Wine Appreciation Class III

Photo by Pixelcore
The last installment of my Introduction to Wine Appreciation class covered sparkling wines and dessert wines.

I like dry Champagne, but find most dessert wines cloying with all their sweetness. I was afraid I was not going to be able to fully partake and I certainly did not want to appear to be a lightweight.

I was actually surprised with liking most of what we sampled. I only passed on finishing one glass and that was only because I wanted to make it to the port that topped the evening off.

The process of making sparkling and dessert wines and their differences gets complicated, so click away and study up.

What we sampled:
Gruet Brut, New Mexico
Villa Jolanda Prosecco, Italy
Cascinetta Vietti Moscato d’Asti, Italy
Coteaux du Layon Saint-Aubin, France
Moscatel Ainzon, Spain
Graham’s Six Grapes Port, Portugal

-I liked the Gruet Brut better than the Prosecco because it was the drier of the two sparkling wines and had a better bubble due to the fact that it was produced using the traditional method.

-At first I didn’t like Cascinetta Vietti Moscato d’Asti because it was lightly sweet and reminded me of Champagne and I don’t like sweet Champagne, but I came around to it.

-The Coteaux du Layon Saint-Aubin had a distinct and interesting flavor imparted by fungus – Botrytis.

-The Moscatel Ainzon was very sweet and due to its high, 15% alcohol content, very thick. I made my partner down this one so I could continue sampling.

-Graham’s Six Grapes Port is slow sippin’ – very sweet and 19.5% alcohol.

Favorite Wine of the Night – Cascinetta Vietti Moscato d’Asti has floral and melon overtones and is slightly fizzy so is reminiscent of Champagne - it’s actually a frizzante. Move over mimosa! With 5.5% alcohol, this will go well with French toast for breakfast.

Favorite Event – Finding myself, once again, in the men’s bathroom!

That was my last wine class. Now I’m left cold turkey jonesin’ for some alc and higher ed.