Name: Barefoot
Variety: Moscato
Region: California (Modesto)
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $6.99
Winery review: Delightfully sweet with lush fruity aromas. Hints of citrus skip across flavors of juicy peach and ripe apricots. A bright, crisp finish dances in at the end. It’s a bit sweeter than our Riesling.
My review: Initially the wine smelled very fruity - hints of citrus and peach. It smelled very sweet and had no noticeable spice to it. Upon tasting the wine, my sense of smell was validating seeing as this wine tasting almost exactly like it smelled. The wine seemed a bit one-dimensional in its fruit flavor. There was a bit of heat to the wine while swallowing leading me to believe it wasn't very well balanced. Overall, a decent, sweet wine to casually drink with friends.
I tasted this on its own without food.
Name: Funf
Variety: Moscato
Region:
Country: Germany
Year: 2010
Price: $8
Winery review: The third varietal in Fünf Wines lineup, Fünf Moscato has peach and honeysuckle aromas with fresh, sweet flavors of juicy tropical fruit, honeydew melon, Fuji apple and ripe citrus. Refreshingly sweet but not cloying, this wine is well balanced with a clean, mouth watering finish. This wine is delightful any time of the year and perfect for any occasion.
My review: The scent of apple was the first thing to hit me. After that, I detected some potential traces of peach. The wine smelled very sweet. Upon tasting this wine, apple was indeed the strongest flavor to come through. There was a hint of citrus as well. The wine was very sweet and did not have any noticeable heat to it. With brie, there was no notable change in flavor for this wine. The gouda cheese, however, helped to mask the tiny bit of bite the wine previously had.
I tasted this on its own at first, but then tried it once with brie cheese and then with gouda cheese.
Name: Fish Eye
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Southeast
Country: Australia
Year: 2010
Price: $6.90
Winery review: Aromas of eucalyptus leaf, sweet pickle relish and raspberry-blueberry jelly with a silky fruity-yet-dry medium body and juicy, cedar and peppery spice accented finish. A very pleasant sipper or burger wine. (Received a score of 86).
My review: Initial scent was quite peppery and made the nostrils burn. The color appeared between a darker red and a purple. After letting the wine sit, the scent had stronger hints of cherry and some other berry. The wine tasted quite fruity and sweet and did not have a noticeable heat to it. Had somewhat of a dry aftertaste, but this became less offensive as the wine was allowed to open up. With the pasta/meat sauce combination, the wine appeared to have an oily sensation and was more buttery. The meat was able to cut some of the bite from the aftertaste. With garlic bread, this wine was absolutely horrible. This is not so much a knock on the wine as it is on the garlic bread's inability to taste good with any wine that was tried during this evening.
I tasted this on its own at first, but then tried it once with pasta/meat sauce and then with garlic bread.
Name: Dellatorri
Variety: Sangiovese
Region: Chianti
Country: Italy
Year: 2010
Price: $8.69
Winery review: Dense aromas of dried cherry, cedar, cocoa and mossy earth with a silky fruity medium body and a tangy, dusty accented finish. A easy drinking international style Chianti. (Many placed reported a rating of 88)
My review: Did not have any offensive pepper or spice smell to it -- smelled really sweet. Could detect the scent of berries but was unable to identify which specific berry. The wine was initially sweet, then tasted a bit dry when swallowing, and then had a more balanced aftertaste. Could detect a little bit of pepper during the later stages of the taste test. With brie, the wine was much smoother but had a strange rubbery aftertaste. With the pasta/meat sauce combination, the spice and pepper in the wine came out a bit more than desired.
I tasted this on its own at first, but then tried it once with brie cheese and then with pasta/meat sauce.
Name: Arido
Variety: Malbec
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2010
Price: $8.60
Winery review:
Intense ruby color. Delicate red fruit and violet aromas interact with classic Malbec spiciness. Soft and round in the mouth with balanced acidity and sweet tannins.
My review: The smell of this wine was very peppery and somewhat "spicy." The taste of this wine was much what I was expecting from the smell -- somewhat bitter, had some heat to it. After letting it sit for a while, it opened up and became a little bit sweeter. With the gouda, much of the bite was removed from the wine. When tried with pasta/meat sauce, the wine almost tasted buttery smooth due to its reaction with the meat.
I tasted this on its own at first, but then tried it once with gouda cheese and then with pasta/meat sauce.
