Wine Tasting: 2012 Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz

Name: Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz
Variety: Shiraz
Region: Western Cape, Paarl
Country: South Africa
Year: 2012
Price: Less than $10

Winemaker's Review: Packed with juicy berry flavors and hints of dark chocolate, Jam Jar makes a versatile partner for everything from cheeseburgers to chocolate pudding. Best served slightly chilled, it offers luscious, fruity goodness in every sip! 

My Review: Where do I even begin? This wine is literally a steal! I'm not one to usually drink a whole bottle of wine in one sitting, but I came very close with this one! After letting this wine breathe for about 15 minutes, I was ready to sit back and drink away. First of all, it had a beautiful deep, dark red color. On the nose, it smelled like plum, dark juicy cherries, and slightly earthy/bitter. On my first sip, the wine tasted like sweet cherries and raspberries up front and had a nice dark chocolate finish. It was very smooth for being such an affordable wine. I believe this wine would be perfect for red wine beginners, as it has a great balance of sweet and bitter flavors (not to say that seasoned wine drinkers can't enjoy it too). It also paired wonderfully with my steak dinner. Seriously, pick up a bottle of this stuff. I know I'm going back for more!

Wine Event: Fork and Cork

   

     Blacksburg held their annual Fork and Cork, a wine and food festival, on Saturday April 27th. I went with my boyfriend Matthew and met up with my Aunt Traci, her friend Brandi, and Matt's parents. My tickets only cost $15 (I got the extra-early bird special) and I got a free glass to taste so many great wines!

Ready to go drink some wine with my handy-dandy wine yoke! 

     We started off by going to the Peaks of Otter winery to try some fruit wines. The winery was actually a farm first before it became a winery, hence why it specializes in fruit wines. I tried seven different fruit wines at this tent. I'm going to highlight three of my favorites:

• Strawberry Shortcake: A blend of strawberries and apple. This wine gave a heavy aroma of strawberries. It tasted more apple-y though. 
• The Mango Tango: Definitely smelled like its namesake. It was heavy on the mangoes on the palate and it was also a pretty dry wine.
• Puff: This is a dragonfruit wine. It smelled very floral on the nose and tasted like dragonfruit.

    I also tried Pure Passion, Blueberry Muffin, Chili Dawg (complete with a squirt of spray cheese), and Salty Frog Margarita. My boyfriend decided to "Kiss the Devil" with their hot pepper wine. I didn't want to ruin my palate, so I didn't participate. While I really liked the Peaks of Otter wines, they were more one dimensional and something easy to drink.

HokieTron made an appearance!

     From that tent, we proceeded to get something to eat. I grabbed a Gyro (without onions) from the Cellar food truck and paired it with a Riesling/Chardonnay blend called "Off the Cuff" from Attimo Winery. I reviewed this wine in my visit to Attimo winery on Friday (the post before this one).

My Gyro!

In my opinion this wine worked very well with the Gyro. The fruitiness of the wine helped pull out the freshness of the tomatoes, greens, and Tzatziki sauce made from cucumbers. The pita helped pull more of the chardonnay flavors out of the wine. The wine might have overpowered the lamb a little bit, since it helped elevate the other fresh flavors. But all and all, I really think I didn't do too bad with this pairing.
     After we ate we attended a chef showcase on chophouse favorites. They grilled a beautiful ribeye, made a lovely hashbrown, and shared their creamed spinach recipe that featured a ton of bacon! 

The chef showcase on chophouse favorites. 

     Matt and I then met up with his parents and tasted wines at Attimo Winery (his parent's favorite of the day) and AmRhein's Wine Cellar. I tasted four different white wines: 

Tasting wines at AmRhein's.

• Pinot Gris Reserve: Per AmRhein's: "This German Alastian style wine shines with a beautiful light honey hue. The multiple aromatic notes of lush fruit, citrus, mineral, and spice are complemented by a silky and creamy texture of honeysuckle and vanilla." On the nose this wine smelled like granny smith apples. It tasted like apple and it had a buttery finish. 
• Vidal Blanc: AmRhein's review: "This intriguing wine features sweet, luscious tropical fruit. It is a well structured wine that is rich in taste, and very elegant with a smooth finish that is clean and refreshing." This wine smelled like pear and pineapples and tasted as it smelled. It was a little acidic and hot on the finish. 
• Petit Manseng: AmRhein's review: "Showcases creamy apricot with rich fruit flavors of apple, pear, and citrus that rise from the glass in this barrel fermented wine." On the nose, I smelled apples and pears again. But, on the taste I got a sweet apple with a slight acidic finish. 
• Traminette: AmRhein's review: "A delightfully crisp wine featuring the flavors of pineapple and grapefruit. The acidity is balanced with the natural residual sugar reminiscent of the German Spatlese style of winemaking." On the nose this wine was most certainly giving off citrus aromas. It tasted sweet and grapefruity. 

 

My boyfriend, Matt, enjoying the day! 

    Since the lines were incredibly long (they sold out!), we only had time to fit in one more winery. We chose Veritas winery. I tried a total of seven different wines. Here are a few of my favorites: 

• 2012 Sauvignon Blanc: Their review: "Our Sauvignon Blanc is a true expression of youth and vibrancy. The aroma and flavors show ripe grapefruit, lime rind, lemongrass and wet-stone minerality. The flavors on the palate mirror the nose and brings a mouthful of crisp ripe fruits that are balanced by Sauvignon Blanc's naturally high acidity." On the nose this wine smelled very citrusy to me. On the taste, it was a dry wine but it had a very nice balance of fruit and heat. 
• 2012 Saddleback Chardonnay: Veritas's review: "A medium bodied wine showing aromas of apple, pear, honeydew melon, and kiwi. It is a perfect wine to pair with light fish and shellfish dishes, or even poultry with citrus sauces. Nice 'Chablis style' with stainless steel fermentation and matured 4 months in neutral French oak barrels." I think I like the unoaked Chardonnays more than the oak so I was excited to try this barely oaked wine. It smelled like pear and kiwis and tasted like pears and kiwis but not as crisp as I was expecting. I guess the 4 months in the oak barrels helped tame the fruit a little. 
• 2012 Rose: Their review: "The beautiful light color is natural and achieved by bleeding the juice from the skins of the Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes after 24 hours of skin contact. The nose is rich with berries and spice with soft floral aromas. The palate continues with fresh strawberries and cherries accented with a touch of residual sugar to help add body to the wine." On the nose I smelled some dark cherry notes and a hint of spice. Tasting this wine, I could pick out cherries and a smoky, bitterness, that I found surprising for a rose. This rose packed a punch. 

   

Matt and I finishing up our day of wine and fun!

     I had a ton of fun at Fork and Cork. I wish I would've gotten there earlier to be able to enjoy more wines then I did. My favorite wine of the day was the Traminette from AmRhein's. I found it to be very refreshing and something I could see myself sipping on a warm summer's day. It was sweet but not overly so, and it was the one wine I kept thinking about all day long. There's no doubt that I'll be at Fork and Cork next year!

Winery Visit: Attimo Winery

     My friend Tiffany and I visited Attimo Winery on Friday, April 26th. They are located in Montgomery County, Virginia on the outskirts of Christiansburg in the Blue Ridge Highlands Wine Region. Their name "Attimo" is Italian for "in the moment".

The tasting room and gift shop.

     We called ahead to schedule a tour and a tasting (simple tastings are $5 and a tour is $5), so when we arrived we did our tasting first. Inside the tasting room are various places to sit down and relax. Each sitting area is named for moments that happen in our lives. Tiffany and I choose the "Mellow Moment" table as we each had a long week and were looking to mellow out while we enjoyed our wine.

The name of our table. 

Getting ready to enjoy our wine! 

     We tasted a total of 9 different wines again all named for different moments. Their descriptions are as follows: 

• Yesterday's Song: Was described as a dry, crisp chardonnay that was lightly oaked and featured pear notes. On the smell it definitely smelled liked pears. On the taste it was nice and smooth with a slight oak notes between pears and apples. This was probably one of my favorite chardonnays as I'm not a big fan of heavily oaked Chardonnays. 
• Sonnet 98: This wine is Attimo's Vidal Blanc. It is described as a dry white that is crisp and floral and contains hints of fresh greens. On the smell it was more perfumey than fruity. To me it tasted like grass. 
• Off the Cuff: This wine is a blended wine that consists of Riesling and Chardonnay. It is described as a semi-sweet white that is fruity. On the smell it certainly smelled fruity with hints of apple, pear, and pineapple. On the taste it was very interesting because it was sweet and then the sweetness stopped and finished slightly dry. I really liked this wine. 
• Just Kissed Blush: Just kissed is a blend of Vidal Blanc and Raspberries. It is described as an off-dry blush, that's fruity and contains distinct berry flavors. I smelled what we associate with the typical grape smell on the nose along with the raspberries. Tasting this wine, I could pick out a ton of red fruit (raspberries, cherries, strawberries, and maybe a little blueberries). It was fruity and sweet but not over the top. 
• After Midnight: Another blended wine, this wine was made up of Merlot, Zinfandel, and Blackberries. It is described as a semi-sweet red with fruity flavors and a velvety texture. I smelled blackberries and bitterness. It was too bitter for my taste. 
• Bull Frog Symphony: This wine is a Bordeaux style blended wine. It is a dry red blend with peppery notes. On the nose it smelled like cherries and pepper. On the taste, it was certainly dry and had more pepper notes than I cared for. 
• Deep Silence: This wine was a Cabernet Franc that is described as a dry red with intense berry flavors and a light smoky pepper finish. I smelled smoky fruit on the nose and on the taste it was bitter first, then I got the dark juicy cherry flavors, then I got the pepper finish. 
• AD 325: AD 325 is made from the Chambourcin grape. It is a dry red with bold flavors and cherry undertones. This wine was unoaked and had a beautiful inky red color. The smell was very different from the other wines. I couldn't really put into words what I was smelling. It was slightly cedar smelling. It tasted really earthy instead of fruity. I struggled to pick up on the cherry undertones. 
• Sweet Berry Sunset: This was another very good wine. It is another blended wine that contains raspberries and other red grapes. It is a sweet red with intense berry and fruity flavors. I smelled the raspberries. It was slightly sweet on the taste with raspberries and sour flavors. 

   

The vineyards. I believe these were Vidal Blanc grapevines.

From the tasting we met up with Rik Obiso, the owner and winemaker. He gave us a brief history and answered some of our questions before we headed to the vineyard. The first vines were planted in 2006 and the winery first opened in 2010. It opened to the public in 2011. They have a good number of vines on the property but they also lease vines in Charlottesville, Roanoke, and Bedford. They also grow raspberries and blackberry plants on the property.

Rik explaining how they trim the grape vines down.

     In the vineyard Rik explained that when the grape vines grow dormant in December they trim them down to where the new branches started. The line that the grape vine is called a fruit wire and the vines will follow that wire and climb up to the upper wires as they grow. In September through October they harvest the grapes. 

New growth on the grapevine. When the grapevine goes dormant this is where they will prune it down to. 

     From the vineyard he took us into the wine-making area. He showed us the small bladder press where they crush the grapes, and then we were able to see where they store, filter, and blend their wines.

Me beside the bladder press machine. 

One of the winemakers filtering some of the Just Kissed.

The filtering machine to the right.

Their "lab" set-up. 

     Rik also explained that they normally ferment their wine to dryness to get the most alcohol content of their wine. If they're making a sweet wine they will add sugar. This is called chapitalization and is legal in Virginia but is not legal in most European countries.

Filtered Just Kissed almost ready for bottling! 

     He also said that they don't have their own bottling facility because it is so expensive. When it is time to bottle they rent a bottling truck, which is basically a semi with a fully operational bottling line inside. The truck backs up to the facility and they run hoses of wine into the truck and the truck will bottle everything for them. 

More of the vineyards. 

    All and all, I was very impressed with Attimo. For being such a young winery, they certainly know what they are doing and their wines are pretty good. I believe good things will come out of this winery in the future and would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a moment to get away. 

Tiffany and I enjoying our moment! 

 

Dinner with My Mom: The Palisades (Wines around the World: Rose Blends)

The front of the Palisades on a gorgeous spring day!

The town of Eggleston

     After a whole semester of trying, I finally convinced my mom to do a wine dinner with me. Having gone to the Palisades in Eggleston, VA with friends, I thought it would be a great place to take my mom (I offered to pay, of course). We had our dinner on Thursday, April 25th.

Some of the interior decorations.

     The theme of the night was rose blends and featured wines from Portugal, South Africa, and Virginia. A rose is a pink wine that can be sweet, semi sweet, or dry. Roses can have a range of colors and get their colors from the grapes and skin contact.

Wines Around the World: Rose Blends dinner write up.

    

My mom!

Me! 

     Our dinner pairing consisted of Beef Tenderloin with spicy strawberries, a Scallop and Salmon Ceviche with Grapefruit instead of the Scallop and Almond Ceviche and Braised Rhubarb with Vanilla. My mom was so excited, saying this was one of the most fancy dinners she's had in a very long time. 

The waitress first brought out what she called a "muse". It was a lime, coconut , and banana smoothie.

The dinner and wine. From left to right is the ceviche, rhubarb, and beef tenderloin.

     The first wine on the left was a 2011 Vera Vinho Verde from Portugal. This was both my favorite and my mom's favorite wine of the night. By itself it smelled like cherries. When we tasted it, it had a little fizz, a little bitterness, and tasted like cherries. It was a little hot on the finish. With the ceviche there was no noticeable change in my palate. My mom thought it brought out the sourness of the grapefruit. With the meat the wine was very good! The meat helped calm down the hot finish on the wine. I thought with the rhubarb the wine calmed down the rhubarb's tartness. My mom thought it was gross with the rhubarb. 

     The second wine in the middle was a 2012 De Morgenzon DMZ Cabernet Rose from South Africa. By itself it smelled sour to me. On the taste it tasted like strawberries and sour cherries with a peppery finish. There was definitely a tannic bitterness present also. With the ceviche it just didn't work and honestly, I just didn't want to try it again with the ceviche to figure out why it didn't work. With the meat it wasn't bad. The meat help calm down the tannic aspect of the wine. My mom and I were both in agreement that this wine paired best with the rhubarb. The tartness of the rhubarb and the vanilla in the rhubarb matched well with the sour cherries and spicy, bitter finish of the wine. 

     The last wine, a 2011 Lovingston Rose from Virginia, was our least favorite wine. It smelled like dark cherries, raspberries, and plums. On the taste it was the most bitter out of the three and I think that's why it turned both my mom and I off. She actually didn't pair it with any of the food because she disliked it that much. I thought it paired best with the ceviche. The bitterness of the wine was balanced by the grapefruit and peppers in the ceviche. With the meat, I thought the bitterness was somehow elevated. And finally with the rhubarb it was just nasty. 

     I was very sad when the waitress didn't bring the bottles through so we could take pictures, but the restaurant was extra busy that night. 

They bring out the check in a cute little mason jar!

     All and all, I really enjoyed my evening with my mom. I don't get to spend a ton of time with her because she works 12 hour shifts as a dispatcher so this was a extra special treat for me right before finals. I think she really enjoyed it too as since on the way back to my apartment she couldn't stop talking about how much fun she had. I learned a lot about her wine taste and she enjoyed having me share what I've learned in class. I'll definitely have more wine outings with her in the future as I see it as a great opportunity for some mother-daughter bonding! 

My mom and I outside the restaurant. 

Dinner: Zeppoli's (West Coast Wine Showcase)

     Tonight (Sunday, April 21st) my friend Tiffany, her friend Katie, and I met at Zeppoli's in Blacksburg for a west coast wine showcase presented to us by Matthew Burch.

Interior of Zeppolis

     Zeppoli's is located across the road from the University Mall. Every other Sunday they hold a wine tasting for students that consists of 8-10 different wines and a buffet of food for $15. 

The wines we tasted at Zeppoli's

     Once we arrived we were allowed to pick where we wanted to sit. 

Tiffany and I at the table (Kelsey from last week is in the background).

     He checked our ID's, handed us a wine glass and we loaded our plate with delicious food. They had two types of bread--white Italian, and olive bread, crackers and different types of cheese, Teriyaki Chicken and rice, Meatballs and Pineapples, a Greek salad with feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, and onions, Manicotti and some type of Italian pizza. There was no descriptions on anything but it all looked good so I just grabbed it all! 

My loaded plate! 

     Matthew started us with a 2011 Firesteed Pinot Gris from Oregon. It was probably my favorite wine of the bunch. It was very aromatically pleasing with smells of kiwi and pineapple. It tasted smooth and citrus-y with hints of pineapple, apple, and kiwi. It paired best in my opinion, with either the white bread or the chicken. Our second wine was a 2009 Lamplighter Chardonnay from California. It smelled like oak and vanilla and tasted tropical fruit forward with oak and vanilla on the finish. It also lit up the sides of my tongue. The chicken seemed to calm it down. The third wine, a 2011 White Knight Viognier from Clarksburg was ok. It smelled like pears and tasted like citrus and pineapples with a hot finish. The white cheese (I want to say it was swiss) helped take away some of the heat but it also took away some of the fruit flavor. The fourth wine, a 2011 Beringer Chenin Blanc from California was the cheapest wine of the night at $8.99. It was difficult to get anything on the smell but on the taste it was sweet, fruity and a little hot. It wasn't anything special but it wasn't bad either. I wasn't too impressed. I actually thought this wine was pretty good with the rice. 

Tiffany acting silly. 

     The first red wine we tasted was a 2011 Simple Life Pinot Noir from California. It smelled smokey, bitter and tasted tannic and very earthy. It wasn't fruity at all. It wasn't bad with the manicotti. The manicotti helped add a little acid to cut through the tannins. The second red was 2011 Riven Rock Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm not a big fan of Cabernet Sauvignons as I still think they're too much for my palate but I gave it a try anyways. On the nose this wine smelled dirty and it tasted like dark fruit and peppers. The cheese helped it taste better, but I'm still not a big fan. The third red, a 2008 Renwood Syrah from the Sierra Foothills, got me really excited because I'm a fan of Shiraz from Australia so I wanted to taste the same grape from a different region. It smelled like an earth covered fruit and tasted fruit forward with a little spice. It was really good with bread and I'm thinking it would be great with a good steak. The fourth red wine was a 2010 Cypress Vineyards Merlot from the Central Coast of California. I could really smell the alcohol on this wine, which isn't surprising since its 13.5% alcohol by volume. It also smelled like cherries and tasted like dark mushy cherries with a little chocolate thrown in. It was a little tannic, but not too bad. It was pretty good with the meatballs, but I didn't have much left to try it with at this point. The last wine, a 2010 Trentadue, Old Patch Red, Lot #34 from California is a blended wine that contains mostly Zinfandel with Syrah, Carignane, and Petite Sirah. It smelled amazing with notes of pepper, dark black and red fruit, along with some vanilla-y notes. However, I was disappointed when I tasted this wine, it just didn't live up to its nose. It tasted best with the buttery crackers. 

Some of the wines we tasted.

   All and all, I really liked Zeppoli's. You get a ton of food and wine for your money. I liked the fact that they let us explore our own food pairings, but part of me wishes they had a guide of what food matched best with what wine in their own opinion. You also get 10% off all wines the night of the tasting. Tiffany's friend Katie like the Pinot Gris so much that she bought a bottle. In summary, I would highly recommend Zeppoli's to anyone!

Tiffany and I in front of Zeppoli's with Katie's bottle of Pinot Gris.

 

Winery Visit: Chateau Morrisette

     This past Saturday, April 20th, 2013 my mom and I took a drive down to Chateau Morrisette, a local Virginia Winery located in Floyd, VA right off of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Rocky Knob AVA. Chateau Morrisette consists of a restaurant, tasting room, gift shop, and wine production facility.

The grounds at Chateau Morrisette.

     I was really excited to visit the winery since I've never been to one, and I wanted to see first hand what the wine making process was actually like. I was also equally excited to share this experience with my mom because, like me, she's never visited a winery before!

    The trip was a little less than an hour and a half drive from my hometown in Botetourt County. From Blacksburg, I would say it would take an hour or less. We arrived at a little after 4:00 pm and since the next tour wasn't until 5:00 pm we decided to take a look around.

The winery/tasting room/gift shop we explored when we first arrived.

     We started off in the winery/gift shop and quickly found we picked a very good weekend to come up. All of their wines were discounted 20% with their holiday wines discounted by 30%. Normally $8, their wine tastings were free this weekend and they also had light hor d'oeuvres. 

The beautiful interior of the winery. All the timber inside here was reclaimed .

The tasting room and gift shop. As you can see it was quite  crowded this weekend!

     Their hor d'oeuvres were delicious and they had so many. We grabbed some of the tomato bruschetta and homemade mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes before it was time for our tour to start. 

     Our tour guide Suzette, first gave us the history of the winery. It started as a vacation home for the Morrisette's in the 1970's and soon their hobby of planting grapes got out of hand and they started a wine making business. Their first batch of commercial wine was produced in 1982 under the name Woolwine Winery, with their son David as the wine maker. The winery's name was later changed to Chateau Morrisette by David himself. In the 1990's the growing winery underwent an expansion to become the winery we now see today. 

     Suzette then gave us a tour of the wine making process, starting with what she called the crushing pad. The grapes are brought up in big white rectangular tubs and dumped into a de-stemming machine. Basically, the way it works is there is a holed caged inside the destemmer that rotates and there's counter-rotating paddles that pull the stems off of the grapes and then the grapes fall through the holes in the cage. She then showed us the two pressing machines, nicknamed Lucy and Ethel. These are bladder press machines where inside is a huge rubber bladder that inflates and presses the juice out of the grapes.

Our tour guide Suzette explaining the wine making process on the crushing pad. Behind the white rectangular boxes on the right is the destemmer and in the middle and on the left are the two pressing machines. She nicknamed the smaller pressing machine in the middle, Ethel and the larger pressing machine on the left, Lucy.

     While there was no wine production going on this weekend she encouraged us to come back in September and October when they actually bring up grapes to the crushing pad to see how it works.   
     From the crushing pad she took us into the warehouse where they actually turn grape juice into wine. She showed us where the fermentation takes place and where they keep the grape juice for aging. She explained that they have both french and american oak barrels as well as stainless steel barrels (which looked more like  huge vats). She also gave us a fact about their chardonnay saying they take the wine and split it into oak and stainless steel barrels then mix it together when the aging process is finished. Unfortunately she wasn't able to take us to see the bottling facility, but again encouraged us to come back another time to see that process. 

The Oak Aging Barrels.

The fermentation tanks. The grape juice comes in from outside through  hoses attached to the tops of the tanks. 

The stainless steal aging barrels.

      From the tour we proceeded to go to the wine tasting. We tasted a total of 14 wines. The descriptions are as follows: 

Some of their award winning wines.

• 2011 Chardonnay: The first wine we tasted was a pretty golden color. It smelled like apples and tasted like apples, oak, and it was slightly acidic. It was not my favorite but it wasn't too bad either.
• 2011 Dry Rose: I liked this wine. It was made from 100% Chambourcin grapes. On the nose, it smelled like sour fruit. It tasted like sour cherries.
• 2011 Chambourcin: I actually bought a bottle of this wine because I really liked how balanced it was. It smelled like blackberries and pepper and tasted fruity and smooth.  
• 2011 Cabernet Franc: I didn't really like this wine. On the nose I smelled berries and cedar. I tasted wood and bitter tannins mixed with dark fruit. 
• 2009 Petit Verdot: I didn't really like this wine either. It smelled nice and smoky. On the taste it was definitely fruitier than the Cabernet Franc but it was still too bitter for my taste. 
• 2011 Vidal Blanc: This wine wasn't bad. It smelled floral and citrusy. And tasted tart. It also tasted like citrus and apple, a floral apple. 
• Our Dog Blue: This wine is Chateau Morrisette's version of a Reisling. I also bought a bottle of this wine! It was difficult to get anything on the smell. Possibly because I had smelled so many wines already and my nose was getting overwhelmed. It tasted sweet and refreshing.  
• Blushing Dog: This blended wine was a blend of Vidal Blanc, Traminette, and Chambourcin. It was also a sweet wine that smelled like strawberries. On the taste, I tasted red fruits like raspberries, strawberries, and cherries. 
• Red Mountain Laurel: This wine is a blend of native american grapes (although they never said what kind). It smelled like Welch's grape juice which makes me think that it had some concord grape in it. It tasted like sweet, sweet grapes or as my mom said "grown up Welch's". I probably would've bought a bottle of this but I could see it being really dangerous as it was so good. 

Tasting the Red Mountain Laurel. 

• White Muscadine: This wine is the one wine I really wish I got a bottle of. It was so different than anything I had ever tasted and I'm kicking myself for not buying some. It smelled sweet and very grape-y. It was very difficult to describe because it was so different, but it had a slight fizz that cut through the sweetness.
• Sweet Peach: Chateau Morrisette also does other fruit wines. This wine was exactly like smelling an orchard full of peach trees. It definitely tasted peachy and sweet with a slight spice finish. 
• Blackberry Wine: Another one of their fruit wines, this blackberry wine was made from blackberries shipped from Oregon. It smelled like dark, sweet, juicy blackberries and tasted exactly like the smell. 
• Sweet Mountain Apple Wine: This fruit wine is made from four different types of apples--granny smith, pink lady, golden delicious, and a fourth apple I didn't catch. It smelled exactly like our bartender, Ray, described it would--Apple Jolly Ranchers. If I could describe the way this wine tasted I would describe it as walking though an orchard and picking a nice fresh, juicy, apple from a tree and taking a huge bite. 
• 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon: This wine was our Bartender Ray's favorite. He said that it went up against some California Cabs and won a Bronze Medal. It was not my favorite. It smelled really earthy and like dark berries. It tasted too bitter. I did not like it. 

My Mom and I after the Wine Tasting. 

     All and all I had a really great time with my mom at the winery. I was a little disappointed that we didn't really get to see the actual wine-making process with real wine or the vineyards, but I'll definitely come back in the fall! 

I grabbed a picture of the restaurant before I left.