College Uncorked Wine Archive!
Here's all the wines we've reviewed to date, with their ratings (Updated Weekly):
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Pinot Gris for Me
This week we picked up a bottle of 2014 Green Fin California Pinot Grigio (or Pinot Gris if you prefer) from Trader Joe's for $4.99. This bottle had caught our eye in the display at Trader Joe's with its sweet Woody label and carefree beach living vibes. It's fruity, easy-drinking and a little sweet- the perfect combination for a Pismo bonfire or backyard barbecue. While it's not personally a style that I seek out it's a solid wine for five bucks and it's worth picking up a bottle to see if it suits your style. Who knows, you may end up drinking it all summer! We gave it 7/10 with a little boost for the price tag. Try putting some frozen berries in it for the perfect warm-day glass.
Pinot Gris is a white grape originating in Alsace, a cool growing region right on France's eastern border with Germany. Pinot Grigio is the Italian name for the same grape, though they usually denote different styles of wine (Gris generally being more heavy and viscous, a bit more prone to bottle aging and Grigio being light, crisp, and airy, ready to drink right away). Fun fact: The word pinot comes from the French word for pine cone, because the grape clusters resemble pine cones.
2014 Green Fin Pinot Grigio
California
12.5% ABV
Organic
Pinot Gris is a white grape originating in Alsace, a cool growing region right on France's eastern border with Germany. Pinot Grigio is the Italian name for the same grape, though they usually denote different styles of wine (Gris generally being more heavy and viscous, a bit more prone to bottle aging and Grigio being light, crisp, and airy, ready to drink right away). Fun fact: The word pinot comes from the French word for pine cone, because the grape clusters resemble pine cones.
2014 Green Fin Pinot Grigio
California
12.5% ABV
Organic
Sight
Dope ass label
Light golden-green color, very clear
Bright, but translucent
No rim variation- low color concentration throughout
Aromas
Strong fresh aromas of peaches and pears, a little bit of vegetal-grassy aroma and some hints of melon
Taste
Very fruity, sweet, peaches and pears.
The wine has good acid structure, which stands up to the sweetness, with no noticeable alcohol burn. Very smooth. No oak flavors/aromas
Personally I prefer my whites to be drier and crisper, but there's nothing objectively wrong with this, what you think of it is going to depend on your palate. If nothing else, it's worth springing the $5 to pick this bottle up and see where you stand on the spectrum of white wines to help you pick out wines in the future!
It goes down easy and smooth, and though we didn't have any on hand when we were tasting, the idea was brought up of putting some frozen raspberries and strawberries in it, muddling a bit, and drinking it that way, which should be pretty good. Serve chilled with some friends and you'll have a good time with this wine. Or maybe a wine smoothie?
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| Chloe came to investigate the photo shoot |
If you end up trying it out with the fruit shoot us a pic and let us know how it is!
Cheers,
A&P
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
A Pleasant Surprise
Greetings fellow drinkers!
It's the most wonderful time of the year. As you may have noticed we are now beset by brown clad preteens peddling their delicious and addictive wares outside of grocery stores. That's right, it's Girl Scout Cookie season. To honor that, we picked a wine this week that we thought might go well with one of our favorites, the undisputed champion of Girl Scout Cookies: The Thin Mint. We walked down to the liquor store and snagged a bottle of Rosemount Estate Shiraz (Syrah in American) for $11.99. By itself it's already one of the better wines we tasted, but when we brought out the thin mints it became hands down the best pairing either of us have tasted in our (admittedly short) lives. We gave it an 8/10 without the thin mints and a 9/10 with thin mints-our highest rating yet. A bottle plus a box will run you $16 and it's the bees knees. Check it out.
2013 Rosemount Shiraz
13.5% ABV
$11.99
Minimal/slight rim variation, no sediment
It's the most wonderful time of the year. As you may have noticed we are now beset by brown clad preteens peddling their delicious and addictive wares outside of grocery stores. That's right, it's Girl Scout Cookie season. To honor that, we picked a wine this week that we thought might go well with one of our favorites, the undisputed champion of Girl Scout Cookies: The Thin Mint. We walked down to the liquor store and snagged a bottle of Rosemount Estate Shiraz (Syrah in American) for $11.99. By itself it's already one of the better wines we tasted, but when we brought out the thin mints it became hands down the best pairing either of us have tasted in our (admittedly short) lives. We gave it an 8/10 without the thin mints and a 9/10 with thin mints-our highest rating yet. A bottle plus a box will run you $16 and it's the bees knees. Check it out.
2013 Rosemount Shiraz
13.5% ABV
$11.99
Sight
Bright, deep garnet (purple-red) colorMinimal/slight rim variation, no sediment
Nose
Bold nose, smells like dried plum and black currant jam, followed by french oak
Palate
Very smooth tannins, little acid up front, really hits the back of the mouth
Very hot (alcohol) right after opening the bottle, mellows out a bit
Full-bodied with flavors of black pepper and plum, and a little bit of vanilla and oak on the draw-like bourbon
With Thin Mints?
Initial reaction: "Damn, that's good".
The mint seems to cool some of the heat from the alcohol and actually pairs very well. It also perks up your taste buds and the chocolate combination is rich enough to stand up to the bold flavors of the wine. You gotta try this. We were both a little skeptical at first but I don't think it could have turned out better.
8/10 solo: probably going to be my go-to inexpensive red from here on out
9/10 with thin mints: SO GOOD
Plus it's a screw cap!
Cheers,
A&P
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