Wine Recap – October 2018

Time for last month’s wine recap! We are back to our healthy selves, well, physically, I’d say so. We’ve had stuff to celebrate last month and stuff to grieve over. So, different times to relax while drinking some wine and other varieties.

Rose Nodo Bobal Garnacha Spain Wine 2017

Alcohol Content: 12%
Location: Spain

Nodo is a wine that I picked up randomly at the supermarket. I still am in search for a Rosé wine that can beat the two that I currently like. However, if there’s anything that I’ve come to learn is that Spanish wines are fairly dry and this one was extremely on that end. If you prefer something dry, this one definitely will be up your alley. Unfortunately, for myself, it wasn’t as enjoyable.

J.P. Chenet Ice – Sparkling Wine

Producer: Grands Chais de France
Alcohol Content: 10.5%
Location: France
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

JP Chenet is the wine that my sister in law brought over for our Thanksgiving dinner. Its light and fruity and sweet. Very beautiful and delicious. It is one that definitely is a crowd pleaser. It finds a nice balance between being very smooth but also feeling like there is a decent amount of layers in the drink itself. The star of October for us has to go to this wine for sure.

Millebois Original

Producer: Millebois
Alcohol Content: 4.8%
Location: Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: Light and Dry

I can’t say I agree with taste tags all the time but this one nails it. Millebois is a company that we discovered when we went to Sherbrooke to the Public Market there. You can see the haul HERE. Millebois is one that makes maple syrup based alcoholic beverages. Light it is and also dry it also is. I can’t say that I loved it but its tolerable on the dry scale, something like a semi-dry sort of feelings. I think the harder part for this drink and is more of an acquired taste is the maple syrup based portion. I’m not sure that I’m a fan but then I’ve never been a particular fan of maple syrup based alcohol.

Milton Cidre de FeuProducer: Cidrerie Milton
Alcohol Content: 10%
Location: Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: Sweet

We’re a big fan of ice cider in our home. However, if you haven’t had fire cider, well, you are missing out. Its our favorite thing ever. We’ve never had this Cidrerie Milton version though. This one is pretty good. It had all the elements of a fire cider that we love and has more layers. It tastes a lot like drinking apple juice which also makes it a silent attack for those who drink this quickly.

Willm Riesling Réserve 2017

Producer: Alsace Willm
Alcohol content: 12%
Location: Alsace, France
Taste Tag: Fruity and Vibrant

I’m usually a big fan of Riesling. They usually find a nice balance of texture and not being too dry. Willm Riesling is definitely more on the dry side of things. Its one that took a little bit of an acquired taste. Its also the first time (in my memory) that we’ve chosen a Fruity and Vibrant taste tag (and what are the chances that the wine below also is). Dry it may be, but if you like dry wines, this one does goes down really nice. There’s still a good texture to it.

Yalumba The Y Series Viognier

Producer: Yalumba Wines
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Location: South Eastern Australia
Taste Tag: Fruity and Vibrant

Australian wines are something of a hit and miss for us. We’ve had some lovely ones like Jacob’s Creek who never fails to deliver. But Moscato is a different variety so can’t be compared to something like this one. Yalumba Y Series Viognier is a really dry wine. I mean, just a whiff of it and you know it. I can’t say its a bad wine though because there is a nice texture. Its just more than we usually like to handle from the dryness. However, I would recommend it for those who like dry wines. Saying all that, I was doing a little bit of research on what else they offer and they have some other variety that I wonder if the SAQ here holds to try like the Riesling and their organic wines as well.

It seems like there was a lot of dry wine varieties in October.
However, we did have a few enjoyable wines that worked for our preferences. 

Have you discovered any wines (or cocktails/liquors, etc) lately?

New Segment: Wine Recap – January & February 2018

Welcome to a new segment! I’m trying to up the food and drinks content here, which is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. So here we are – a (hopefully) monthly wine recap. My husband and I love to get new wines and try it out so it feels like a waste to not share it with everyone as well. Wine doesn’t just stop there, if we happen to try out some new drinks like cocktails or beers or liqueurs, then I’ll share it as well.

With that said, we are not professional or anything so its just really how we felt about it as we learn to appreciate wines and log what we’ve tried. There probably won’t be any fancy terms and we won’t know enough to talk a lot of depth about it. If you are looking for something much more professional than myself, you should definitely check out Wine Wankers.

Being a big fan of lighter wines, I’ve always been a fan of Riesling and Moscato varieties and with that said, completely coincidentally, this one has a lot of moscato wines.

 

Banrock Station Moscato 2016

Producer: BRL Hardy
Alcohol Content: 6%
Location: South Australia
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

Banrock Station was my pick for this time. My husband had never tasted a Moscato before. When we first cracked open the bottle, the scent was actual quite dry and soury. However, once we aired it out a little and took our first sip, it actually tasted very light and sweet. Its one of the smoothest Moscato wines that I’ve tasted.

Hardy’s Stamp Riesling Gewurztraminer 2016

Producer: BRL Hardy
Alcohol Content: 11.5%
Location: South Australia
Taste tag: Fruity and Sweet

Next up is coincidentally from the same producer, which we didn’t know until now, as I was doing the research on it. I’m a big fan of Riesling wines. They usually are quite good and has that perfect balance of not being too dry and just sweet enough with a lovely texture. I can’t say that Hardy’s Stamp is my favorite wine. Its pretty good. Its a little drier than I would expect and the initial taste definitely tastes less appealing than after a few sips.

Jacob’s Creek Moscato 2017

Producer: Premium Wine Brands
Alcohol content: 7.5%
Location: South Australia
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

We’ve heard about Jacob’s Creek a lot but never actually had tasted any of the wines. Seeing a Moscato on a random trip to the SAQ sparked the interest to pick it up. Its not quite as sweet as Banrock Station however, Jacob’s Creek Moscato is absolutely a lovely wine as well. Its very delicate and light. In many ways, it actually tastes lighter in alcohol than Banrock Station, which it isn’t as this one has 1.5% more alcohol content.

Castella del Poggio Moscato d’Asti 2016

Producer: Castello del Poggio
Alcohol content: 5%
Location: Italy
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

You may recognize this wine from our Battle of Ingredients 2018 Chinese New Year Edition. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can find it here.

One of our friends is the wine provider for the evening. For the evening, he brought a wine that his father in law (I think) introduced to him recently. Its an Italian wine originated from Asti and is also a Moscato. With that said, this one is neck to neck with Banrock Station’s taste. In fact, to taste two spectacular Moscatos over the course of the month  has been wonderful. This one is sweet and light and even our friend who doesn’t drink much wine enjoyed it a lot as well.

That wraps up the first log or wine recap (whatever you want to call it).
Its nice and simple. Honestly, I would have just rated it out of thumbs up or down but I like to ramble and write. 
With that said, I’m still working on the structure of these recaps. 
If you have any wines to suggest, feel free to. Do note that I can’t drink red wines (allergies).