Dinner Blog 2

 For the second wine dinner blog my boyfriend and I did in Puerto Rico, however we wanted to try something different, not fancy this time. This dinner was arguably the least effort of a dinner I have had and the worst wine and food combinations I have tried. Towards the end of trying to mix these un-mixable items my stomach completely gave up. 

The aesthetic was an evening dinner in our Airbnb with cheapest store bought wine. The three wines we tried were:

1. Veuve Du Vernay, Sparkling Wine Brut 

2. Puente Real, Albarino, White wine 

3. Hacienda Los Andres Rose 

Never having to try these kind of wines before in the scope of the wine class, it was an interesting combination. The order they were written in is exactly the order I would rank them in from highest to lowest. 

Now to the food, the three food items we decided to purchase were:

1. Bread with the option to had butter or garlic spread on the side 

2. Guava roll with powder sugar 

3. Watermelon 

Bread and butter was very fatty, the roll was sugary and the watermelon had lots of water and was also sweet like the roll. 

The first wine to hit the taste buds was the Rose. Before even trying the wine, it jumped up my nose very hard with the smell of very dirty socks or a man that hasn't showered in days. This smell makes my stomach cringe to this day. The flavor was okay, I just had to pinch my nose every time I took a sip. Overall was quite sweet. 

The rose didn't go well with the watermelon, somehow the smell got worse and I could fully taste the dirty socks. It also made the wine a little bitter. Rose with the bread and butter was a tiny tiny bit better,

just because bread and butter tasted very good on it's own and the good flavor over-powered the bad flavor of wine. Lastly with the guava roll it tasted like the guava roll disintegrated in my mouth into many different flavors. Not the most pleasant of feels, but it did open up the guava flavors to some level. Second wine - the Albarino, without food tasted like straight olive oil with a hint of grape. I have not heard of this wine before coming to Puerto Rico, but there it seemed like it was all over the place. In 4 days after this dinner, my boyfriend and I tried a good bottle of the same wine, and it had an amazing taste. Watermelon and Alabarino was an all around awful combination, and I think that is was turned my stomach upside down. Albarino lost the hint of wine it had, and became more oily and bitter. With the

bread it tasted good, oil + butter = good. I didn't hate this wine overall with Guava roll either, it was a little too sweet for the wine, but not bad per say. The last one to be opened was the sparking. I think it was the driest of wines probably the most expansive, however no one item was in the double digits on that table. I tried it with the watermelon, and by all means it again was not good. It was definitely too dry for this wine. However, bread and garlic spread went together very well with the sparkling, truly complimenting each other. Lastly the guava roll, and as it seems I was not in any state of good well being to try continue drinking, I only had a bite of the roll, and again, it did seem a little too sweet compared to the sparkling, but overall not terrible. 

It was an OK night, our stomachs spent a few days recovering from this dinner, and honestly would probably not do this again, but it was a fun experiment. 

 

Attis Albarino

 While bring Puerto Rico during spring break with my boyfriend, it seemed like there was a lot of Albarino wine, that I have never heard of before. 

Name: Attis Albarino 
Variety: 100% Albarino

Region:  Lias Finas
Country: France
Year: 2021
Price: $37

Critic Review: Medium body, low alcohol, fruity, balanced acidity, notes of lemon, lime and apple. Paired with delicatessen hake cheeks and monkfish. 4.2A great expression of an Albariño with sligtt it saline characters as well as notes of green and tropical fruits. There's also hints of wet stones and biscuits on this one.

Wine Folly: N/A

Personal Review: It smelled like creamy milk mixed with apples and tasted great without any food. It was a spactaculr wine with a very well balanced body. Once I tried it I couldn't stop drinking it. Overall would try it again. 

Chateau BRUN Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

  In Puerto Rico, Spring break my boyfriend and I got 2 bottles of wine, I got a blend. 

Name: Chateau BRUN Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Variety: 75% Malbec, 25% Cabernet Suavighion

Region: Bodeoux
Country: France
Year: 2019
Price: $46

Critic Review: Chateau Brun dates back to the 16th century. Since then, the property has been passed down over the generations, thus ensuring the safe transmission of traditional know-how in its purest form. It is thanks to this centuries-old transmission that the estate produces its fantastic Bordeaux wine in the Saint-Emilion appellation.

Wine Folly: N/A

Personal: I ordered Short Pork Pasta with this wine. It was a very good pairing. The wine was like an aggressive tiger and the pasta was a teddy bear. Wine was acidic and had hints of blackcurrant and plum. Overall too tannic on it's own, but good with fatty food.

Tasting - Bay Bridge White Zinfandel

Name: Bay Bridge White Zinfandel 

Variety: White Zinfandel

Region: California
Country: United States
Year: N/A
Price: $3

Winery Review: At Bay Bridge Vineyards, we carefully select grapes from some of the finest vineyards to craft wines with vibrant fruit and elegant structure. Bay Bridge wines are full of flavor, rich in color and smooth in taste, which makes them delicious and the perfect accompaniment to any meal. This refreshing, fruit-forward White Zinfandel has aromas of ripe strawberries and raspberries with the perfect touch of sweetness. Pairs well with baked Brie. [1]

Wine Folly: In 1994, Zinfandel was shown to share the same DNA as Italian Primitivo and Croatian Tribidrag. Zinfandel bursts with candied fruit and tobacco but is often surprisingly dry with minerally tannins and high alcohol. Sonoma and Lodi offer a fantastic comparison.[2]

My Review: It tasted a little funky, and was overly sweet and kind of flabby. I overall enjoyed it, it was good for a 3$ wine. It was very floral and not had hints of peach in it. The wine was good, would have it again if I wanted to get drunk on something cheap. 

Citations:

[1] "Bay Bridge White Zinfandel Rose Wine." Kroger. [Online]. Available: https://www.kroger.com/p/bay-bridge-white-zinfandel-rose-wine/0008312000046 [Accessed: Mar 5, 2023].

[2] M. Puckette and J. Hammack, Wine folly: The Essential Guide to Wine. New York: Avery, 2015.

Tasting - Bay Bridge Moscato

Name: Bay Bridge Moscato

Variety: Moscato

Region: California
Country: United States
Year: N/A
Price: $3

Winery Review: At Bay Bridge Vineyards, we carefully select grapes from some of the finest vineyards to craft wines with vibrant fruit and elegant structure. Bay Bridge wines are full of flavor, rich in color and smooth in taste, which makes them delicious and the perfect accompaniment to any meal. This fruit forward, sweet Moscato is bursting with aromas of ripe honeysuckle and a hint of citrus. Enjoy this refreshing wine with a raw vegetable platter or with biscotti for dessert. [1]

Wine Folly: An ancient aromatic white variety originally from Greece that’s available in all styles from dry to sweet, still to sparkling, and even fortified.[2]

Personal Review: The Moscato was very sweet, tasted a little bit like apple cider and honey. I overall enjoyed the wine as it was sweet an easy to drink. My partner and I drank it while watching a year in burgundy, and it was enjoyable. 

Citations:

[1] "Bay Bridge Moscato." Drizly. [Online]. Available: https://drizly.com/wine/white-wine/moscato/bay-bridge-moscato/p36389 [Accessed: Mar 5, 2023].

[2] M. Puckette and J. Hammack, Wine folly: The Essential Guide to Wine. New York: Avery, 2015.