Pinot Noir #17, 18 & 19

       This may be my last review, well at least for a little while.  I do have one more bottle of Pinot Noir that I have bought, but I may save that for a new friend, as she likes Pinots.  We spent our first day together last weekend and were at a winery, and she tentatively asked that if she tried a Pinot Noir on the tasting list, would she still have a ride home.  I laughed and half jokingly said, "Well, just this once...."  I am kind of done with tasting things I do not enjoy.  After 19+ Pinot Noirs, I have not really found one I would actually order if there were other reds available.  I would rather tantalize my taste buds with my Daddy's fresh garden tomatoes with cracked pepper and Feta cheese, or fresh french bread from HEB with herb garlic oil.  Pinot Noir has taught me quite a few lessons, the main one being that I cannot change the essence of what something is.  Pinot Noir will never be a Cabernet Sauvignon, or Malbec, nor does it try to be.  No matter what a winemaker does to it, its fruitiness will come out.  Kind of reminds me of myself, no matter how much I grow as a person, or strive for, there will always be that nuttiness inside of me, and that is OK.  Pinot Noir has taught me that I do not need to change for anyone.  There will be those who like or love me and those who can't stand me.  And that is fine too.  Although I cannot understand why anyone wouldn't love me, but then again I can't understand why anyone would drink Pinot Noirs or eat rhubarb pie.  And maybe it is not for me to know.  Just accept and move on.  Another lesson.  As you can probably tell, I've gotten lazy in my last few tastings, not using the 3 different glasses, not even using the Pinot Noir glass, and that is also a clue that this journey is at end, because anytime I feel bored and not willing to continue with the process, although I am the one who came up with this particular process, it is time to move on to a new adventure.  

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The Archivist- 2014- Monterrey County- 13% alcohol, Original price- $12.99, sale- $10.99.  The label said- black cherry, crushed red berries, dried rose petals with subtle layers of toasty oak.  I can agree with that.  To me it was more rhubarby tart, but I did taste some oak.  I gave it a 2.5.  

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Decoy- 2015- Sonoma County- 13.5% alcohol.  Original price- $26.99, sale- $18.99.  I had a little higher hopes for this one, because of the higher price tag, but that does not always happen, and it did not happen with this wine.  The label did not have any description of the wine per se- just- "The everyday wine for the well informed."  Well that does not say a whole heck of a lot and can be construed in so many different ways, well informed as in what? The latest debacle of Fox news?  The daily comings and goings of the African swallow (or is it the European) , or  the square root of pi?  Anyway, I did not like this wine.  Surprise, surprise.  This is a typical Pinot Noir, berry upfront, short finish, bleh.  But I do believe your typical Pinot Noir drinker would like this, although they could probably find one they liked at a better price, but then I guess it would depend on why they are drinking it, to enjoy it, or to impress those around them.  I gave it 3 stars.

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Moselland- 2015 Rosé- Germany, no alcohol noted on bottle.  I bought this mainly for the wine bottle, I love cats, and I plan on putting an ivy in it.  I do not particularly like Rosé, and I think you know how I feel about Pinot Noir, but hey I'm an adventurous type of girl, at least with wine.  It had a slight strawberry taste, still a little too tart for me, I tried it with my french toast slathered in Vermont syrup, but that made it even more tart.   I added 2 tsp. of sugar, but that didn't really help, I then filled a mason jar with ice and filled it half with Orange Fanta and half Rosé, thinking I could make some kind of spritzer with it, still not to my taste, but then I added sparkling water and it was drinkable to me, although I would not specifically buy this wine to do that with.  If I want a wine spritzer, I am going to get an Italian sparkling Moscato and mix it with Peach Fresca.  Yum.  But back to this wine. If someone was a light Rosé drinker, meaning they liked light Rosé, this would probably be a fun wine for them.  3 stars for this one.

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Pinot Noir # 15 & 16

Pinot #15 was tasted on Friday, June 23.  It was mid-afternoon, and I had nothing planned for the rest of the day, had been swimming, meditation & and yoga and so I thought what better way to relax into the day than have a nice glass of Pinot Noir.  Sometimes I crack myself up.

2016 -Meiomi- Monterey, Santa Barbara & Sonoma counties- 13.7% alcohol- price originally $24.99, on sale for $16.99, corkscrew. My thought was maybe delving into the mid-range Pinot’s I would get a better tasting profile, you know the whole, the more you pay the better it is, philosophy.  I was kind of excited when I poured it as it had a medium color depth, which most of the Pinots I have been tasting have been very watery, or pale.  It was garnet in color and the aroma intensity was moderate.  Another good sign, I could actually smell something without straining my nose muscles (not sure that is medically possible…), the aroma reminded me of a salty beach, which is a good smell for me.  There was a medium sweetness to the wine, medium tartness, low tannins, good balance and moderate flavor intensity.  The first taste was slightly tart on the sides of the mouth with a berry tongue and I liked the woodsy mushroom finish.  I was hopeful.  The first glass was not bad, in fact a little enjoyable.  When my husband came home he wanted to get out of the apartment, so we went to my daughter’s house so he could meet her new puppy and we ended staying for about 3 hours, playing a really fun game.  Thinking to myself, that Pinot was not that bad, I’ll have a glass before turning in.  It was definitely much tarter, with cranberry notes.  I did not finish the glass.  I did try a little the next morning and the tartness was overwhelming.  I gave this a 3 star, because it would be good to share with friends for one glass each, or for someone who really likes a lot of fruit in their wine.  And that is probably why I am not really finding a Pinot to suit me, because they are fruit forward and I just don’t like tart fruits.

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Pinot#16 was tasted on Sunday, June 25 and much more enjoyable, so much so that I drank about three quarters of the bottle, over a 6 hour period mind you, but still, that is pretty good for me.

2015- Josh Cellars- Central Coast- 13.5% alcohol, original price $19.99, sale price $13.99.  I did not have grand expectations for this wine as it was watery, ruby in color and clear in clarity.  I have been there before.  I do have to say though, when I opened the cork, I could smell it.  For a Pinot Noir, it was very aromatic, smelling of cedarwood, slight berry, almost like a rhubarb pie before you cut into it.  This wine had a medium sweetness, medium body, medium tartness, surprisingly medium tannins, it did state on the bottle description there was some oak, although it did not say for how long, balance was fair and as far as the flavor intensity, flavorful.  The first taste had rose petal on the front, tartness in the middle, and a smooth, long finish.  The flavor did stay in my mouth for quite a long time.  The second taste was much better, I loved the upfront, not so much the middle because of the tartness, but again the finish was nice.  I had some sea-salt and black pepper potato chips with it, and they seemed to take away most of the tartness.  As the evening wore on, I only tasted a slight tartness, I do not know if it was because the wine was sitting in the glass, or it was the 2^nd and 3^rd glass.  I gave this a 4.5 star out of 5.  I could drink this wine again and my taste buds would not be mad at me.  I would pair this with a food that was heavily seasoned as the wine would not interfere with the food.   

Pinot Noir #13 & 14

     The two wines I tasted today were a 2015 Blazon Pinot Noir from Lodi and a 2015 Sola California Pinot Noir, no appellation.  I honestly have to say that the only good thing about these two wines is the picture that I staged them with.  I now understand all those people that used to come into the tasting room and tell me they didn’t like wine, because if all they had tasted was Pinot Noir, which seems to be the darling of the day, I would feel the same way.  I used the same tasting strategy as yesterday, taster glass, Pinot Noir glass, regular glass.  None of them made a difference.  I would not buy either one of these and I do not know anyone that I dislike so much that I would suggest them.

2015 Blazon Pinot Noir-13.2% alcohol- $8.98- The color depth was watery, clarity clear and color along the ruby side.  In the taster glass, the aroma was low, smelling of cardamom, it started off with a cranberry tart flavor but ended in wet dog.  The Pinot Noir glass had an aroma of alcohol, but the tasting was just the same.  In the regular wine glass, I smelled musty dust, it was not as tart, but still ended in wet dog.  I gave this a 1 star. 

2015 Sola-13.5% alcohol-$7.99- The color depth was watery, clarity clear and color hue garnet.  The aroma was of moderate intensity.  The aroma was the same in all 3 glasses.  I could not place it at first, I knew it was something from my childhood, and not a pleasant memory, and then it hit me, Lilt home perm kit.  I don’t know if anyone else has had those, my mother did them incessantly on my straight hair when I was a child.  The liquid she put on my head smelled horrible, was cold and dribbled down the front of my head and most times got into my nose and mouth and ears.  As you can tell it was not a pleasant experience.  I did not even want to put this wine in my mouth, but as you know sometimes your journey in life demands you to do things you do not want to do, so I pressed on.  I wish I had not.  It tasted just like the Lilt Perm.  I did not even give this any star.  It was awful.  Now maybe there is someone out there whose “perm” experience was not as traumatic as mine, but I prefer not to go back to the past, at least those memories that were not nice.  I am sure my Mom meant well, and if I had never had one, I would not be able to compare this wine to it, so I guess I needed it, well at least one, not 10. 

     Which brings me to the question, why am I continuing to do this when I am not really having fun, I mean, life is supposed to be fun, and yes, we have moments in our lives when they are not so fun, but at my age, I have a choice in most my moments whether they are enjoyable or not.  I may not make it to 25 Pinot Noirs.  I will probably buy a few more, but honestly after 15, you would think I would have found more than 1 that was palatable.  But then again, I hate liver (another childhood trauma), and I don’t care how it is fixed, I am not going to eat it.  

Pinot #12- A Doctor's Appointment

     

My tasting partner has been promoted to a manager’s position, so has not been available like she was before for helping me with Pinot Noir.  I am very happy for her, it is what she has worked for since she was in her teens, and she totally deserves it, but I can say tasting by yourself is definitely not as much fun.  I had a thought this morning that I was going to try one of the Pinot Noirs I had on hand, and trying to get a doctor’s appointment for my husband confirmed it after spending 15 minutes on hold just to make the appointment.  I actually started the tasting while waiting on hold.  I mean, what better thing to do than drink wine when you are on hold?  So, I tasted one I bought at HEB that was on sale for $7.00 from $11.89.  I figured how bad can it be (although with Pinot Noir you never know…..) and actually, it is ok, I am sure I will finish the bottle.  As you can see by the picture, I used 3 different glasses, a wine festival type taster, a Pinot Noir glass, and my favorite one at this time, just a regular wine glass.  Well, it is not regular, because it has a horse on it and one of my favorite people in the whole world gave it to me!

Wine:  2013 Geyser Peak from Sonoma County- 14 % alcohol on sale for $7.00.  The color depth was pale, with a hue of ruby.  Aroma intensity was moderate.

Taster glass- light, quite sweet, with a floral note.  It was tart, of course low tannins and balance was fair, it tasted like a berry salad to me.  It had a sweet tart note with alcohol at the end.

Pinot Noir glass- The aroma was again moderate, and smelled of dried cherry, it was medium sweet in this glass, medium bodied, smoother than the first and good balance.  It was a medium tartness with a longer finish

Horse glass- Aroma was still moderate, with a springtime woodsy note.  It was quite tarter than in the Pinot Noir glass, but went well with a Hershey chocolate bar with almonds.  I actually preferred it in the Pinot glass, but I don’t like the way it feels when I hold the Pinot glass, so am most likely going to finish it in the horse glass. 

     I would drink this again, and if I could find it for $7.00, it would be a good wine just to have around or take to a pool party.  I have noticed, and I honestly do not know how to take this, but since drinking Pinot Noirs, it is harder for me to tolerate heavier beers, (which I used to love) and I had a Tannat the other night that just about knocked me out.  To be honest, I have never been a real big fan of Tannat but a friend gave me a bottle as a going away present, and I really tried to drink it, but ended opening up a Driftwood Sangiovese instead.  I have noticed that I am definitely not eating as much as I used to, and I tend toward lighter fair, which may be because of the Pinot Noir, or it being so hot and humid here, or a combination of both.  Anyhow, the journey continues.  Again, I would drink it again, I would buy it again, but it is not my “go to” wine.  Of course my nearest and dearest in Grapevine know that my “go to” wine is Bingham Family Vineyards 2014 Petit Verdot, which I only have 1 bottle left, and it is out of circulation.  And on this brave journey I continue…..

Pinot Noir #9,10,11 and a Cab Sav

   

 This weeks Pinot Noir tasting consisted of 2 Oregon and 1 French and a California Cabernet Sauvignon.   Why did we add a Cab Sav at the end of the tasting?  Because we both wanted to make sure our noses still worked.  There was no clear winner at the end of this tasting, except for the Cab Sav of course.  My original goal was to try 50 Pinot Noirs.  My new goal is to make it through 25.  Why continue?  Well, for one, I'm no quitter, even when it comes to wine I don't enjoy, but I also want to know the mystique, the whys of this grape and how the heck it is so popular!  I also will have a better understanding of someone's taste when they say they like Pinot Noir.  (So your favorite beer is Coors Light?).  Anyhow, on with the tasting notes.
#1- Underwood- from Oregon-no specific appellation, 2015, 13.5% alcohol, screw top cap and priced at $10.99.  Small glass tasting- I smelled slight berry, Lise smelled berry dog shampoo.  In the small glass we both agreed it was medium-sweet, light in body, we both put the color depth as watery, color hue, red and clarity-clear, fair in balance.  It was easier to drink in the smaller glass as there was only a slight tartness, while in the Pinot Noir glass it had a bigger flavor and more tartness.  In the larger glass we both smelled roses, Lise described it as a rose that the petals were getting ready to bloom and had just been rained on.  It paired well with the strawberry kolache, cheese kolache, I liked it up front with chips and Mike's medium salsa, but it ended badly with wet dog taste.  We also tried it with sausage and broccoli quiche and were not impressed.  This would be one to drink on its own, or to know what paired with it.  It would definitely go with fruit desserts.  We both gave it 3 stars in the Pinot glass, 2 stars in the small one.
#2-Firesteed- Willamette Valley Oregon, 2014, 13.4% alcohol, $7.19, cork.  We both agreed we would not buy this one again.  Watery, clear, ruby in color, low aroma intensity.  In the small glass it smelled to me like Fabuloso lavender floor cleaner the day after I mopped the kitchen floor on satillo tiles.  Lise got fresh mulch and sanitizer, light and floral.  We agreed it was medium sweet, a little tart, fair balance and moderate in flavor intensity.  In the Pinot Noir glass I smelled wet forest leaves and alcohol, Lise smelled cooked cherries before you add the sugar to them.  In the larger glass it actually went to off dry, and was very unbalanced.  We didn't really care for it with any of our food pairings including the kolaches, quiche, brownies, chips & salsa.  Lise put in her notes- "Do I have to try more?"  It did have a pretty black horse label.
#3- La Grande- from France, 2015, 12.5% alcohol, price $9.99- screw top.  This wine had a pale, garnet, slightly hazy look to it, much darker than the other two, so we had some hope.  In the small glass, I smelled furniture polish, Lise got earthy.  It was off dry, light bodied, with some tannin as it was aged in oak for 6 months.  The balance was fair and the flavor moderate.  In the larger glass it actually had too much of a floral nose, like walking into Kirklands and smelling all the potpourri, or when you first open up a Fabreeze plug in.  In the small glass, I liked it with the red-peppered hummus, but that could be because the hummus overpowered the taste.  Lise tried it in the small glass with chips and salsa and said it was bitter and dead fish taste.  In both glasses by itself it was wet dog taste for me.  In the Pinot glass, the brownie overpowered the wine (a good thing), cherry cheesecake made the wine taste better, too tart for me with the quiche.  Lise's comment was, "I thought the French knew wine."  This was definitely the least favorite out of the 3, only 1 star rating for both glasses.
     When we tasted all 3 side by side in the high ball glasses here were our results, and honestly we really didn't want to do it- Underwood- mop water, Firesteed- dog soap, Le Grande- wet dog.  Lise also commented that if she was meeting someone for the first time and they said their favorite wine was Pinot Noir, she would tell them they couldn't be friends.
#4-Fortress Cabernet Sauvignon- 2013, Sonoma, 14.5% alcohol, price $17.98.  We only poured this in the big glass.  Big black pepper, aromatic, full bodied, smooth, medium tannin with good balance. It was heavenly.  Lise joked that we thought it was so good because we had been tasting Pinot Noirs, but it did its job and that was to confirm we could still smell.  All three of Pinot Noirs we tasted, we had such a hard time smelling anything.  I did promise Lise that once my Pinot adventure was over, we would do some Cab Sav tastings.  It gives us something to look forward to!

Pinot# 6,7 & 8......

   

  This tasting took place on Tuesday, May 30th, but I figured I needed to get the notes in before we taste again tomorrow!  This time around we did another Chile and two from California.  Our taste tests were the same, starting with a small taster glass, a Pinot Noir glass and then all 3 together in a high ball glass, I mean we didn't put them all together in one glass, but tasted them together.  

We also then tasted the one we liked from Chile last week to see if we still liked it. 

#1-Frontera- 2016 Pinot Noir from Cenral Valley Chili, 12.5% alcohol- $10.99 with a screw top.  Color depth was very watery, ruby in color with clear clarity.  The aroma was moderate.  In the small taster glass, Lise smelled leather and earth, I smelled tack room leather, which is musty, manure, hay, like when you open up a tack room.  In the Pinot glass it was a little more like dusty cabin/attic, dull. 

Neither one of us wanted to put in our mouth.  It was actually as bad as it smelled.  Her comments were- "I feel like I am being punished", my comments- "Take to a party you were forced to go to."  We really didn't find anything that helped the taste as far as the food pairings went, and didn't really want to continue trying it.  Conclusion- Only buy this for your worst enemy. 

#2- Line 39- 2014 from Northern California, alcohol-14.5% price- $8.99, with a real cork.  Watery, ruby, clear.  Aroma intensity varied on the glass.  In the small taster glass we both put down red berry for the aroma, and agreed we were not afraid to try it as we were the first one.  To me it tasted like water infused with strawberry and raspberry, Lise got a berry rhubarb.  In the Pinot glass we were not as pleased.  It started out with wet dog aroma, Lise said how your hands smell after you've washed your dog, I put down that after you've washed your dog, they are having fun running all over the yard and then they jump on you.  We both agreed that we enjoyed it better in the small taster glass.  We did like it with honey gouda, fruit tart and cranberry turkey salad.  Lise commented that if she were offered this at a party, she would drink it in a small glass, I said I could drink it watching a "Say Yes To The Dress" marathon, but again, only in the small glass.  

#3- Love Noir- 2015 California (no appellation), 13.5% alochol, price $9.89 with a composite cork.  I was excited about this because it said dark cherry and espresso with oak on the label.  I thought, "I've found my Pinot Noir!".  I would drink it again.  In the small glass, the aroma was fabulous and I really had my hopes up, but the taste did not follow through.  In the small glass, we both smelled sweet black licorice and maybe the smell of an old country candy store.  The Pinot glass made me think of strawberry twizzlers, and Lise said it smelled like sweet wet mulch or moss after a rain.  The color depth was medium, ruby in color and as with all the Pinots we've tried so far, the clarity clear.  Aroma intensity on this one was aromatic, light to medium depending on the glass, light tartness, low tannin, and good balance and more flavorful than we have had.  We did find it hard to pair with the foods we had, the only one we put down it went with was the roasted red pepper hummus.  On this one, we also liked it better in the small glass as opposed to the Pinot Noir glass.  Lise thought it would be a good wine for good conversations without thinking about what you're tasting.

#4- Non Vintage Pepperwood Grove from Chile- the winner from last week.  I myself liked the Love Noir better as far as just a "sipping" wine, but we both agreed that the Pepperwood Grove was better with food pairing as with most of what we tried with it seemed to enhance the food it was paired with and at a price of $6.99, still a contender.  

     So there was really no clear winner on this one, I liked the Love Noir, Lise still preferred the Pepperwood Grove, and we both agreed we could drink the Line 39 again.  Fun times!

A date with a French, a Chilean and a California Pinot Noir

        

  I have to admit that while I am writing this, the tasting was two days ago and I am going off of memory and the notes that my friend and I took while tasting the Pinot Noirs, and I am drinking an Australian Chardonnay, which actually isn't too bad.  My friend Lise came over and we tried 3 different Pinot Noirs.  The first a 2014 Bourgogne, France Pinot Noir, the second a Chilian Pinot Noir- PepperwoodGrove that did not state a vintage, and the third a 2013 Californian Pinot Noir, no appellation stated, from the Save Me San Francisco Winery.  We did taste test with a small taster glass, the kind you would get at a wine festival, and then a Pinot Noir glass, one at a time.  At the end of tasting all three, we then tasted all three again in high ball glasses as they were they only 3 glasses I had that were the same.  The highball glasses did not seem to make a big difference, but it still confirmed our first findings.  We also had chicken salad, peppered salami, grapes, raspberries, Gouda and Brie.
      Wine #1- 2014 Ropiteau Bourgogne, France Pinot Noir.  I don't know the cost as this was a gift from a friend, the alcohol stated it was 11-14%, which I thought was funny, but you know the French.  Lise and I both agreed the color depth was watery, clarity clear, garnet in color and the aroma intensity low, although with the small taster glass we both smelled a slight sweet berry, and with the Pinot Noir glass it smelled much earthier, mossy, wet forest, and mushroom.  The wine was medium sweet, very light bodied, tart note at the beginning, low tannin, we thought it was unbalanced especially in the smaller glass as the tartness really came through.  In the larger glass, it was less tart but still had a mild rhubarb taste to it.  The finish was very short.  We paired it with a raspberry and it evened out the tartness, not good with the Brie.  I gave it a 1 star, she gave it a 1.5 star, we both agreed it would not be something we would buy to drink, and maybe even resort to drinking Lonestar Light if those were the only two choices at a party.  If you enjoy tart Pinot Noirs this is a wine for you and it would pair quite nicely with tart fruit dessert.
     Wine#2- Non Vintage PepperwoodGrove from Valle Central, Chile.  This was on sale at World Market for $6.99, plus if you buy 4 or wines you get 10% off, so I thought I would try it.  I have never heard of Chilean Pinot Noir.  The alcohol content was 13%.  The color depth again was watery, color was more ruby and clarity clear.  In the smaller glass the aroma was low, we tried for awhile to figure out what it smelled like and finally came up with a Shirley Temple, Lise commented also that it smelled like a yellow cherry, which I have never had, so could not concur.  In the Pinot glass we enjoyed a more floral smell, almost rose petals.  Again we both agreed it was medium sweet, light, smooth, low tannin, the balance was fair and flavor intensity was low in the smaller glass, but moderate in the Pinot glass.  We paired it with the chicken salad which it seemed to enhance the flavor of the chicken salad.  It was interesting as in the smaller glass it absolutely did not go with the Brie or Gouda, but in the Pinot glass it was ok with the Gouda, and it also made the pepper salami much spicier!  We agreed that it would enhance a red sauce meal such as spagetti, if you had a Pinot glass. If it was at a party, we would drink it or if we were binging out on Sex and The City and we just wanted to spend $8.00 on a wine.  I gave it a 4 star, and Lise gave it 4.5 (out of 5)
     Wine #3- 2013 California Pinot Noir from the Save Me San Francisco winery- no appellation stated.  This was part of the 4 bottles I bought at World Market and it was $7.99.  The alcohol content was 13.5%.  While tasting this we did put on some Train to listen to, but it didn't really help the wine.  The color was a medium hue, garnet color and clarity clear.  The aroma was moderate, smelling to me of cinnamon and peppermint, Lise commented that it smelled like a cinnamon gummy bear.  It was off dry, with a medium body, more crisp than tart and again low tannin, with a fair balance and low flavor intensity.  We agreed that it made the food flavors stronger, although while I was sipping, I did get a wet dog note.  I noticed with the peppered salami it was almost like I was drinking colored water, all taste of the wine was gone.  It was not as bad as the French Pinot Noir, but we both agreed it was not something we would buy again.  She gave it 2 stars and I gave it 1.5 stars.
     All of the wines had a very short finish. Lise did ask me during the tastings what "tannin" meant so I opened up a Merlot that a medium tannin to it so she could understand.  It was hard for us to go back to the Pinot Noir.  We also decided on our next Pinot Noir tasting, we will taste the Chilean Pinot Noir again, because we don't know if we liked it because we really didn't like the other two or if it actually was a drinkable wine for us.  Alas, the journey continues for the Perfect Pinot Noir for me!

Pinot Noir #2- 2014 Muir Wood- a gift

    

 This Pinot Noir was a parting gift from a good friend in Grapevine Texas.  She knew I was starting on this journey and wanted to get me kick started with a couple of Pinots.  She went to her local liquor store and started asking questions, the associate immediately took her to a Pinot that we had both tasted while I was in Grapevine, and she told the associate that it was awful, and they should not be trying to push it (I love her honest candor!).  She chose this one and a Pinot from France which I am looking forward to trying.  I was in a much better mood today, having a very soulful, productive afternoon, it is kinda of misting outside and cool, well as cool as it can be in San Antonio, Texas on May 9th, with relative humidity at 92%.  Gotta love San Antonio weather.  Anyway, back to the wine.  I wanted to do this one "right", or as least right for me, so I took out 3 different types of wine glasses, a small "taster" that was bought for me by Bingham wine club members because it had a horse on it, my "Princess" dollar store wine glass from when I was wine club member at "Wine 101" in Bulverde, and my Pinot Noir glass I bought from World Market.  I can honestly say, the smell and tastes were different with the glasses.  The color depth was watery, with a ruby hue, and slightly hazy clarity.
     The aroma intensity varied by the glass it was in.  In glass #1, which was the small taster, it had an aroma of fresh cut wood,  Glass #2, the dollar store glass- a cedar aroma, and in glass #3-the Pinot glass, all I could smell at first was the alcohol.  The body is very light, acidity tart, tannin level low and balance was fair.  With glass #1, there was a medium tartness, and a taste of black cherry.  Glass #2 was less tart and more fruit forward, with glass #3, no tartness and maraschino cherry in taste.            There is definitely a nicer balance with the Pinot Noir glass.  I tried it with a fresh strawberry from my strawberry plant and was pleasantly surprised how I liked it, so I am thinking strawberry shortcake would be a good match for this.  I also liked it with hummus.  It gave the hummus a little bit more flavor attitude and the hummus toned down some of the fruit of the wine.  With the right food pairing this would be a good wine  I also noticed as time went along, about an hour or so, the tartness definately toned down.  I am glad to have experienced this wine and am grateful for awesome friends such as Halli for introducing me to something new!  Would I drink it again?  Not likely, but then again, maybe after my 50th Pinot Noir, I will have learned to like them, or least appreciate their role!

The Journey Begins....

    

 I opened up a bottle of 2015 Robert Mondavi-Private Selection Pinot Noir yesterday afternoon.  It was a bottle I picked up for $9.99 at Target.  I thought, how bad could it be?  It wasn't.  I had spent the day driving from San Antonio to San Marcos to pick up a truck part for my husband's truck and then driving to Stonewall to where the truck was and then back to San Antonio with a few other errands before returning home in late afternoon.  I was bored, but I wasn't in the most pleasant mood as most of my friends know how much I love to drive...(insert sarcasm).  I didn't want to open a bottle of one of the gift Pinots I had received, so I decided on the Robert Mondavi.  For $9.99, I would drink it again, not that I would buy it, but I would drink it if was at a party and there was nothing else to my liking.  According to my "notes", It had a medium color depth, garnet in color and clear clarity.  The aroma intensity was very low, I could at first smell the alcohol, (which was only 13.5%), and then maybe wax crayons, which is a pleasant smell to me.  Not sure if it is a good smell for Pinot Noirs.  The body was very light with a fresh, tart taste, low tannin and a very mild flavor intensity.  The ending was very quick.  It did not pair well with the Ruffles I was eating, so I switched to lightly salted tortilla chips, which was better.  It did not pair well with the turkey pepperoni either, so I would say salty foods are out.  It was non descript with the jalapeno hot dog with relish, spicy mustard and ketchup.  (When did they get rid of catsup and change it all to ketchup?).
    So, my take on this wine, is it is very light, too drinkable for me as I found I had drank 3/4 of the bottle by the end of the night, although because it was light in alcohol, it didn't seem to hit me hard.  I did sleep well.  I would drink it again, but not buy it again, unless I knew I was going to a party where the majority of the people there were not "big red" drinkers.  Finding the perfect Pinot Noir may be a harder journey than I first thought, but I will persevere.

A Pinot Noir Summer 2017

         

     Let me first state the fact that I am, at this time, not a big fan of Pinot Noir.  My first introduction to Pinot Noirs was about 4 years ago at a TexSom conference in Dallas, Texas where I tried 8 different Pinots and I couldn't stand any of them.  So of course, I have shied away from them.  That is until recently.  I am a Cab Sav, Merlot, Malbac, Tempranillo kind of girl, preferring substance, spice and lots and lots of oak.  I have been in the Texas wine industry since 2009, well, actually I started back in 1993, but there were not that many Texas wines then, and if there were, not that many that were good.  The Texas wine industry has subsequently grown up and is doing a fabulous job on making really good wines these days, not to say there are not some out there that are not so good, but for the most part, they are.  Subsequently, I have been drinking a lot of Texas wines.  Pinot Noirs are not an easy grape to grow in Texas, although, there are a few Texas vineyards growing them, but for the most part, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian varietals tend to do a little better.  

    So why am I doing this?  (when I told my mother I was on this journey, she was like, "Why would you put yourself through that?")  My answer is that while working at Bingham Family Vineyards tasting room in Grapevine, Texas, we had a lot of customers walk through the door asking for Pinot Noirs.  I would laugh and say, "Well, we don't have one, even though The Binghams have over 200 acres of grapes they grow, Pinot Noir is not one of them" and then I would let them try the Turnrow, which was an unoaked blend of Tempranillo and Mourvèdre, to which they would then answer, "This is perfect!"  To be honest, Turnrow was not my favorite, because again, it lacked substance, although it did pair deliciously well with a King cake I made for Mardi Gras.  So, I am on this journey to find out what the big deal is about Pinot Noirs.  And although I haven't officially started my journey, I have had around 6 in the last couple of weeks, ordering them at restaurants, which I figure would be the cheapest and easiest way to taste as many as possible.  Not that I think that most restaurants would carry the top notch Pinots, (well at least the ones I go to!) but they will carry what people want to drink or else it will not sell.  

     I have done a little research on Pinot Noirs on the web, trying to figure what they are supposed to taste, smell, look like.  I've had several "wino" friends give me suggestions to try and I have bought a "Pinot Noir" glass to taste them in.  Per the Wine Enthusiast- "The Pinot Noir/Burgundy stems are not quite as tall as the Bordeaux glass but will have a much wider bowl and sometimes will tulip towards the rim.  The glasses enhance red wines with high acidity and moderate tannin by directing the wine to the top of the tongue, highlighting the fruit and balancing the naturally high acidity.”  Meaning to me, Pinot Noirs do not have a huge bouquet and are soft.

     Words that have described Pinot Noirs are: female, sensitive, fragile, delicate, fruitiness, finesse, light body, see through red color, berry aromas.  Also, mushroom, truffle, sweet wood, cedar, rosemary, caraway, rhubarb, oregano, green tea, plus many more.  My taste testing will not be a scientific analysis, but more preference in my taste.  As in all tastings, it has a lot to do with the flavors you enjoy and the food you eat the most.  I am a black pepper, espresso, big rib-eye girl, so I like big, bold, heavy, but again, as I continue to age (like a fine bottle of wine!), I feel the need to start eating a little lighter fare, so this may be just the perfect journey for me.  So here we go, I hope you enjoy our summer together, and who knows, I might just find the perfect Pinot Noir, for me that is.  Now I am off to drink a nice French blend of Cab Sav, Merlot, Petit Verdot given to me by a sweet friend.