Matthew Orwig's Wine Blog

  Apothic Red Blend This red blend is from California, USA, and is made from a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfindel, and Merlot grapes. This wine only cost $9. My Taste:  Vanilla, Cherry, and Chocolate scents. Had a very jammy flavor that was not too sweet with a good amount of smokiness and oaky notes. Left it out for a day or so and the jammy flavor came out even more and the oaky and vanilla flavors died down a little bit. It was still tannic and tasted good and was not too sweet. Compare my taste to others: https://www.vivino.com/US-VA/en/apothic-red-winemaker-s-blend/w/1130327

Domaine Corne-Loup Tavel Rosé  This  Rosé is from  Southern Rhône, France, and is made up of a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Cinsault grapes. This wine cost about $17. My Taste: A perfect combination of sweet and dry as well as soft and acidic. This wine was very easy to drink with a large combination of flavors as well as not being too much of any one thing (Tannic, Sweet, Bold). I personally tasted apple notes mainly with other red berries such as strawberry and a sweeter cherry flavor. The wine also had a very nice dry yet sweet aftertaste with lingering fruity flavors. Compare my taste to others: https://www.vivino.com/US/en/corne-loup-tavel-rose/w/2438576

Wine and Cheese pairing March 2022                                                               Me on the left, My Mom on the right                 Entire Wine and Cheese List We Tried         Australian Chenin Blanc (1st Wine) Cheese Board with figs, dried apricots, strawberries, grapes, and walnuts Kingdom Cheddar, Mahon, Derby Sage, Elderberry Cheddar, Point Reyes Toma, Coca Cardona (Cheeses Right to left) Due to the requirement only being 3 wines and 3 kinds of cheese,  I did the review on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th wines. Tastings: When and Where Chenin Blanc (Australia) Dry and acidic. Smooth. Flavors of peach and apple. With the Cheddar, it is very buttery and takes the acidity down as well as the fruitiness. Cheese overpowering the wine a little bit but overall still tastes fantastic together. Mil Historias Syrah (Spain) Tannic, Dark Berries, earthy and dry. With the Elderberry Cheddar, it takes the tannicity down and brings out sweetness and fruitiness, and pairs very well. Neithe

 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz This Shiraz is from the south region of Australia in the Penfolds Winery and costs about $15. My taste:                                                                                                                              Had a nice oaky and dark cherry/berry scent. Earthy and smoky flavors. Tannic and semi-dry. Has a great fruity and dark berry after taste while still remaining a little sweet and tannic. Overall a very well-balanced and delicious wine. Compare my taste to others: https://www.vivino.com/US/en/penfolds-koonunga-hill-shiraz/w/1992

 Bridge Roads Vineyard Merlot This Merlot is from Bridge Road winery in California and costs $8 for a 1.5 L bottle or a "Magnum." My taste: Smoky flavor and scent with notes of dark berries. In between dry and sweet. Little acidity and a little flabby. Tasted it with manchego and it brought out the smoky flavors more and paired quite well without overpowering either. Compare my taste to others:                     https://www.vivino.com/US/en/bridge-road-merlot/w/1372745

J Vineyards Pinot Noir This 2018 Pinot Noir is from California and uses grapes from the Monterey, Sonoma, and Santa Barbara Counties. It costs around $20. My review: Acidic smell with lots of dark berries and cherry. Acidic taste, earthy and smoky flavor, with notes of dark fruit. Very tannic and bold with a good kind of sweet aftertaste. Tasted very good with pecorino and brought the amount of tannins down while excelling it’s fruity notes.  Compare my taste to others: https://www.vivino.com/US/en/j-vineyards-pinot-noir-monterey-sonoma-santa-barbara/w/2179684

  Cardwell Hill Estate Pinot Gris This 2019 Pinot Gris is from Willamette Valley, Oregon, and costs about $20. My review: Citrusy and sweet with a good amount of acidity. Light bodied. Nice aftertaste of citrus with a little acidity and some tannic elements. I enjoyed this wine and thought it had just the right amount of citrus and acidity but perhaps a little too sweet for my liking. Compare my taste to others: https://www.vivino.com/CA/en/cardwell-hill-estate-pinot-gris/w/2612959

 Georg Albrecht Schneider Riesling Spatlese This 2018 Riesling from Nierstein, Germany cost me about $17. My Taste: Sweeter wine with heavy tastes of apple with hints of vanilla. Still has good acidity to it and an amount of dryness that helps maintain the amount of sweetness. I had this wine with a dark sea salt caramel chocolate and it paired really well. The chocolate surprisingly took the sweetness of the wine down and helped bring out the fruitier tastes of the wine.  Compare my taste to others: https://www.vivino.com/US-VA/en/georg-albrecht-schneider-niersteiner-hipping-riesling-spatlese/w/1661558

 Domaine De La Pierre Moulin A Vent This 2017 Beaujolais from Moulin-a-Vent, France is from the Henry Fessy Winery and made with Gamay Grapes. This wine cost me about $24. My Taste: Scents of strawberry. Tannic and dry aftertaste. Earthy and dark berry taste. The wine was just the right amount of dry and the dryness and tannicity in the aftertaste are actually refreshing. I had this wine with a nice Filet Mignon and Caesar salad and it paired extremely well and became a little more tannic and tasted extremely good with it. Compare my taste to others: https://www.vivino.com/US/en/henry-fessy-domaine-de-la-pierre-moulin-a-vent/w/5496860