Class 7

Spain and Portugal

It was interesting learning about Spain and Portugal, and to taste sherry and port.

Today's wines:
Marques de Cacered "Deusa Nai" Albarina, Rias Baixas DO, 2012
Rafael Palacios, Louro do Bolo, Valdeorras DO, 2011
Txomin Extaniz Rose, Txakoli Gueteria DO, 2012
Muga "Riserva" Rioja DOCa, 2008
Bodegas Mas Alta "Artigas", Priorat DOCa, 2010
Tarima "Monastrell", Alicante DO, 2012
Quinta de Avezedo, Vinho Verde DOC, 2012
Quinta do Crasto, "Reserva", Duoro DOC, 2010
Lustau Almacenista, "Pata de Gallina" Juan Garcia, Olorose Sherry
Jorge Ordonez, "Victoria", Malaga #2, 2012
Fonesca 10 year old Tawny Port
Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port, 2008

Class #5

I was very disappointed about today's class. Instead of spending a decent amount of time on the Piemonte region, we spent 1 hour on Alsace and 10 minutes on Piemonte. And the wines chosen from Piemonte were, in my opinion, horrible, and not at all representative of the region. The only good one was the Vietti Roero Arneis, one of my favorites.

Here is the list of wines we tasted:
White
Vietti Roero Arneis, Langhe 2012
Trimbach Riesling, Alsace 2011
Zind Humbrecht Gewurztaminer, Alsace 2011
La Gordonne Billette, Boquet de Provence 2012

Red
La Mota Barbera d'Asti 2011
Montubert Barbaresco, Piemonte 2006
Erbaluna Barolo, Piemonte 2007
Domaine des Hauts Chassis Crozes-Hermitaage "Les Galets" 2011
Clos du Mont-Olivet Chateaneuf-du-Pape 2011
Domaine de Verquiere Cotes du Rhone Villages Sablet 2010

Class #4

Class #4 focused on the Loire Valley and Bordeaux.

Here are the wines we tasted:

Domaine de la Peppiere Muscadet de Sevre et Maine, 'Les Gras Moutons', 2012

Domaine des Baumard, Savennières, 2009

Philippe Foreau, Domaine Clos Naudin "Demi-Sec" Vouvray, 2009

Domaine Fournier Sancerre "Les Belles Vignes" 2012

Domaine Bernard Baudry, Chinon "Les Grezeaux", 2011

Chateau Teynac, Saint-Julien, 2010

Château Vieux-Maillet, Pomerol, 2009

Clos la Coutale, Cahors, 2011

Castelnau de Suduiraut, Sauternes, 2007

With an aroma of sourdough, cider, some citrus and a hint of saltwater, the taste is similar, slightly salty, mineral and citrus is also present. In my opinion, too acidic. It also is not a typical wine, Muscadet usually is "sur lies", but this one is not.

Sweet and fruity, an aroma of honey and apple. I liked this wine, not to sweet, probably good in the summer.

Class #3

The focus of today's class was France, particularly Burgundy and Champagne. Before today I did not know how important France was to the history of wine. Sandy Block, the professor for today, talked a lot about the AOC and the development of the laws and rules when it comes to wine making.
Focusing in on Burgundy, we went over all the major regions, the different soils and weather that are part of shaping the wines. Sandy Block is a man of details, and my brain is actually hurting from all the information he threw at us today. Maybe once I have processed I can write more detailed about each region.

Here are the wines we tasted today:

Chablis Premier Cru "Vaillons," Simmonet Febvre, 2007
Macon-Villages, Domaine du Pavillon, 2011
Mersault, Albert Bichot, Domaine du Pavillon, 2011

Moulin a Vent, Chateau des Jacques, Cru Beaujolais, 2011
Beaune Permier Cru "Vigne Franches," Louis Latour, 2011
Gevrey-Chambertin, Chanson, 2011

Alfred Gratien, "Brut Classique," Champagne NV
Billecart Salmon "Extra Brut," Champagne NV
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut Rose Champagne NV

Class #2

Today's class was relatively strange and somewhat chaotic. Bill Nesto said there was no other way to do it, and he was right. We covered History of Wine, Vinification and a mixed tasting related to the history of wine.
On the menu for class #2:
Sherry, Port, Champagne, Beujolais, Pinot Noir, Riesling,

I was not a fan of Sherry or Port, but once again took to the riesling.
This time the riesling was from Mosel, Germany, by Mönchhof, a riesling spätlese, 2011. I am normally not a Riesling lover as they are often too sweet, but this one was not.

Class #1

I had my first class with Bill Nesto this week. Level 2: A Comprehensive Survey of wine. It was the first day, so we just went over some basics, like terminology and basic tasting tips. There are so many ways to describe a wine, and you need to use words that are universally understood, so that other wine enthusiasts know what you mean. Nesto gave us this big binder to read, and although it is a little overwhelming, I am pretty excited, and the material is interesting. One exercise we did was related to smell, and Nesto lined up these little jars with smells and our job was to identify each smell, and two stations had more than one smell. Then we tasted a few different "tastes", like bitter and sour. This was to get our noses and mouths used to smelling and tasting. At the end of the class, we tastes 4 white wines and 4 red wines.

The wines we tasted were:
St. Urbans-Hot, Ockfener Bockstein, Riseling Kabinett, Mosel Germany, 2011
Branko, Pinot Grigio, Collio Italy, 2012
Montes, Sauvignon Blanc, Leyda Chile, 2012
Mer Soleil, Chardonnay "Silver", Santa Lucia Highlands CA, 2011

Chateau Boutisse, Saint-Emillon Grand Cru, Bordeaux France, 2009
Ladera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2010
Gachot-Monot, Cotes de Nuits-Villages, Burgundy France 2010
Chave, "Offeurs", Saint Joseph, Rhone Valley France, 2011