DTN #2- Lesson 8 : The Big Three Whites

 For this lesson, I chose bottles in the $5-$15 range. I was able to find the Hogue Riesling, the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, but could not find a Chardonnay from that list in multiple different stores. I ended up with a 2021 Chardonnay from The Magistrate, which was about $11. The Riesling was labeled as a sweet Riesling, so I tasted that one last. 

The three wines unchilled. I tasted them from right to left.

Without chilling the wines, I tasted them in this order: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and then the sweet Riesling. 

The Magistrate is a 2021 vintage from Santa Barbara County in California. The color of this one was more golden, less pale than the other two wines. Definitley the darkest of the three. In smelling the wine I picked up on oak, and it smelled very deep and rich, but still light. The richness is likely the buttery flavor that is categorical of California Chardonnay's. Upon tasting I got some pear and maybe a little citrus. I also found a lot of warm spice, like nutmeg or maybe even cinnamon which I really enjoyed. 

The 2023 Kim Crawford from Marlborough in New Zealand was the palest of the three in color. Extremely light on the nose and crisp even without chilling it. It smelled very juicy with a lot of citrus flavors maybe a little grapefruit and orange. Upon tasting I did pick up on the earthy flavors that are typical of a Sauvignon Blanc, and got the grassy scent and taste, but not in a bad way. I really enjoyed tasting this wine, and I felt that it was very smooth on the palate. 

The last wine was the 2022 sweet Riesling from Hogue in Washington state. It was the second lightest in color of the three. the smell was very sweet, and very zesty in smell, particularly orange. Upon tasting, the wine was far too sweet for my taste, and I couldn't really taste much besides sugar. But, it was very syrupy, and the sugary flavor tasted more like a gooey honey flavor. I also felt that when swallowing, it left behind a more alcohol-y taste than the other two. 

Three Chilled Wines with the foods 

I then put the wines into the fridge to chill, and saved them to pair with some foods. I didn't have anything specially planned for dinner, so I just decided to take some foods from around my house to try with each of the wines to see what paired best. But, I felt that my foods from around the house were of a pretty wide variety that would work for the test!

The foods are:

- Steak and rice (red meat)

- Ground Turkey Burgers (white/game meat)

- Parmesan Cheese (sharp)

- Grillos Dill Pickles (salty)

Chardonnay:

    I felt the Chardonnay actually paired quite decently with the steak as they both had a buttery flavor. Although red meat is typically associated as going with red wine, I felt that this paring actually really complimented each other. But I also thought the combination brought out a more alcoholic taste in the wine as well.

    With the white meat/turkey burger, I felt like the two paired better than the red meat combo. The flavors were quite different, and it was a much smoother combo than the red meat. The buttery flavors of the chardonnay complimented the lightness of the turkey as it did not have much fat in it. There was no alcohol-y taste and I felt that the citrus in the wine complimented the lightness of the meat. 

    With the cheese, I felt that the chardonnay actually brought out an even sharper element of the cheese and gave it even more of a bite. On the contrary, I didn't feel like the cheese did very much for the wine, and actually took away a few of the nice spice flavors that I had tasted with the wine alone. I felt that the wine also brought out a bit of nuttiness within the cheese. There was no extremely alcoholic taste that was in the other tastings so far. 

    With the pickles, this combo was an absolute no for me. It was pretty gross and the flavors did not compliment each other at all. They were just so different in nature, the fat in comparison to the salt of the pickle, it just didn't work for me. However, I think the pickles did add a nice acidity to the wine, but the flavors were just so different I did not want to try it again. 

Sauvignon Blanc:

    With the red meat, I felt that it was a pretty mild, well done combo. The wine was pretty light and refreshing in comparison to the boldness of the red meat. Again I was pleasantly surprised because I didn't think the white would go so well with a red meat. I think the grassy, earthy component of the wine complimented the meat as well, but I can't quite pin down why. Very much enjoyed this combo and think the light component of the wine was a nice contrast to the heaviness of the meat. 

    I thought this also paired well with the turkey meat and felt that the citrusy component of the wine brought out a brightness within the meat that wasn't there before, and made it taste even more light and juicy. The bit of spice in the burger brought out a bit of acidity in the wine that wasn't there before. 

    The cheese and wine combo was not my favorite, and felt that it brought out an odd taste in the wine that wasn't there before. The cheese was very strong in comparison to the wine and overpowered the wine in a way that other combinations did not. I felt that the cheese masked the nice crispy flavors of the wine and hid the grassy flavor that was there before. 

    I felt that this wine and pickle combo was very surprisingly good. The earthy tones of the wine really complimented the garlic and dill in the saltiness of the pickles. The pickles kind of amplified the earth tones as well, and felt that the combo just kind of brought out the best in each other. 

Riesling:

    Honestly, as I do not enjoy the Riesling to begin with, I just didn't think the combo worked. The wine was far too sweet for the meat and the honey flavors in the wine are just too much for the meat. While the meat was nice and fatty I think it just turned up the richness and sweetness of the wine and made the flavors clash. 

    With the turkey meat, I actually think the wine overpowered the meat a little since it is so light and doesn't have a lot of structure for a meat. While there were some spices in the meat, the sugary aspect of the wine is just so strong that it doesn't compliment the meat at all but just kind of takes over. 

    I felt the wine actually took out a bit of the sharpness within the cheese and made it creamy, which is a new sensation. I thought it was actually a decent combo and gave the cheese I nice new flavor, amplifying the nuttiness. On the other hand, I still didn't feel like the cheese did very much for the wine, as it is already a very robust wine, and I feel like it kind of tamed it down a little. 

    I think the pickles did a great job at cutting some of the sweetness within the wine and made it a little more tolerable for someone who does not like Riesling. It was the right amount of salt to balance the syrupy nature of the wine. Similarly, the sweetness of the wine really balanced out the pickles and brought down the salt to a point where they still had a bite to them, but were not overpowering with salt. I was really surprised by this combo, but don't know if I would try it again based on the fact that I just don't enjoy Riesling enough.