Wines
Pinot Noir
A good Pinot Noir is one of the safest red wines, along with Merlot, to serve to a big group of people.
Taste: Delicate savory aromas and red fruit flavors of cherry, strawberry, raspberry, and plum are accompanied by additional complex flavors which can emerge as the wines age and mature. These additional flavors include fig, truffle, wood smoke, and violets as well as forest floor and animal notes of mushroom and leather. Age can add great complexity to the best wines.
Tannin: Low to medium
Acidity: High
Sangiovese
( Chianti )
These wine are very earthy and rustic, high in tannins (it dries your mouth out), has a smell and taste that is reminiscent of cherries and strawberries and is high in acidity, which makes it go very well with food.
Taste: Intense and concentrated with flavors of black cherry, plum, blackberry, and redcurrant together with herbs, truffles, licorice, and spice. Develops great complexity with age.
Tannin: High
Acidity: High
Nebbiolo
(Barolo)
This wine smells of roses. This makes the wine wonderful for celebrating special occasions, and perfect for the decanter.
Taste: Aromas of cherry and violets are followed by red fruit flavors of strawberries, plums, and red cherries. As it matures it develops a classic aroma of ‘tar and roses with notes of herbs, leather, wood smoke, mushrooms, and truffles.
Tannin: High
Acidity: High
Shiraz
These wines have a large amount of mouth-drying tannins, and it is known to be full-bodied, which means it feels heavy in your mouth; the wine features flavors such as berries, pepper, tobacco, and even smoked meat.
Taste: Aromas of black and red fruits with flavors of blackberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant and raspberry. Has a spicy, black pepper, character and as it ages develops smoky aromas, with notes of licorice, cloves, leather, coffee, caramel, vanilla, and dark chocolate.
Tannin: High
Acidity: Medium to high
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is a red grape varietal known for its thick, durable skin, and the vine’s resistance to the elements. After the birth of the grape, the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal began to be adopted in parts of France by winemakers searching for more durable plants that were relatively easy to grow, and the grape found its champion in the region of Bordeaux.
Taste: Aromas and flavors of blackcurrant, black cherry, and blackberry, as well as vegetable notes of green bell pepper and mint, together with vanilla and spice from oak.
Tannin: High
Acidity: Medium to high
Merlot
Product Subtitle
Taste: These are the most familiar tastes and aromas I typically find in a glass of Merlot. It’s also common to find strawberry, cranberry, herbs, tobacco, licorice, and cola notes, depending upon where the wine is from and how it’s made. Remember, wine tastes are somewhat relative. There may be some different tasting notes you consistently find while drinking Merlot.
Tannin: Think of that weight as a liquid scale, from water (light body) to heavy cream (full body) in your mouth. Merlot leans toward a fuller-bodied wine!
Acidity: You can judge acidity based on whether your mouth waters after you take a sip of something. The more you salivate, the higher the acid. Merlot is pretty smooth and doesn’t have overpowering acidity!
Valpolicella
This wine grape varietal is bright, lively, and balanced with savory sour cherry flavors. Valpolicella may be best known to Americans as the birthplace of Amarone.
Taste: Corvina, is richly textured with complex aromas of dark fruits, leather, tobacco,, and wood smoke followed by flavors of black cherry, plums, damsons, chocolate and a bitter almond finish.
Tannin: Medium to high
Acidity: Medium to high
Pinot Grigio
These wines are a zesty white wine. The second most popular white wine in America, Pinot Grigio (aka Pinot Gris) is a dry white wine that has a punchy acidity with flavors of lemons, limes, green apples, and honeysuckle.
Taste: Mild floral aromas combine with subtle fruit flavors of apple, lemon and pear as well as a touch of spice. Crisp and fresh, but uncomplicated.
Dry / Sweet: Dry
Acidity: Medium to high
Sauvignon Blanc
Taste: Crisp and fresh, displaying wonderful aromas of cut- grass, nettles and vegetal notes of asparagus and green pepper, accompanied by green fruit flavors of gooseberry, green apples and limes, together with a mineral or flinty edge.
Dry / Sweet: Very dry
Acidity: High
These wines are known as refreshing dry wine that has a great minerality, aromas, tastes of herbs and grasses, and a nice crisp pucker. Across the world, including in France, the wine is hardly ever aged in oak, with the winemakers preferring to exhibit the bright and fruity characteristics of the grape.
