Tasting- "Barefoot Sweet Red Blend"

Name: Barefoot Sweet Red Blend

Variety: Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Barbera, Grenache, Petite Sirah

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2020

Price: $6.99

Review: 

On drizly.com, this wine received a 4.7/5 stars.  Although it is red wine, this review recommends chilling this wine in the fridge.  Tastes jammy and smooth and tastes well with cheese.

https://drizly.com/wine/red-blend/proprietary-red-blend/barefoot-sweet-red-blend/p10282

Wine Folly:

Zinfandel is known for having jammy wines and is originally from Croatia (pg. 189).  Petite Sirah has bold tannins and has black fruit flavors (pg. 147).  Sweet red blends tend to go well with cheeses and dark red meat. 

My Review:

I loved this wine so much I cannot even explain.  I definitely think this was my favorite one I have tried so far.  First off, this bottle caught my eye because of the sparkly label.  Once seeing it was a sweet wine, I decided to try it since it is something new.  I did not pair this with food because it was so sweet I did not feel the need.  I loved the taste and totally agree with the jammy flavors!

 

Tasting - "Psyche"

 

Name: Psyche Rosé Wine

Variety: Rosé

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2020

Price: $9.99

Review: 

On vinino.com, I found a review of this rosé and there were varying scores, but the average was a 3.2/5 stars.  Many people saying it is easily drinkable without food and has a fruity taste, but I disagree since I thought it was very bitter.  

https://www.vivino.com/BR/en/psyche-rose/w/8167756?year=2020

Wine Folly:

The color of this wine reminded me of a pale pink and medium pink, similar colors to a Bandof Rosé and Garnacha Rosé.  Rosé goes well with white meat such as chicken and tofu (pg. 61).  Wine Folly does not have much information on California Rosés, but the bottle itself says that it is a "dry style wine that has hints of fresh red fruit, subtle minerality".

My Review:

I did end up eating grilled chicken and vegetables with this wine and I thought it tasted really good.  I did not like the wine on its own though since it was super dry.  I thought it was super interesting trying "psyche" since I have never heard of it before, but I did not like it nearly as much as other wines selling at similar prices.  I also tried this wine after trying a sweet wine, which was a mistake since that totally flushed my pallet.

Wine and Cheese Pairing

 

This was so fun and I am so excited to do another cheese and wine pairing soon!  We finished almost all of the wine between me and my four roommates, and we definitely finished all of the cheeses.  Katherine, the girl in the photo, bought us a lot of cheese and crackers from Aldi.  The cheeses were brie, white cheddar, and gouda.  The three different wines that we tried were Landshut Riesling, Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc, and Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Landshut Riesling was my favorite of all the wines.  I felt like it was sweeter than I thought it would be so I did not enjoy it too much with the cheese.  My one roommate also made banana nut muffins so with that it tasted really delicious.  I think this wine with the cheeses kind of clashed, but the wine by itself or with the muffins was super sweet and delicious. 

The other big white, Sauvignon Blanc, was my least favorite of the wines.  We chilled it beforehand and it smelled really nice like fruits.  I also liked this bottle because it was a twist off which was super easy to use.  I know that Sauvignon Blanc pairs well with vegetables so we had some carrots and broccoli to dip in ranch.  I think it paired well and did not clash since the food was a little more sodium heavy, but the actual wine itself was not that sweet and I prefer the Barefoot Moscato over this one.  I did not like the Brie cheese with this wine, but the Gouda I enjoyed.  

Okay.. red wine in this class is surprising me and confusing me.  I either love it or hate it, but I hope with time reds become my favorite.  We had stemless glasses for this one and we kept the red out of the fridge, but we do not own a decanter so I did not decant.  The wine itself felt so much thicker than the other two and this smell was decently pleasant such as berries.  All this being said, this wine was 100% the best with the cheeses.  The best pairing was definitely the brie cheese and this wine because I felt that they balanced each other out, but I am also biased because I like that cheese the best from the three we had.  My least favorite with this wine was probably the white cheddar and I felt they clashed a little, which shocked me because it is a strong cheese and I thought it would go well with this wine that has a lot of tannins.  

Tasting - Apothic Red

Name: Apothic Red

Variety: Winemaker's Blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Zinfandel)

Region: California

Country: America

Year: 2020

Price: $10.99

Review: 

On honestwinereviews.com, a wine critic said that they did not pick up aromas of fruit or black cherry.  Tasted "some butter and the tiniest hint of bitterness".  Super smooth and pairs well with sweet and creamy foods.

https://www.honestwinereviews.com/apothic-red-wine-review

Wine Folly:

I drank this in a stemless glass in order to warm up the wine before sniffing.  I could definitely smell the dark fruit, but I could not taste mocha or vanilla.  Deep ruby shade and did pair super well with cheese.  Because of the Merlot (pg 83), I think it would taste well with chocolate, but I had a cupcake with chocolate so I do not know if that is the same feel.

My Review:

I like the taste of this wine and I found it to be pretty bold.  I usually drink white wine or rosé so it was fun to try something different.  I also loved that I felt like I was drinking something healthy and an antioxidant, rather than something super sweet.  I had a lot of cheese with this wine and some cookie/cupcake and it was really good.  I think I would buy it again since it was not very pricey!!

Tasting - "Cote des roses"

Name: Gérard Bertrand Cote des Roses

Variety: Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault Rosé

Region: South of France

Country: France

Year: 2020

Price: $24.99

Review: 

On nataliemaclean.com, I found a review of this wine and she gave it a 92/100.   Large emphasis on the Grenache and has vibrant aromatics.  Dry, but "keeps zesty acidity" when paired with food.  Bottle was also very beautiful, which was a plus. 

https://www.wiredforwine.com/products/gerard-bertrand-cote-des-roses-rose#:~:text=The%20bouquet%20releases%20aromas%20of,great%20aromatic%20persistence%20and%20balance.

Wine Folly:

Grenache has high intensity flavors with red fruit flavors (pg 117).  I kind of got pink grapefruit.  Rosés tend to have more acidity, and I definitely got that from this wine.  It is recommended to use a glass with a smaller bowl in order to get nose closer to the aroma, and this rosé smelled very fresh (pg 39). 

My Review:

I did not decant before tasting the wine, but I let the rosé chill in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.  At first, I drank it without pairing it with food so I thought it tasted bitter and dry, but I started eating french onion dip and chips, and everything started tasting a lot less acidy.  I do not think I would drink this again though because for some reason, my skin flipped out, but if that was not the case, I would maybe buy it again.