I scream, you scream, we all scream for Riesling!

Well it's hotter than hell in Texas (my thermometer read 100 degrees at 7:30 this evening).  What better way to cool off than with a nice, chilled, white wine?  Tonight's wine is Barefoot's Riesling.  It's been chilling in the refrigerator for a few days and I took it out before I hopped in the shower this evening so that it had time to warm.  I've found you can taste the flavors more if the wine is not refrigerator cold.  

It has a nose of crisp green apples and this is the first thing you'll taste.  The sharp apples flavor mellows a bit into a citrus flavor with a peach undertone.  The finish is a delicate orange blossom flavor.  I'll admit I wouldn't have noticed the peach or orange blossom without the fine notes from the back of the bottle, but this is all a learning experience, right?

This wine has little sweetness and moderate acidity.  It has a very light mouth-feel and no tannins.  Overall, I like it but, given my limited Riesling experience, I'd need to try some more to give a fair judge of whether this is a good one.  But by all means, give it a shot- it's not bad!

Drink up y'all!

-wine dummy

Zinfandel from Alexander Valley: Zin-fully good!

Nothing like starting a post with an irresistibly bad pun!  I'm back from summer vacations and ready to return to tasting with our first Zinfandel!

Alexander Valley's 2007 Sin Zin Zinfandel promises a  fruity nose and it certainly delivers.  It's fruity with a touch of vanilla and spice, just as the website promises.  The first thing I noticed when I tasted the wine were the strawberry and raspberry flavors.  Then a plummy taste leads to a spice- according to the back of the bottle it's black pepper.  At first I did not notice any oak flavors (as their website said I would), but upon further inspection it is just barely there in the finish.  I also didn't notice at first the cherry flavor that works with the plum, but after a few more sips I think I can notice it, only I think it's more of a finishing flavor.

This is a moderately sweet wine that's very light on the tannins, has very little acidity, and a light body.  My husband and I enjoyed Sin Zin with a spicy BBQ chicken.  While this was good, I believe a hearty steak and baked potatoes would be a better match.  We did, however, both really enjoy this Zinfandel.  It had good fruit flavor balanced with the appropriate amount of spices.  And it's not a Texas wine, so look it up next time you're out!


Wine tasting notes were found at http://www.avvwine.com/scripts/display_product.php?product_id=65.