Wine Pre-21

Pre-21? Yes. Absolutely.

Throughout my adolescence, my mom always loved having me sip on her wine when we would go out to dinner. She enjoyed hearing what I had to say about the taste of each wine and always seemed to know which ones I would and wouldn't particularly like. So, I was exposed pretty early on, and always enjoyed it.

In the summer of 2011, I traveled abroad to Cape Town, South Africa. As you may know, South Africa is known for it's wineland and specializes in their Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. My first wine tasting took place at a winery called Spier located in Stellenbosch, South Africa. My favorite wine, hands down, is Spier's 2011 Sauvignon Blanc. While I am not nearly educated enough in wine to tell you exactly what I taste in this bottle, I can tell you that the label says: "This elegant wine rewards with aromas and flavours of grass, fresh herbs and tropical fruit, and is well rounded on the palate. Serve with poultry, salads and shellfish."

That being said, I have hardly ever been a fan of sweet wines. I did go through the Moscato phase that every college girl seems to go through. But, after waking up with severe headaches and feelings of nausea just from all the sugar in Moscato, I quickly realized that it truly was a phase. Later, I found out that it is classified as a dessert wine and it all makes sense to me now.

Here's a photo of Spier winery.

And my favorite wine from the winery.

I also went to a wine tasting in a very small town called Pniel in South Africa. In the town of Pniel, at least two people out of every family works at the winery. Because wine is in such abundance in SA, we were able to taste 5 wines for less than 3 US dollars... and it was a beautiful day. Here are a few photos I took that day.

Upon my arrival back in the United States, I found myself very eager to turn 21 and to be able to taste wines at home. About a month before my 21st, I traveled to St. Croix for my cousins wedding and truly fell in love with a certain wine she had there. The wine was called "entwine" and it was a 2010 California Pinot Grigio. It was ordered in bulk for the entire week of the wedding and it really grew on me. It's an American wine and I've been able to find it all over the place back home but I do love it. I may just have an association attached to it since I was with my family and at a week long wedding celebration...but, it's incredibly crisp and refreshing. We ate a large amount of fish while we were down there and it paired perfectly for it. Food Network claims that it's perfect for evenings on the porch. The rehearsal dinner took place at a beautiful farm on the island where we ate all home grown or farm raised foods and enjoyed live music. It was a completely outdoor event and I was truly able to enjoy entwine the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

When I finally did have my righteous 21st birthday this past August, my mom decided to take me to a Total Wine store. We chose 12 different bottles to make up a case which would be my 21st birthday gift from my Mom. This gave me the chance to have 12 different tastes - which I have yet to get through. It prevented me from only sticking to one kind that I consistently like. Within this case was:

1 bottle of Spier Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (South Africa)
1 bottle of Schramsberg Blanc De Blancs Brut Vintage 2009 (California, USA)
1 bottle of Mirassou Pinot Noir 2011 (California)
1 bottle of The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (Malborough, New Zealand)
2 bottles of Entwine Pinot Grigio 2010 (California)
1 bottle of Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (California)
1 bottle of Oak Grove Zinfandel 2010 Reserve (California)
1 bottle of La Delizia Pinot Noir 2011 (Italy)
1 bottle of Esperal Vinho Verde (Portugal)

...and a few others that I no longer have the bottles for.
My favorites from the bunch besides the two I've previously mentioned have been the Pomelo and the Mirassou.

If we're talking reds, I love a great Pinot Noir. I come from an Italian family who drinks a lot of red wine. But, at this point in my life, if I'm having a "wine night" with the girls, I will typically drink a white. If I'm making myself dinner and plan to drink with it, I will drink a wine - because I eat a lot of fish, shrimp, and chicken. If I'm having a big bowl of pasta, then yes, I will drink red. But, socially, I find that red just makes me more tired. I'm assuming I'll learn all about the reasons for this in this class. But for my all time favorite, I'd probably go with either a Vinho Verde or Sauvignon Blanc. My experience is extremely minimal though, so I'm very excited to widen both my palette and knowledge.

I am very excited to be in this class. I find the information completely fascinating and I'm eager to learn and become a wine-snob. My step-mother thinks she knows all there is to know and I have to say, I can't wait to out-smart her.

Cheers!