Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio 2021

While I was home last to visit my parents, my mom and I bonded over our newfound love for wine. I had always known her to drink dry, oaky California Chardonnays, but it seemed that she had moved on to Pinot Grigio since I saw her last. We decided to open a bottle of Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio, vintage 2021. The wine comes from delle Venezie (, a geographic location situated in northwestern Italy. The wine retails for $12 online, and has an alcohol content of 12.5%.

From community reviews found on the website Vivino, the wine tastes of pear, green apple, and mineral. It also has a scent of white peach, with ripe cantaloupe and lemon zest. It is described as crisp and refreshing, with citrus notes.

My personal review is only slightly different. It was a very light yellow in color, and we had it chilled beforehand. The aroma was very fruity and sweet, almost tropical. It was a light but firm scent of peach, lemon, and even a sweet citrus like pineapple. What struck me about it upon tasting was the light and silky body. The sweetness of this wine is what I would consider to be off-dry; it was perfectly sweet to me. There was plenty of acidity present in this wine, with strong flavors of pineapple and guava, but surprisingly no peach. There was a certain minerality to it, perhaps slate. It was kind of tart, and only a tad astringent. 

According to page 149 of the text Wine Folly, Pinot Grigio (otherwise known as Pinot Gris) has flavors of white peach, lemon zest, cantaloupe, raw almond, and crushed gravel. They have a wide range of sweetness, from dry to semi-sweet, and usually have a medium amount of acidity. The body is typically light and tannins are next to none.

Monte Degli Angeli Pinot Noir 2021

I realized the other day that I was almost to the end of this course, and had not tried one Pinot Noir. In order to rectify this travesty, I picked up a bottle of Italian Pinot Noir from the Vintage Cellar: Monte Degli Angeli (Mountain of Angels) Pinot Noir, vintage 2021, Baron's collection. It scored a 92 from wine critic James Suckling, cost about $14, and had an alcohol content of 13%. It comes from the Piedmont region of Italy and is a varietal wine made from the Pinot Noir grape.

According to the description put out by wine critic James Suckling, it is floral with fine tannins and a bright finish, as well as strawberry and stone notes. It is rich, silky, velvety, and soft with other fruit notes of cherry, raspberry, and tomato. Floral notes include violet and rose petal.

Upon opening and decanting the wine at room temperature, I noticed its deep ruby quality. The aroma given off was very fruit forward: cherry and plums with perhaps a hint of orange marmalade. There was also a subtle spiciness with floral notes, such as white pepper, sage, and hibiscus. The actual mouthfeel of the wine was delightful. It was medium-bodied and velvety smooth with soft tannins. It was slightly astringent, enough that I could feel the tannins sit on my tongue, but it was not off-putting.

The taste of the wine itself was fine. It was fruity and dry, with notes of cherry and plum. However, I believe it was missing some much needed acidity. It just came off kind of plain and dull; it needed complexity. It also had an interesting earthy aftertaste such as mushroom, but no real spice. For an old world style wine, it was actually pretty easy to drink which surprised me.

My friend and I enjoyed this bottle with some feta cheese stuffed olives, and that was a real treat. The olives really brought out the earthiness in the wine. The salt and fat from the olives boosted the perceivable sweetness of the wine, while downplaying the fruit quality. In combination, it gave the wine an even more appreciable mouthfeel.

From page 150 of Wine Folly, Pinot Noir is typically characterized by flavors such as cherry, raspberry, clove, mushroom, and vanilla. It is typically medium high in acidity, with medium to low levels of alcohol, body, sweetness, and tannins. Its the mid-range jumper of wines. This was a very inoffensive wine and I could see it pairing well with almost anything. However, next time I would try a bolder selection from somewhere like France or California.

Yalumba Y-Series Viognier 2021

Last week I got together with some friends to watch the hit-movie Sideways on HBO. We decided to enjoy our time with a glass of the Yalumba Y-Series Viognier, the 2021 vintage. I had heard that Viognier was a very floral white wine, and I was intrigued by what this might mean. It was a bit costly, about $17 at Vintage Cellar, and had an ABV of 13.5%. As a varietal wine, it is made from the Viognier grape. This particular bottle hails from South Australia.

From a review I found on wine.com, this wine has aromas of orange blossom with ginger, honeysuckle, and other floral notes. It is supposedly straw in color with green hues, elevating its flower forward nature. It is described as light and fresh, with apricot, fennel, white tea, and dried fig flavors.

We threw this bottle in the freezer for a bit to get a nice chill on it. It was a pale yellow in the glass that looked light green in a certain light. The aroma of this wine was off-putting to me: It had a strong, rough vegetable scent that I was not prepared for. In all honesty, it smelled like piss after eating asparagus. Not pee, piss, there's a difference. The taste was only a little better. It had a medium body that was kind of thick, which I found surprising. It tasted slightly herbal, with notes of bell pepper, tomato leaf, and very light honeysuckle. It did leave a grassy aftertaste however. The sweetness of the wine did help, it was what I would consider off-dry.

From Wine Folly page 186, Viogniers are described as rich oily white wines. Common flavors of this varietal include tangerine, peach, mango, honeysuckle, and rose. There was no fruit characteristic to this particular brand that we could detect. Perhaps it would pair well with an Asian dish, but it was pretty rough on its own. For the price, I definitely would not buy again.

Anciano Tempranillo Clasico 2020

I wanted a rich red wine that was high in tannins, and so the good people at Vintage Cellar directed me to the Anciano Tempranillo Clasico, vintage 2020. This wine comes to us from Valencia, Spain. Most Tempranillos are a Spanish affair, and my knowledge in Spanish wines is severely lacking. The bottle was modestly priced at $9 and had an alcohol content of 13%.

From reviews I found online, this wine is described as having fruit notes of cherry and plum. It is noted as being smooth and silky with a medium body and soft, supple tannins. They also say it has a fruity aroma with a hint of spice.

Upon opening, I noticed the wine to be a pale purple color. The aroma was interesting: it was fruit forward as described with strong cherry and plum notes. However, it also smelled a bit like a nice perfume, perhaps due to the alcohol. It also had interesting secondary scents like acacia, cedar, and especially potting soil. It had a surprisingly light body, with a refreshing acidity. It tasted earthy and slightly astringent. It was dry, with flavors of tart cherry, blackberry, and a floral component that was hard to place. The closest I could come to identifying it was it tasted slightly of rosemary.

Tempranillos, according to Wine Folly page 175, have medium tannins, alcohol, body, and acidity with minimal sweetness. I found it to be in great balance. Common notes of this wine are cherry, dried fig, cedar, tobacco, and dill. It was a very interesting experience, and one that I would try again.

Rue de Perle Bordeaux 2020

Another wine that I enjoyed with family while I was home was the Rue de Perle Bordeaux vintage 2020. I got this bottle from Kroger for $10. My intention was to prepare Coq au Vin for my family with it, but I had a little bit left over so I thought "What the hell, guess I'll drink it." The wine comes from Bordeaux, France and has an ABV of 14.5%. Bordeaux is a red blend that consists of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Petite Verdot, and Cabernet Franc grape varietals.

From reviews online, this particular vintage has a lovely dark fruit aroma. It is a medium-bodied red with cherry, raspberry, blackberry, and spice notes. I decanted this bottle for 30 minutes before cooking with and drinking it. The aroma consisted of raspberry, blackberry, and spices such as clove and cinnamon. It also had hints of chocolate and boysenberry.

I myself thought the wine was rather full-bodied. It was very dry and astringent, which I would contribute to high tannins. It was a rather dark purple as well. However, it was fruity with strong blackberry flavor along with spice. It was actually rather easy to drink, and pretty enjoyable. It was the perfect dry red to use in my dish and it really elevated the earthy flavor of the mushrooms.

According to page 83 of Wine Folly, a Bordeaux blend typically has flavors ranging from blackcurrant and black cherry, to graphite, chocolate, and dried herbs. It is usually a wine high in tannins and body, which I agree with. I think I would buy this reasonably priced bottle again.

Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz 2021

I bought the Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz vintage 2021when I was home for Spring Break visiting my parents. My intention was to pair this wine with the Coq au Vin I was cooking for my family. This particular wine comes from South Africa, and I acquired the bottle for $12 at Kroger. It had an alcohol content of 12.5% ABV and is a varietal wine that consists of Syrah grapes.

According to reviews online, this wine is semi-sweet with fresh fruit characteristics. It has notes of ripe berry with dark chocolate undertones. It is also said to be perfectly balanced between sweet and acidic, and pairs well with food.

I decided to have this wine chilled before serving. The aroma was very berry forward: raspberry, blueberry, boysenberry, and lots of sugar. It had a very fruity nose which I figured would translate into the flavor of the wine.

Upon tasting, it was extremely sweet, almost like a dessert wine. It was smooth like a grape juice and medium bodied. It was a bit astringent and dried my tongue out, but not too much. The acidity was fairly high initially, but got less acidic and sweeter as it warmed up. For a wine that calls itself Jam Jar, it definitely delivered on being jammy and fruity. However, I did not feel it was the right pairing with the earthy notes of my dish.

From Wine Folly page 172, Syrah grapes usually exhibit notes of blueberry, plum, milk chocolate, tobacco, and green peppercorn. However, this was not a very complex wine. The flavors best used to describe this wine are berry and sugar. I did not taste any hints of chocolate or other herbals from this brand.

Wine Dinner #2

As we came back from Spring Break, it came to my attention that my friends and I had very little time to plan and document our next wine dinner before the due date. So we scrambled at the last minute and came up with a fairly well put together 3-course feast complete with three different bottles of wine.

Course #1

Just like last time, my friend Jessica made the appetizer. She prepared an Italian bruschetta complete with garlic butter toast points. We paired these with the Zinopolis Zinfanfel vintage 2020 from Sonoma, California. The wine was light purple in color and clocked out at 14.3% ABV. The aroma of this wine was fruit forward, with a strong emphasis on raspberries, strawberries, and plums.

On tasting without food, we noticed the strong tannic component which really dried my tongue. However, it was very smooth going down. The wine had a medium to full body and was not as fruity tasting as it smelled. Tasting notes of this wine include vegetal such as grass, dill, plum, spice (perhaps white pepper), and clove.

With the food, the dryness of the wine made an excellent pairing with the juiciness of the tomato bruschetta. The acid component of the tomatoes cut the tannic component of the wine very well, which brought out the fruit a little bit more. The basil and herbs from the bruschetta made the wine taste a bit more complex, bringing out a certain raspberry jammy-ness to the wine that wasn't initially there.

Course #2

I prepared cheeseburgers for my party in a cast iron pan over the stove with all the fixins. Unfortunately, I am still learning the ropes with cast iron and so the burgers came out pretty well done and greasy. I paired this with a Breca Garnacha vintage 2016 from Mundobriga, Spain. I acquired this bottle for $14 from Vintage Cellar, and it boasted a hefty 15.5% ABV. The wine was medium purple, just a bit darker than our Zinfandel. It had a fruity aroma of blackberry jam, raspberries, boysenberry, and orange marmalade. I would use the words perfumey and fragrant to describe it.

Without the food, the wine was acidic. It was still jammy with a full body, but dry. There were a fair amount of tannins in it, although it did not leave my mouth as dry as the Zinfandel. I got tasting notes of blackberry, cherry, raspberry, and possibly orange.

With the food, the wine really elevated the beef from the cheeseburger. I thought it gave the burger a bit of a candied flavor. It also made the wine seem a bit more tannic and astringent. and I tasted more citrusy orange with it. I enjoyed this combination; however, I learned that my companions did not experience the same things from this pairing and found it to be quite dull. As it turned out, spicy brown mustard made all the difference. Neither of them liked mustard so they neglected to include it on their burgers like I did. Once they did, they conceded that the pairing was quite decadent. I made them mustard-truthers that night.

Course #3

The last course was brought to us by my friend Sophie. She brought some classic sfogliatelle from an Italian bakery back home in Virginia Beach. The flaky pastry had a delightful custardy center with a fragrant taste of orange. We paired this with a Goldie white dessert wine from 2013. It is unclear what varietal this wine was, if any. However, we do know it comes from Virginia and it registers as 14.8% ABV.

This pairing was the best of the night. We chilled this wine before serving. The aroma of this wine consisted strongly of granny smith apples along with pear, honeydew, and honeysuckle. It was not strongly acidic in smell, and did not smell "cidery."

Without food, it was rich and syrupy like honey. It tasted a lot like honey too, but not too sweet. It was a little bit acidic with an apple and honeysuckle flavor. Once paired with the pastry, the orange of the pastry brought out the acidity in the wine. Still, it was a pleasant combination. It was less honeyed and more fruit forward, making the apple pop.

Kendall Jackson Low Cal Chardonnay 2021

Since my mother is health conscious, she usually drinks low calorie white wines. While I was home for Spring Break, I decided to help myself to a few varieties she had chilling in the fridge. This particular wine is a Chardonnay from Kendall Jackson in Santa Rosa, California, vintage 2021. It is only 85 calories per 5 fluid ounces, and with an alcohol content of 9%.

From Kendall Jackson's own website, they describe their product as displaying flavors of grapefruit, pineapple, and creamy lemon meringue. As is typical of Kendall Jackson Chardonnays, it is aged in French oak barrels, which gives it notes of vanilla and hazelnut.

I was expecting a pretty oaky, buttery since that is what I am used to from this particular brand, but I did not get that at all. The chilled wine had a light yellow color, with an aroma of citrus, cider, and what I can only describe as sea spray. The taste itself was buttery on the back of the tongue with a slight oakiness, but far less than expected. It had a very pleasant mouthfeel, with a tart acidity that was not puckering. I got flavors of apples and other tree fruits, with an orangey citrus and a slight saltiness. I found the wine extremely easy to drink, being dry but also flavorful. I would contribute this to the relatively low residual sugar and alcohol for a typical Chardonnay, lending to its low calories. I would definitely drink a glass of this on a hot summer day; it was splendid.

Typical Chardonnay wines, according to page 96 of Wine Folly, have notes of yellow apple, starfruit, pineapple, vanilla, and butter. This was not an extremely tropical wine, but rather gave off flavors of cider with a bit of silkiness from barrel aging. It still came across as crisp and light.

Terre del Barolo Riserva 2013

I decided to commemorate my parents 34th anniversary by picking up a nice bottle of Barolo for them when I came home for Spring Break. When they visited Italy 20 years ago, they drank a bottle of Barolo that they swear was the best wine they ever had. However, they had not been able to find a decent bottle in the United States since they returned. So I picked up a bottle of relatively costly Terre del Barolo Riserva 2013 from Vintage Cellar for $40. The alcohol content was a modest 14%, it came from the Barolo region of Italy, and is predominantly comprised of the Nebbiolo grape variety.

According to a review by Wine Enthusiast, this wine exhibits aromatic notes of rose petal and tobacco. The taste of the wine itself is spicy and fruity, with notes of crushed raspberry, clove, and white pepper. There is an abundance of tannins and acidity which is described as "fresh."

I wanted to ensure that this occasion was special for my parents, so I made sure that the bottle was served up at room temperature, that everyone had a large red wine glass, and that the wine was properly aerated. After aerating, we waited another 5 minutes to allow the wine to oxidize a bit more and smooth out the tannins. The wine was a pale garnet color in the glass. With a warming swirl, I received notes of cherry, blackberry, leather, and plenty of alcohol on the nose. My mother deftly identified one note in the aroma as belonging to a clay pot, which I agree with.

The taste of the wine itself is what I would describe as a tannin bomb. It immediately dried my tongue to a husk. The main flavor I got from this was tart cherries. The acidity of the wine seemed to mellow out as the wine breathed a little bit more in the glass. I did not expect to like it because I was aware of how dry Barolos are, but I was pleasantly surprised with the complexity of it. My parents loved it; they thought it was the best one they'd had since Italy (although it doesn't hold a candle to the stuff they had in Italy).

According to Wine Folly page 141, Nebbiolo wines usually have notes of cherry, rose, leather, anise, and clay pot. I am very delighted with how well we picked up on those tertiary aromas. They have high tannins, a medium body, high acidity, medium alcohol, and low sweetness. I believe this correlates well with my experience, although I will say it was a pretty well balanced wine. It definitely was not fruit forward or jammy which is what I like in high tannin wines. A buttery cheese with this wine would be a pleasure.

Garnacha de Fuego 2020

I was recommended this wine by Randall at Vintage Cellar. I was looking for a red wine to serve my company alongside the Chicken Marsala I was cooking. Originally, I thought that a medium-bodied red would be perfect for the occasion to balance out the sweetness of the Marsala, but I was recommended a light-bodied red instead: the 2020 vintage of Garnacha de Fuego from Calatayud, Spain. I scored this bottle for $10 and was told this was a steal. The alcohol content of this wine was a whopping 15%.

This is a varietal wine, made from Grenache grapes. According to the website Wine, this is a jammy wine with notes of blue fruit. A floral aroma and flavor builds with air. I decided to test this for myself by aerating the wine before drinking at room temperature.

The wine was ruby red which I liked. I did notice some particles in the wine that were not strained by the aerator, which was odd but I did not mind. The wine itself had a strong aroma of blueberry. For such a high alcohol content, I could not smell or taste much of it. It was very smooth to drink. I did noticed high tannins, which left my mouth extremely dry. But it was also super fruity and jammy, with a strong flavor of blue fruits such as blueberry and what I would imagine boysenberry to taste like. 

I thought it was pretty light bodied, but that may have been because I was enjoying it with my meal of Chicken Marsala. While I absolutely adored the wine, I do think a less fruity wine would have paired better with the dish. I think a medium-bodied dry red like a Chianti would have been enjoyable with it.

According to Wine Folly page 117, Grenache (also known as Garnacha) had a pretty medium body, with high alcohol and medium-low tannins. There is virtually no sweetness to this variety. The flavor profile of this wine included stewed strawberry, grilled plum, leather, dried herbs, and blood orange. I think this wine would be excellent with a red meat like steak or lamb.

Melillo Dry Marsala

I chose to review a Marsala wine this week because I was trying my hand at a Chicken Marsala recipe. I really wanted to impress my company with my culinary expertise, so I went to Vintage Cellar to pick up a really good bottle of Marsala to cook with. I chose a dry Marsala instead of a sweet one because I was not sure how sweet fortified wine would be already. The bottle came out to about $18 and had an alcohol content of 17% ABV. It comes from Sicily in Italy and is made of Marsala grapes.

From community reviews on the website Vivino, this dry fortified wine has woody notes. It is also alcohol forward, with grapey, salty notes. It is not too sweet, which is good for cooking purposes.

The wine in the glass was a mild shade of brown; what I would call caramel colored. The aroma of it had notes of caramel, butterscotch, dried fruit or fruitcake, and a strong nuttiness. I was expecting a thick wine from the appearance, but it was rather medium bodied. The alcohol was definitely not too strong. I drank this at room temperature and noticed it was very smooth and sugary. It rested on my tongue with a flavor of nuttiness and dried fruit like dates. It was a bit acidic on the swallow. I also tried this wine chilled and it was much more acidic.

According to page 127 of Wine Folly, Marsala is usually very high in sweetness and body as well as alcohol. I found it to be very balanced: it was definitely not too sweet, and I could not taste the alcohol much. The body was a little thinner than I expected, which was fine. Notes of this wine include stewed apricot, vanilla, tamarind, brown sugar, and tobacco. On this variety, I can understand the apricot and brown sugar.

The Chicken Marsala I made with it was divine. It had a wonderful sweet, nuttiness when reduced with cream and chicken broth as well as the mushrooms, onions, and garlic I sautéed. I will absolutely be cooking with this wine again.

Alamos Malbec 2021

I was very excited to try this wine, the Alamos Malbec 2021 vintage, when I bought it in Kroger the other day. It cost me a decent $11, and had a 13.5% ABV. I was surprised to learn this wine came from Mendoza, Argentina until I found out later that most Malbec grapes come from Argentina. I had never had an Argentinian wine before.

After a little research, I found that this wine actually scored a 91 from critic James Suckling. It is described as having notes of "blackberries, dark cherries, blackcurrants, and baking spices." It is said to be round and juicy, which I like in a wine, with creamy tannins and a chocolatey finish. I do not know what blackcurrants or creamy tannins taste like, but it sounds delicious.

Upon opening, I noticed the dark purple color of the wine in the glass. I served it at room temperature and with an aerator. The initial aroma was rather heavy on the alcohol, but with strong notes of raspberry and red fruits. The taste was more of the same, a bold fruity wine with notes of raspberry and blackberry. It had a medium body and was rather astringent due to high tannins. However, I would say that the tannins were rather creamy; it certainly was not as bad as other tannin bombs I have had. I would not say it was jammy though, which I was a bit disappointed by. 

According to page 125 of Wine Folly, Malbec comes primarily from Argentina. This same variety is known as Cot in France. They have bold fruity flavors such as red plum, blackberry, vanilla, sweet tobacco, and cocoa. I did not notice a chocolatey finish to this wine, but I think it would be utterly delicious alongside a serving of chocolate.

I did end up enjoying this wine, and would be interested in trying other Malbecs out there. I tried a little bit of this wine with a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie and found it to be a fantastic match. The tannins of the wine really complimented the sweetness of the chocolate and the fluffiness of the cookie.

Montebuena Rioja Blanco 2021

The other night as I sat down to watch some lectures on wine, a friend of mine surprised me at the door with this bottle of white wine, a Montebuena Rioja Blanco vintage 2021. So as we sat learning about how great the grape is, we snuck in a wine tasting. I had never had a Rioja before, and I learned that this wine was named for the region of Spain it was from. This particular bottle was 80% Viura grape and 20% Tempranillo Blanco. It cost $20 and had an alcohol content of 12.5% ABV. We popped this bottle in the freezer for about 5 minutes and drank it semi-cold.

From what I could gather online, this wine exhibits an apple and banana aroma, with subtle citrus notes. It supposedly starts out acidic and evolves into a silky sweet texture as it is swallowed. I have never heard of a white wine evolving in this way and wanted to put the review to the test.

The first thing I noticed was the lovely light straw color of the wine. The aroma was not something I could easily put my finger on. I noticed pear and citrus, as well as a lingering floral scent I could not identify. Another way I could describe it is sharp, like having a citrus zest's oils expressed right into my nose. However, the wine itself was rather muted. The taste itself was not crisp as I expected from the aroma, and I picked up on notes of lime, green apple, and a mineral-like taste. As the review mentioned, it started off pretty tart, but slowly developed into a smooth sweet finish, which was not what I anticipated. The wine body itself was rather light, and did not have a strong alcohol taste.

From page 187 of Wine Folly, the constituent grape variety in this wine, Viura, is identified as the primary grape in Spanish Rioja Blanco. Common notes to this variety include honeydew, lime peel, lemon verbana, tarragon, and hazelnut. The lime peel and tarragon correspond very well with my experience. Furthermore, on page 175 of Wine Folly, Tempranillo is a Rioja grape variety described as having notes of cherry, dried fig, cedar, tobacco, and dill. However, this particular variety usually makes red wines, while Tempranillo Blanco is a mutation of this grape.

I enjoyed this wine. It was a very interesting selection, and one that makes me want to try more Spanish whites. It was very different from my experience with common whites like Chardonnay and Riesling. I wonder if I would like this wine a lot colder, since I enjoyed the acid level while it was semi-cold. Still, I could definitely see myself drinking a nice cold glass of this along with an arugula salad or a mild cheese.