photo by svanesI was an excellent student and didn’t ditch my second Introduction to Wine Appreciation class. The whole thing is sort of a Friday happy hour held in an academic setting - industrial carpet and dry-erase boards. Wine and marker huffing!
The second class was devoted to discussing and sampling red wines. I enjoy both white and red wines. My only problem with red wines is that many make me horribly sleepy and some give me headaches. I haven’t figured out which ones to stay away from.
We tasted six wines made from different grape varieties, starting from the lightest to the heaviest: gamay, pinot noir, tempranillo, sangiovese and canaiolo blend, and a shiraz.
2004 Domaine de la Madone Beaujolais – France
2004 Castle Rock Pinot Noir – California
2000 Lan Rioja Crianza – Spain
2003 Renzo Masi Chianti Rufina – Italy
2001 Heritage Road Shiraz – Australia
I was expecting to walk out finding at least one love, but I didn’t. The Beaujolais was a little too sweet. I also did not care for the Chianti, which contains sangiovese. I’ve tried other sangioveses, and I just don’t care for that grape - perhaps because of its high acidity and bitterness.
I was not disappointed, though. I would purchase the other four wines, especially since most cost less than $12.
Favorite Experience – Smelling and tasting. The wine selection evoked sweet grape juice, nutmeg, almond, vanilla, coconut, chocolate, caramel, prunes, and hazelnut – not all in one wine.
Favorite Wine of the Night – Lan Rioja Crianza – Made from the low-acid tempranillo grape, this wine tasted of vanilla, chocolate and coconut.
New Vocabulary Word – The small space of air in a wine bottle is called ullage.
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