So I haven’t posted in over a month and I have finally recommitted myself to posting on my blog.  I have been a little busy so its been hard but thats no excuse.

Looking for a way to dispose of those piling wine bottles in a green environmentally friendly manner.  Well thanks to an article from carlorossi.com we all have a nice way to create our own DIY surround sound system using old bottles.  See the original Engadget plug here. Thanks JollyWhiteGiant for the heads up.

So last night was my good college friend’s three year anniversary and he asked me to pick up a bottle of wine and some champagne for him and his girlfriend.  Before his dinner reservation he almost single-handedly polished off a bottle of the Berco do Infante Reserva I reviewed a while back.  At some point during his dessert he texts me that he is “truly a jolly white giant right now” which gave me and my friends a good laugh.  I was quite happy that he enjoyed the wine and had a good time.

So last night I was drinking a bottle of wine with friends and as I began to uncork the bottle, shards of glass shoot out of the bottle neck and nearly shred my arm off.  Well that wasn’t the whole truth, the bottle neck broke and I got a few cuts on my hands.  Thanks to my friend whose name begins with an ‘S’ and ends with a ‘teph’ who patched me up after the quite traumatic experience.  In the end, I was happy that I successfully prevented any glass from disturbing the wine.

Region-South Africa

Vintage-2007

Price-$10.00 

Color-Bright, lime green

Opacity-Very clear

Initial Smell-Hint of peach and orange

Taste-A very tart wine with a heaviness that is unusual for white wines

Overall Impression- I enjoyed this Chardonnay very much.  Honestly, if I wasn’t drinking this with a friend at the time then I probably would have polished off the bottle myself.

Recently, I asked myself, “In trying to understand wine am I losing out on the simple pleasure of simply drinking wine?”  I began to think about this question after some of my friends commented on my intention of creating this blog and analyzing the wine I drink.  At first, I agreed with their comments but after some careful consideration I realized that my intentions were good but my approach was bad.  Wine is not something that should be analyzed or tested, it must be felt and experienced through the senses.  I partially blame my background as an engineer, my overly logical mind and my inexperience with wine for this oversight but going forward I hope to incorperate this understanding into my future posts.  See this article that helped me out.

Region-New Zealand

Vintage-2007

Price-$11.00 

Color-Clear, white

Opacity-Very clear with yellow tint

Initial Smell-Very light berry

Taste-Crisp, faint berry

Overall Impression- Unfortunately, I did not realize this was a twist bottle until I took it home.  Other than that this was a very enjoyable Sauvignon Blanc.  Later on I found it interesting that there is a a new trend in New Zealand to completely convert to the twist bottle.

Region-Argentina

Vintage-2006

Price-$15.00 

Color-Deep red color

Opacity-Opaque, clear no sediment

Initial Smell-Very muted berry

Taste-Medium acidic, muted taste

Overall Impression- Overall this is not one of my favorite wines.  Its taste is to acidic, not favorful enough and almost on the dry side.  I don’t believe it is worth the $15 dollars I paid for it and there are plenty of other better Merlot for $5.

Region-Portugal

Price-$5.00 

Color-Deep red color

Opacity-Opaque, clear no sediment

Smell-Sweet berry smell

Taste-Very rich, a little tart

Overall Impression- This is probably the best wine I have tasted so far.  For a five dollar bottle of wine I was very impressed.  I am even contemplating ordering a case of this vintage because of the superb quality.  I sat down with 4 or 5 friends and the general consensus was that this was a very enjoyable wine. 

Region-Australia

Vintage-2005

Price-$18.00 

Color-Deep red color

Opacity-Opaque, clear no sediment

Initial Smell-Moderate berry smell

Taste-Woody, strong alcohol flavor

Overall Impression- The alcohol flavor was to strong and overpowered the wine, I did not even want to finish my glass.  I do not recommend this wine.  It is my belief that South African Shiraz has a taste that can compete with the the stronger than average alcohol content that is customary of Shiraz.  Unfortunately, this Australian Shiraz did not impress me and my future Shiraz purchases will be excusively South African.