Pinot Grigio

Made from the pinot gris grapes, Pinot Grigio is the white form of Pinot Noir.  This wine can be light to full bodied depending on which region the bottle is from.

Cavit Pinot Grigio
    From the delle Venezie region of Italy this Pinot Grigio is a light bodied wine the has certain crisp flavors.

Sutter Home
    From California this wine is said to have a crisp taste containing hints of pepper and arugula.  However all I tasted was an aftertaste of gross cheese.  This brand is probably the least expensive for wine and I'm beginning to think there's a reason for it.  Do yourself a favor and spend the extra $2 on the other bottle.

Gewurztraminer

 Gewurztraminer is a dry, white wine that sometimes comes in a spritz, or bubbly, form. It combines the flavors of the Gewurztraminer grapes with lychee, passion fruit and some floral tones.  Its a smooth wine with no unpleasant after taste.  I've found that it pairs well with spicy foods, chicken and a few sweets.  What will you pair it with?








  
Chateau Ste Michelle

   A German Gewurtraminer and my first introduction to this type of wine. Delicious and inexpensive. 

Moscato D'Asti

Classification: Sparkling White Wine, Dessert Wine
Color: Straw, like white grape juice
Taste: Sugary Sweet

This is the sweet tea's of wines.  And according to Forbes Moscato D'Asti is the perfect picnic wine.  If you want a sweet wine, go for the Moscato D'Asti.  Personally I couldn't figure what types of food to pair with this wine, it seemed the sugary sweetness overran all the other flavors.  Whats your favorite pairing?


Brand: Piazzo Comm Armando
 I splurged on this bottle ($22!!) and it was well worth it.  This is the first wine that I've drunk and immediately thought, "Mmm, this is good!"







Brand: Cascinetta Vietti
    Not as tastefully sweet as the Piazzo Comm Armando, but nicer on my wallet.

A Beginner's Thoughts on Wine

I am working very hard at understanding wine.  How it gets the flavors it does, what flavors I enjoy, what makes a good wine, and if there one company that you can trust for good wines as a whole.  This is a very slow process and I imagine it will take years to discover everything.  But here's what I have learned so far from various sources.

The first thing to know about wines, at least for me, is the mystery of tannins.  Tannins are chemicals proteins erm... things that can be found in many plants.  I haven't quite figured out what they are yet, and I'm not very good at understanding plant biology/chemistry so I probably will never understand.  Regardless, their job is to make the grapes taste bitter until they are ripe and ready to release their seeds, this helps protect them from birds and such.  Tannins are present in the grape's stem, seeds and skins.  The tannic flavor of a wine is directly dependent on the length of time the stems, seeds and skins were involved in the fermentation process.  From what I can tell the darker red the wine is, the longer the skins were in the mixture.

Its because of that reason white wines may be more beginner friendly, that way you can introduce yourself slowly to the taste of the tannins.

Possible White Wines to try:
-Ice Wine
-Moscato

Possible Blush Wines to try:
-white zinfindel
-white merlot

Possible Red Wines to try:
-Merlot
-Chianti
-Shiraz

**disclaimer:  I have not tried all of these wines yet, this is just what I've gather from other websites**

Another option to try could be Port, which is wine that has been fortified with brandy.

Wine has different sweetness levels:
    Sweet to Dry

Wine also comes in different consistencies:
    Light (like water) to Heavy (like cream)

One thing that I didn't realize until this morning is that Wine can go bad!!  Once a bottle is open you should drink it within 3 days.  The longer its out it loses its flavors and takes on a vinegar taste.  I had wine open for like 2 month in my fridge, I drank it.  Didn't get sick or anything, but I also didn't really enjoy the taste that much.  So remember, drink within 3 days!

Some websites that have been helpful to me that you might want to check out are:
http://wineintro.com/
http://www.wine-4-beginners.com/
http://wine.about.com/od/winebasic1/Wine_Basics_A_Beginners_Guide_to_Wine.htm
http://www.discoveryellowtail.com/fun/flavor-map.php

Hope that helps you!  From now on I'll be posting my thoughts on my current bottle of choice and random tidbits when I discover them.  Enjoy!

A Beginning

 Whats not to love about romance novels?  They're full of adventure, love, handsome men, daring women, romance, villains, steamy sex and happy endings.  There are so many genres; historical, contemporary, paranormal, mystery and suspense.  I've read my fair share of romance novels.  I find that they're rather addicting, its like the Lay's chip advertisement "bet you can't have just one".  While some of the stories were wonderful and still have me thinking about them, others were just plain awful.  I got to the end and said "that was a romance novel?  Where was the romance?"  Another, even greater tragedy, is when I remember the plot of the book but I don't remember the author, or the title!  In this blog I will give a brief description on each novel that I read, the author, the title and then score it on a rating system that I have yet to come up with.  I hope this will help me and you discover some truly fantastic stories and authors.

Now, what pairs wonderfully with a good romance novel?  Why, that would be a glass of wine.  As a beginner taster I will be updating on my current choice and my thoughts on it.  I will also add in little factoids to help out other beginner wine tasters.