Girls Night Out Wine School!

When the three of us have Wine School every 2 to 3 weeks you can see from our posts we really do study the three wines we are tasting and do a little research before hand about where the grapes come from and the history behind the wineries.  Of course the best part is actually just enjoying the wines and experiencing them each other.  We decided it was time to let some of our closest "wine drinking friends" join in the fun.  And oh did we have fun!

We thought we would taste two white wines and two red wines.  But which ones?  Well we decided for the white wines we would experience two different varietals-some that may be out of the norm.  Instead of the usual Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, we would try wines from countries other than our California standbys-an Albarino from Spain and a Torrontes from Argentina.

The Martin Codax 2011 Albarino was the first of the two whites we tasted.  We walked all ten ladies through the steps we take when we hold our own classes.  We look at the color (light straw) and then smell the nose (hints of herbs and green apple) and then taste/mouth (rounded and full-bodied).





 The  Elsa Bianchi 2012 Torrontes was the other white wine we tasted.  Starting with the color (very light). The nose was a complex blend of fruit and floral.  The mouth was crisp and clean with a bright finish.

Both wines were a hit!  We paired them with various cheeses (listed below) but they were a great surprise for everyone with the Guacamole.





From here we went on to the reds.  For this tasting we chose two wines with the same grape- Cabernet Sauvignon- but from two different regions--continents, actually--one from Sonoma, California and the other from Chili.


The Louis M Martini 2011 Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon is one of our favorite everyday wines.  The color was a ruby red with the nose of dark berries.  The mouth had dark berries with a hint of oak and spice.  It's a very easy drinking Cab.

The Montes Classic Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 is from the Colchagua Valley of Chili and was our final wine of the class.  Again the color was almost identical to the other Cab and the nose has hints of carmel and cinnamon with a prevalence of fruit over oak.  The mouth was full bodied with rich red fruit and a touch  of vanilla, mocha and  firm tannins.  We talked about the difference in the terrior of the two regions that gave the distinct differences between the two Cabernets.

The pairings we offered for the wines were various cheeses and chocolates:

Cheeses:
    Manchego, Mahon, Camembert, Prairie Breeze, San Simon and Little Darling.
I think the San Simon was the new hit of the night with it's creaminess that paired well with just about all the wines.

Chocolates:
    Lindt Chili Chocolate, Godiva 72% Dark Chocolate and Godiva Milk Chocolate Salt Carmels.
The Chili Chocolate was a surprise pairing for the ladies with the reds but the milk chocolate was a hit with the whites.

I as mentioned earlier, with the whites the Guacamole was a wonderful pairing with the whites!

All the ladies took away with them a new sense of wine appreciation!

Of course the night was perfect with the friendship of all!

Cheers!

Lisa