This was a French-based Vouvray, a white wine made from Chenin Blanc grapes. It is a light to medium-boded wine and slightly sweet. It reminded me of a Brut sparkling wine but without the effervescence. This type of wine can pair well with some citrus-based spicy foods. I paired it with a spicy guacamole and it went well. This is a good white wine if you enjoy a slightly sweet one. We’re on the downhill slide into the remaining four wines to taste. The excitement is building isn’t it? 🙂
Vial #7 is a 2016 red wine from the Gaillac region of France. This wine is from the Duras grape varietal, one of the older grape varietals grown in France. I liked this wine. Who am I kidding, I like all wines. However, here are the reasons I like this wine. It was relatively bold with hints of cherry, cinnamon, and maybe a bit of pepper. I paired it with prime rib and it truly complemented it rather than overpowering it. Since this is an experiment and I’m a nerd, I thought I’d throw in a couple of elements…of the periodic table that is. NaCl – aka salt. Sodium (Na) has a single electron in its outer shell that it readily donates to create a positively charged ion. It is highly reactive. Chlorine (Cl), in its purest form, can be fatal but is more often combined with other elements and compounds for cleaning and disinfecting. However, it is one electron short of a full eight electrons in its outer shell, so it reacts with many elements to complete its outer shell. Na and Cl latch onto each other in harmony – much like this wine and prime rib. I might be one electron short of a full eight, but it does make this journey interesting, doesn’t it? Have a great night!
This particular white, a Blanc Tradition from the Cote du Jura region of France, was a slightly sweet wine that was almost reminiscent of a port. It was not as sweet, but had a hint of the port flavors – slight licorice and cough syrup. That is what it tasted like to me. It did not pair well with a savory item such as turkey, but did pair fairly well with a brown-sugar glazed ham. It’s just not my favorite because I’m just not a fan of that type of wine. A bit of trivia…the Cotes du Jura region is in eastern France and is the largest appellation in terms of size. That’s as far as we’ll take the geology into the science experiment. I only dabble in wine samples, not soil samples. We’re halfway through Twelve Nights of Wine – even though we’re past Christmas. Sometimes science needs an extended timetable for purposes of more comprehensive findings.
I have covered the label in the spirit of blind testing
First of all….Merry Christmas!! The best of blessings to all of you!
Given that I’m behind on the experiment, I decided to try two wines last night on Christmas Eve while watching It’s a Wonderful Life. I am calling this a double-blind comparison. I tried both an Italian Cabernet Sauvignon and French Beaujolais. In order to develop a standard, I decided to pair them both with pizza. All the while riding the It’s a Wonderful Life emotional roller coaster. A lot of variables going on with this particular testing scenario.
2017 Italian Cabernet Sauvignon – Berry on the nose. A lot of mineral. Long finish and while I enjoy a bold cab,
this wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t enjoy
it with pizza at all. It tasted like burnt
mustard when paired with it.
2015 French Beajolais – Pungent on the nose. Relatively smooth finish. I did enjoy this with the pizza.
This revelation – that a French Beajolais would taste better with pizza than an Italian Cabernet Sauvignon is a prime example of the need for true scientific testing. This is a historical finding!
Team – I realize I have been remiss in my science experiment publication. I’d tell you I’ve been busy with other highly critical scientific projects, but that’s simply not true. I did manage to apply lab testing to the third wine – a rosé. It had a hint of strawberry and was a nice lighter wine. You should pair it with lighter cheeses and fruit. That combination really goes well with this wine.
On a party bus riding around looking at Christmas lights. Yeah a vial on a party bus probably doesn’t reflect a respectable wine blogger. However, this is a solid, earthy with a slight clove (maybe?) red but needs to breathe. I’d tell you the varietal but can’t read the label. Yeah just an aging party girl here.
Did I mention this was a blind study? I’m going to keep the brands hidden, although not sure why. Mad scientist and all that. Appelation: Muscadet Sevre et Maine This was a pretty good dry white wine with hints of melon. It would pair well with lighter chicken or seafood dishes – nothing too heavy. Further investigation is required to determine where/if I can find this wine. In addition, I’m creating a solid rating system that includes charting and diagrams.
Merry Christmas Everyone! As promised, I am trying my first Vinebox 2018 Twelve Nights of Wine. This box contains..well…12 single-servings of wine. Each wine is in what look like vials or test tubes, so that makes it official…SCIENCE EXPERIMENT!! If you know me, you know I’m all about the science and ensuring accuracy of my experiments.
Vinebox Twelve Nights of Wine
The first orders of business were 1. Proper labeling and 2. Proper storage. I don’t have a lot of funding for my lab, so I created some labels – see below.
Twelve Nights of Wine – Vinebox
What were you thinking – Johns Hopkins? No…it’s Stephanie’s Upstairs Lounge and Lab.It’s about the science, not the style. Once properly labeled, I then proceeded to store the test variables in their temperature-controlled environments..aka..my wine refrigerator. Safety first in Stephanie’s Upstairs Lounge and Lab so I label any potential hazards.
I’m putting on my lab coat, safety glasses, neoprene gloves, and a scientific mindset. I’m also putting it in hyperdrive because if you’re better at math than science you’ll realize I’m running a little behind in my experiment to finish it in time for Christmas. (They didn’t offer STEM programs when I was in school, so I only did well in one subject and it wasn’t math). We’ll see if I can finish this experiment with solid data and in time for Christmas. Stay tuned.
