DTN Lesson #1

 1. The Campo Viejo Rioja Tempranillo 2020 was the wine I selected to complete the DTN lesson #1. Immediately after opening I smelled vanilla and oaky notes from the bottle. I tasted very bold and tannic flavors of cherry and oaky-ness. The wine smelled great, on the nose I thought it would be much more sweet than it was after tasting it. After tasting it, it was much more bold and acidic than I thought it was. It left a puckering and hotness in my mouth, one that a soft sweet dessert wine would not. 

2. After leaving the wine open for around two hours, I noticed a much more pronounced vanilla and sweetness to the wine. It certainly still has a cherry undertone; however, the wine opened up much more towards a sweeter and softer wine. The wine could've been more appealing due to the fact that I had already had my first impression of it and knew what to expect. 

3. I paired the wine with a parmesan reggiano. The parmesan did not go well with the tempranillo in my opinion. I felt that the deep cherry and vanilla nature of the wine didn't pair well with the savory nature of the cheese. The slightly basic nature of the parmesan did allow for the fruity nature to come through; however, it was overwhelmed by the savory after taste. 

4. I then tried the tempranillo with pepperoni as the food. The salty nature of the cured meat again did not go well with the bold, tannic, and deep fruity notes of the tempranillo. Looking back on it I would have paired the wine with dried dates or possibly a brie to allow for the fruity notes to combine with each other and enhance each other. The wine and food did not create a new flavor, both butted heads with each other and clashed. 

5. After leaving the wine uncorked and uncovered overnight and trying it the next night, the flavors were further muted. The tempranillo lost all of its soft vanilla undertones and had a muted note of cherry that had really lost all of its gusto. The wine had the majority of its first few flavors; however, they were just much more muted 

Name of wine: Campo Viejo Rioja Tempranillo 

Year: 2020

Region: Rioja Spain

Color: Deep cherry red

Comments

Just opened

Smell: Vanilla, cherry, acidic notes

Taste: Very fruit forward with cherry notes right on the tongue 

Body: Much more bold and tannic than I originally thought it would be

Two Hours Later

Smell: Vanilla notes slightly faded with the cherry notes taking first place

Taste: Overwhelmingly cherry 

Body: Still tannic and bold with a hot sensation in your mouth

Cheese

Smell: Cherry notes

Taste: Bashed heads with the cheese and the fruit notes clashed hard with the parmesan 

Body: Much more acidic with the cherry notes completely taking over

With meat

Taste: Heighted cherry notes

Body: Acidity of the wine completely clashed with the savory nature of the pepperoni 

A day later

Smell: muted cherry notes with the vanilla undertones completely disappearing

Taste: muted acidity with the flavors really taking a back seat

Body: still tannic but has lost much of its gusto 

Dinner blog #2

My roommates and I had our second wine dinner by cooking in and pairing our dishes with comparable wines. We consulted Wine Folly, and other online resources, to best pair our starter, entrée, and dessert with wines that would express beneficial flavors. We paired a 2020 Calandrelle Vin Blanc blend, 2020 Verdejo Ylirum blend, and a 2021 Belfiore Merlot with a caprese salad, rigatoni alla vodka, and a chocolate cake. 

Above is a picture of the dinner and wines that pair with it. We paired the caprese salad with the Calandrelle Vin Blanc blend. The lightness of the caprese brought out the zesty and lemon based aroma of the wine. The fruity wine allowed us to taste the flavors of the mozzarella and basil. Moreover, the sharp notes of the Verdejo Ylirum blend brough a more buttery taste that allowed creamy taste of the pasta come through. To enhance the taste more, adding more balsamic glaze would have allowed more acidity to come through which would have paired well with the wine. There were strong buttery flavors from the Verdejo. 

Above is a picture of myself with the two wines and the dinner. Overall, the wines paired well. The acidity of the Vin Blanc was slightly overwhelming for transitioning straight into the pasta. A less acidic and less fruit forward wine would have allowed for a better transition between dishes. The buttery Verdejo was an excellent pairing for the creamy pasta. 

The above is the Merlot we paired with our dessert, the chocolate cake. The richness of the merlot paired well with the heaviness of the chocolate cake. Looking back on it, a darker red such as a Cab would have paired very well with the cake. The deep hues of plum and raspberry really brought out the richness of the cake. The merlot also had deep blackberry tones. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the pairings we selected to go with our dishes. The weak link between the three was the Vin Blanc with the caprese. The acidity and fruit forward notes were slightly overwhelming once we transitioned into the much more mellow combinations for the pasta and cake. I enjoyed how the dishes had immense flavor and richness brought out by the wines.