Armed with knowledge from the short wine tasting lecture, tasting notebook, glass, and vouchers we we embarked on our wine extravaganza. Here are our tasting notes:
Wine One
Name: Tinto Roriz Aliance Vista
Type: Red
Grape(s): Tinta Roriz
Region: Portugal, Beiras
Vintage: 2008
Cost: £7
Alcohol: 13.5%
Appearance: Dark red with a wide rim and a few legs.
Aroma: 'The seaside' and peppery plums.
Taste: Low on flavour, a harsh wine with no lasting aftertaste.
Occasion/Meal: Steak (Jade) Lobster (Emily).
Would we buy it: No
Rating: 3/5
Wine Two
Name: Kim Crawford Pinot Gris
Type: White
Grape(s): Pinot Gris
Region: New Zealand
Vintage: 2007
Cost: £10.49
Alcohol: 13.5%
Appearance: Golden with a very large white rim.
Aroma: Gooseberries followed by peaches and cream.
Taste: A sweet, flavourful wine. Peaches, Mango and Pineapple.
Occasion/Meal: Chicken Stew & Mango Sorbet (Jade) Greek Salad (Emily).
Would we buy it: Yes
Rating: 4/5
Wine Three
Name: Falernia Carmenere Syrah
Type: Red
Grape(s): Carmenere & Syrah
Region: Chile, Elqui Valley
Vintage: 2006
Cost: £8.99
Alcohol: 14.5%
Appearance: Dark with a thin rim.
Aroma: Cherry, rosemary and chocolate.
Taste: Dry, spicy wine with strong chilli and oaky tones.
Occasion/Meal: Mexican (Jade) Spicy meats - chorizo (Emily).
Would we buy it: Yes
Rating: 4/5
Wine Four
Name: Les Rochettes Pouilly Fumé
Type: White
Grape(s): Sauvignon Blanc
Region: France
Vintage: 2005
Cost: £12.99
Alcohol: 12.5%
Appearance: Light colour with a very light rim.
Aroma: Elderflower, peach, apple and honeysuckle.
Taste: Crisp, long lasting tastes of lemon, lime and fudge.
Occasion/Meal: Scallops (Jade) Pasta with creamy sauce (Emily).
Would we buy it: Yes
Rating: 3/5
Wine Five
Name: Lomond
Type: Red
Grape(s): Merlot
Region: South African
Vintage: 2006
Cost: £8.99
Alcohol: ---
Appearance: Light colour with a narrow rim.
Aroma: Earthy, smokey aromas reminiscent of root veg.
Taste: Dry, harsh wine that's low on flavour. Lot's of peppery tannins.
Occasion/Meal: Wouldn't want to ruin the meal!
Would we buy it: No
Rating: 1/5
Wine Six
Name: Bonterra Viognier
Type: White
Grape(s): Viognier
Region: USA, Mendocino County
Vintage: 2008
Cost: £11.99
Alcohol: 14%
Appearance: Very light colour with a narrow rim.
Aroma: Cantaloupe melon, pineapple and butter.
Taste: Pineapple and yoghurt.
Occasion/Meal: Chicken with a creamy/butter sauce (Jade) Mash Potato (Emily).
Would we buy it: Yes
Rating: 3.5/5
Wine Seven
Name: Torres De Casta Rosada
Type: Rosé
Grape(s): Granacha & Carinena
Region: Penedes, Spain
Vintage: 2009
Cost: £7.99
Alcohol:13.5%
Appearance: Light with a shallow rim.
Aroma: Strawberries, Strawberry leaves and vanilla.
Taste: Dry, harsh tasting wine with sour, strawberry flavours.
Occasion/Meal: Can't ever imagine drinking it again.
Would we buy it: No
Rating: 1/5
Wine Eight
Name: Greco di Tufo Vesuvium
Type: White
Grape(s): Greco di Tufo
Region: Italian
Vintage: 2008
Cost: £15.99
Alcohol: 13%
Appearance: Dark with a wide rim.
Aroma: Apricots and cream.
Taste: Sweet and smooth with pears and butterscotch flavours.
Occasion/Meal: Asparagus with Parma Ham (Jade) Belly pork (Emily).
Would we buy it: Yes
Rating: 4/5
Gin Cocktail
It's gin, 'nuff said, we were happy. There was a cool little display where you could 'experience' the many ingredients of Bombay Sapphire Gin
Rum Bar
Foolishy I thought they would come with coke :-S
Lager
By this point I just needed something to wash the neat rum down with.
What an ace day, we were total geeks and took the whole thing very seriously filling in our wine tasting notebook. We did a self guided tour which was perfect for us as we could go at our own pace, think we spent about 4 hours there. Luckily we also found some extra vouchers which allowed us to get some more wine to taste and then you also have an option to 'top-up' your visit by paying for extra tasting of Champagne, rum, whisky and lager as well as the wines including the premium ones.
The whisky cellar was also very cool, most expensive bottle was nearly £8k! We didn't try that :-)
The whisky cellar was also very cool, most expensive bottle was nearly £8k! We didn't try that :-)
Best Wine of the Day Award goes to....Kim Crawford Pinot Gris.
Most Accurate Predicated of the Day Award goes to.....Jade for correctly guessing the exacte food match of 'Asparagus with Parma Ham' for the last wine we tasted.
Most Embarrassing Moment of the Day Award goes to....Me, for falling off a bench at the tube station (yes it was post wine tasting).
Best Decision of the Day Award goes to...Deciding to swerve the Absinthe Bar.
Brilliant, it really made me chuckle!
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