leaves my mouth feeling more dry than the sweet mountain laurel but very lightly, no warming/hot feeling in throat but has slightly more of an alcohol taste than the sweet mountain laurel, light-mid bodied- feels heavier than sweet mountain laurel but still not heavy, flavor is slightly bitter and not as smooth in comparison to sweet mountain laurel, length is longer than sweet mountain laurel as well, lingers more. Simple wine, does not feel very layered. Grape is primary flavor. 

My review: I really enjoyed this wine, but not as much as the Sweet Mountain Laurel, that I tried alongside it. I enjoyed the aroma more though, as it was lighter and sweeter, despite being more tart and less sweet in flavor. The residual sugar is 4.5% compared to the Sweet Mtn Laurel being 5.2% residual sugar. It's also slightly more alcohol which stood out slightly to me with the slight less sweetness. I would get this again. 

Tasting: Sweet Mtn. Laurel

 

Name of the wine: Sweet Mtn. Laurel

Variety of Grape: Niagara grapes 

Origin: Floyd, Virginia 

Price: $10.99

Winery review of wine: Ripe Niagara grape flavors with a sweet, crisp, and satisfying finish 

Grape varietal characteristics: Created from the Concord grape variety in Niagara County NY. Grown primarily in the US. Light and "grapey" with a foxy aroma. Can be paired with clams, Waldorf salad, and mild cheeses like gouda. 

My observations: pale yellow hue

Aromatic observation: fruit; primary aroma is a smell similar to that of white cranberry, with a slightly sour aroma. Tertiary Aroma: Floral, Rose 

Taste observation: very sweet, lower acidity, strong grape flavor- taste's very similar to a welch's white grape juice, no tannins, no warming/hot sensation in throat (relatively lower alcohol percentage at 10.5% and 5.2% residual sugar) medium-bodied, wine ends on a slightly sweet-bitter flavor, short finish length, low complexity- simple- primary flavor is grape juice

My review: I really enjoyed the flavor of this wine, and found that I didn't enjoy the aroma as much as the taste. This was a very sweet wine, and when I commented that it tasted similar to Welch's grape juice, one of the employees at the winery told me it's made from the same grape variety. It went down smoothly, and the after taste was pleasant but short lived. I found it very easy to drink, and to be a nice, light, sweet white wine. I would get it again.  

My Personal Experience with Wine Thus Far!

    Thus far, I have dipped my toes into the water of the wine world. I have been to a few wineries, one near my home in Massachusetts, Nashoba Valley Winery, as well as a couple here in Virginia, which are the New River Winery and Vineyard, and Chateau Morrisette. I have had pleasant experiences at all three. At Nashoba, I did a formal tasting, where I chose 8 wines to try, including a Port. However, I chose primarily all sweet/dessert wines (because that is currently my comfort zone and my favorite wine). These were paired with cheese and apples. On my second visit, I chose 2 glasses of wine, a couple of my favorites from the tasting, also sweet, the Strawberry Rhubarb wine and the Peach. At the New River Vineyard, I opted for a house made wine slushy, a mix of two of their flavors. However, I have been there previously and shared a flight. My most recent winery visit, which was last weekend, was to Chateau Morrisette in Floyd. My boyfriend and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We took a private tour of the property and learned all about the process, tried many complimentary tastings, and enjoyed a flight. Again, I opted for primarily sweet wines as that is what I tend to enjoy the most. However, I branched out towards the end of our visit and decided to purchase two bottles of wine recommended to me by the owner after an extensive and informative conversation and sampling with her. One was a dry red, their famous "Black Dog" wine and the other was their "Christmas White" which is a blended wine that I enjoyed a sample of prior to buying. 

    Prior to the start of my wine journey this semester, I tended to almost always opt for mixed drinks, often fruity ones, except for the occasional bottle of moscato, or the more embarrassing, Barefoot Fruitscato, in a variety of flavors. I have always enjoyed rather sweet beverages, and so far have mostly steer cleared from drier wines, except for a couple dry reds that I tried complimentary tastings of at the Winery. I am aware of my obvious preference for sweet wines, but I aim to branch out and try drier wines throughout this course and hope to find some new favorites with less residual sugar. 

    Even though the semester has just begun, I feel like I have already learned so much. One of those being, what temperate various types of wines are traditionally served at. I found this information a bit intimidating, as well as the idea of a rather warm glass of wine. The idea of a chilled glass of wine, no matter what kind, sounds far more appealing to me, but that is also something I hope to step outside of my comfort zone with this semester. I would like to learn about storing wine once it's opened, specifically, how long an opened bottle of wine can be stored in the fridge, etc. I would also like to learn about how to choose wines at the store or at a restaurant, specifically ones that are sweet, or on the sweeter side, while not being as sugary as a moscato. Although I do plan to branch out and experiment with dry ones, I am also realistic about my taste. I am really looking forward to diving into this course, learning all I can about wine, and stepping outside of my wine-comfort zone!