Weekend Winedown

Faustino is one of Rioja's most inconic producers with over 150 years of grape growing and wine making experience and history. As one of my favourite producers, I look forward to their new vintage release year after year. I tend to pick up two bottles per vintage to drink one immediately and save one to see how the wine evolves with even more bottle aging. I have been lucky enough to taste quite a few vintages dating back to 2006, with their latest vintage, 2015, being released last year. Below I have documented vintage by vintage a brief harvest description and tasting note to help understand what's inside the bottle. 🍷 2006 Faustino I Gran Reserva 📍 Rioja, Spain Considered a "Very Good" vintage by the Regulatory Council the 2006 growing season consisted of good weather throughout with only a couple minor incidents of Spring hail and Summer drought. Harvest began September 1st and ended on October 27th, producing a moderate harvest ensuring grapes were at their pea...

This month we are heading to the Mosel Valley in Germany swirling our glasses with the 2018 Stairs n' Roses Ohrenschwein (LCBO #772129 / $42.10). This wine is made from Müller-Thurgau, Germany's 2nd most planted grape, as an Orange Wine. What does Orange Wine mean, you ask... well it's a white wine made with extended skin contact, similarly to how a red wine is made. This adds a deeper colour, slight tannin, and phenolics (which affects mouthfeel and flavours).  The winemaker, Daniel Molitor, skin ferments the grapes for 3 weeks, followed by full malolactic fermentation, and 18 months in oak barrels. Let's Taste   👀 Med(-) Copper 👃 Dried Apricot, Mandarin, Wet Stone, Caramel, Subtle Spice, Earthy, Metallic 👄 Ripe Apricot, Orange, Caramel, Earthy, Wet Stone, Metallic, Subtle Spice 🏠 Med(+) Acidity, Med Body and Alcohol, with a Phenolic Finish Let's Taste  Legend 👀 Visual / 👃 Olfactory / 👄 Palate / 🏠 Structure

Whether you are a professional taster, tasting for fun, or (my favourite) an "educational drinker"; wine tasting is a vital aspect of the world of wine. There are many reasons why we taste including, but not limited to, determining regional/varietal hallmarks, assessing and judging, putting together food and wine pairings, and throughout the vinification process. Let's break it down further... DEFINITION: THE EVALUATION THROUGH SIGHT, OLFACTORY, AND PALATE TO DETERMINE FLAVOURS/AROMAS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WINE IN QUESTION There are 4 major aspects when tasting wine, the visual, olfactory, palate, and conclusions.  VISUAL: What do you see? Wine style, colour intensity, aging, and potential alcohol/ripeness of grape.  OLFACTORY: What do you smell? Intensity, fruit or earth/mineral driven, and oak use.  PALATE: What do you taste? The wine's structure (acid, alcohol, tannin, body), fruit/earth/mineral notes, oak usage, and sweetness level. CONCLUSIONS: What is ...