I chose red blends with a cabernet sauvignon base for my class. My thought was that if one of the wines was a straight-up cab, and the other two blends, we may be able to discern some other flavors that would help us identify different varietals in the future. I also wanted the class to be a blind class, first, since we had just hosted the class about blind tastings at Fezziwig's Marketplace and, second, to see if any of us could differentiate the cab from the blends. It was not as easy at it appeared for Lisa and me. Beth, however, took top honors by correctly guessing all three wines.
THE WINES:
Primus The Blend 2009
- Color: Deep purple with hint of brown revealed when swirled.
- Nose: Earthy nose with green pepper, a hint of smoke, and pepper and cassis.
- Mouth: Red fruit up front with a hint of spice and tartness. Nice finish with medium tannins.
- Price: $19.99
- Conclusion: This wine had a wonderful, smooth feel on the mouth with overwhelming green pepper on the nose. A nice wine to open up and enjoy a glass in the evening.
- Color: Deep purple with a touch of brick red.
- Nose: Nice fruitiness with red and black fruit coming through with a nice bit of oak.
- Mouth: Bigger tannins, but balanced with a hint of chocolate.
- Price: $13.99
- Conclusion: Food really elevated this wine, but we also enjoyed it on its own. The steak especially gave a richness to the wine. An excellent value wine for your next steak dinner.
- Color: Inky, brilliant purple
- Nose: Musty, dark fruit
- Mouth: Big tannins with the most spice of the three wines. Wonderful, long finish with hints of pepper.
- Price: $19.99
- Conclusion: This was the biggest of the wines this evening. Notes of pepper and spice on the finish with be tannins that stood up to the asiago cheese and steak. Like the first two wines we would recommend giving it a try.
Cheeses
- Vermont Cheddar: Nice pairing, we liked it best with with H 3 Cabernet. Very nice with the Primus also, not our favorite with Ghost Pines.
- Gouda: Very nice with H 3, our favorite. Really accentuated the fruitiness in Ghost Pines, almost too much. The fruit in Primus really popped initially with this cheese, but it flattened out the finish-too creamy.
- Garlic and Herb Cheddar: First of all, we all loved this cheese-yum, yum!! A nice match with the Primus that got better with each bite, but the cheese out shone the wine. An excellent match with the H 3, it really accentuated the finish and the herbs in the cheese shined with this match. The wine and cheese definitely complimented each other-this was our favorite match. With the Ghost Pines the wine overshadowed the cheese, but it was not a bad pairing, just not as perfect as the H 3.
- Tortellini with Asiago Cheese: We loved this with Ghost Pines. This blend stood up very well to the asiago cheese, definitely our favorite of the three wines with the pasta. It also really enriched the H 3 Cabernet, deepening the flavors of the wine. The pairing with the Primus was our least favorite, but as Mary Jo said, it gets improved after after a few bites.
- Grilled Steak: All paired very well with the steak and it was quite difficult for us to pick our favorite. When push came to shove we decided the H 3 was our favorite with the steak, it brought out some wonderful fruit in the wine. Our close second was the Ghost Pines. An excellent pairing, really bringing out a richness in the wine that wasn’t their on its own. We also enjoyed the Primus-finish on the wine really excellent when paired with the steak. All three of these wines would be great for your next steak dinner!!
- Sea Salt Soiree: We all agreed that H 3 cab was great with this chocolate, the Primus came in at a close second. Not a favorite of ours with the Ghost Pines. Of course the chocolate is delicious!
Beth: What a fun class! It was a great challenge putting our knowledge to the test trying to discern the slight differences in these red blends. All three wines were great and I would definitely purchase again in the future. Overall I like the Primus the best as a sipper alone, although it paired well with many of the food selections as well. I would have to say the overall winner for pairing was the H 3 Cabernet. It was wonderful with almost everything and what a value. It really showed how food and wine can bring out the best in each other. Thanks Mary Jo for a fun evening!
Lisa: Blind tastings are really fun and not that easy! I enjoyed trying to figure out what was the main grape of each since they were all blends and blends are what I am really IN to these days. I have had the H3 before so when it was revealed I was happy to see that it was the best value. It seemed to be the best overall pairing wine with most of the food but then who can go wrong with steak(thanks Chris)! Again, what a fun evening and I'm ready for more blind tastings :)!
Mary Jo: This class went really well. Even though I was incorrect on two of the three wines, it was really interesting to try to differentiate between the three wines. The Primus, with its overwhelming scent of green peppers was absolutely delicious and paired well with the food. It was definitely a wine that could be enjoyed with or without food, but definitely one I would recommend opening if you want to enjoy a glass of wine in the evening. The H3 won out with regard to food pairing. It was voted first with almost every dish. It had a fruity nose and heavier tannins than the Primus. Finally, the Ghost Pines fell in the middle. It had more spice than the other two wines and the heaviest tannins. It had a nice, long finish with pepper on the finish. It really stood up to the asiago cheese. I want to thank my darling Chris for grilling our steaks! They were perfect!
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