Tasting - Camelot Mead

Camelot Mead

Name: Camelot Mead
Variety: Honey
Region: Bloomington, Indiana
Country: United States
Year: none
Price: $6.99

Wine Review: "Really sweet with honey aftertaste. Floral aroma. Nearly clear white. Tastes like a white wine with a touch of honey more than it does a mead. Pretty average."  3.1 stars (Greg Wilson)

My Review: I've only tried mead on other time.  It rained while my boyfriend and I were at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, so we went inside a restaurant, saw they did a mead flight, and tried it.  Each one was very distinct and had complex flavors, I really enjoyed them.  So when I saw this wine at Kroger, I thought I'd try it.  It had none of the complex and intense flavors I was expecting.  I could only smell honey, nothing complex.  It had a light sweet honey flavor.  I was not very impressed and wish it had had more flavor.  Maybe next time.

Tasting - Open Kimono

Open Kimono

Name: Open Kimono
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Marlborough
Country: New Zealand
Year: 2016
Price: $10.99

Wine Review: "Green Dragon is always on the prowl for a great Sauvignon Blanc at a tasty price. She has discovered yet another.
Open Kimono appears to be a wine company in California that produces at least two wines, this Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and a Riesling from Washington State. Those are some good locations from which to source wine.
The price point is appealing. It is listed at $13.99 but marked down to $9.99. My wife was attracted by the stylish label, but the liquid inside was quite enjoyable too.
Green Dragon prefers the Marlborough style of Sauvignon Blanc – tangy, tart with a blast of acidity. This delivered on all. The wine has the herbaceous, cut grass aroma and nice tropical flavor notes.
As the mercury starts to rise this summer, this is a great wine to chill down and chill out." 3 out of 5 (vino-sphere)

Owen's General Tso's

My Review: I really enjoyed this wine.  It had a herbal spice smell, as well as a boxwood/cat pee note that's typical of grapes coming from New Zealand.  It had an herbal, maybe sage, taste and was highlighted with pleasant acidity.  It had a strong acid after taste.  I had this wine with General Tso's Chicken from Owen's dinning hall.  The food cut the acid as well as the other flavors in the wine.  The wine really helped cut the spiciness of the ever unpredictable Owen's General Tso's, which happened to be extremely spicy this go around. 

Tasting - F.J. Serra Chardonnay

F.J. Serra Chardonnay

Name: F.J. Serra Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: California
Country: United States
Year: 2015
Price: $7.99 (on sale)

Wine Review: "Ripe and creamy, with flavors of pineapple candy, honey, brown sugar, buttered toast and cinnamon. It's just what millions of Chardonnay lovers want." 85 Points (Wine Enthusiast)

My Review: This wine had a lot on the nose, but so little else to offer.  It smelled slightly funky, of apricots and brown sugar.  It tasted very light and pleasantly
acidic.  It's after taste was even lighter.  There just wasn't much to this wine.

Tasting - Blue Ash Road Chardonnay

Parker Estate Chardonnay

Name: Blue Ash Road
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: California
Country: United States
Year: 2014
Price: $9.99

Wine Review: "Lemon and green apple up front. Then transitions to weird sour/metallic taste on the finish reminiscent of sucking in the white pith of a lemon. Minimal vanilla/oak. Not the worst $10 bottle. But have had better $10 bottles. " 2.5 Stars (Craig Szafranski; Vivino)

My Review: This was a pretty average wine.  It smelled of vanilla and pear.  It had a smooth crisp appley peary taste.  It's after taste had a slight acidity to it.  I had this wine with my left overs from lunch.  With the potato hash, the wine was sweeter and there was no acidity.  It wasn't great.  With the BBQ grouper taco, the acid in the wine matched with the fish/spiciness and there was less apple taste and more pear.  It wasn't a bad pairing with the taco, but it also wasn't my favorite.

Lunch left overs

Tasting - El Pendador

El Pensador

Name: El Pensador
Variety: Tempranillo
Region: Campo de Borja
Country: Spain
Year: 2014
Price: $7.99

Wine Review: "Cherry, plum and spice on the nose. Medium body. Tart cherry and spicy vanilla upfront gives way to undertones of tobacco. More than I'd expect from a 7 dollar bottle." 3.5 Stars (JK; Vivino)

My Review: My boyfriend and I went backpacking this weekend.  Our only requirement for the wine we brought with us was that it needed it be a screw cap, since we forgot to pack a corkscrew.  For the price, this wine was fantastic.  Since we also for got to pack cups, it was hard to smell much besides a woody jam.  On its own it had a spiced wood taste with a slightly astringent, yet fruity aftertaste.  With the rice we had, the spiciness was cut and there was some fruit noticeable.  With the packet of hickory smoked flavored tuna packet, all the wood and spice flavors were gone and the wine tasted like cherries.  This was a perfect wine for a cold night.

Tasting - Cantina Montelliana Extra Dry Prosecco

Montelliana Prosecco

Name: Cantina Montelliana Extra Dry Prosecco
Variety: Glera
Region: Prosecco di Treviso
Country: Italy
Year: none
Price: $9.99

Wine Review: "Slightly sweet, though the bottle says extra dry. Nice and fruity (might be where the sweet comes from). Totally delicious. Back home I would drive around to look for this." 4 Stars (Hennie Cronjé; Vivino)

My Review: This wine was exactly what I needed after my spring break training trip.  It smelled crisp apple, peach, and sassy grass.  It had a high acid taste that messed with it's green apple sweetness.  It's after taste was refreshing and sweet.  I would drink this again.

Tasting - Arca Nova Vinho Verde

Arca Nova Vinho Verde

Name: Arca Nova
Variety: Loureiro 50%, Arinto 40%, Treixadura 10%
Region: Vinho Verde
Country: Portugal
Year: 2016
Price: $9.99

Wine Review: "This is a soft wine with its creamy fruits assimilated into the tangy texture. There is plenty of acidity to give this wine its cool character as well as its citrus and green-apple flavors. Drink now." 85 Points (Roger Voss; Wine Enthusiast)

My Review: This wine was a light straw color with small bubbles.  It smelled of several different fruits and veggies: green apple, pomegranate, and sweet potatoes.  It tasted of apricots and had a pleasant fuzziness.  The aftertaste was a strong green apple flavor.  I drank this wine with my dinner, which was a meal from HelloFresh since I had gotten a free box to try from my boss.  With their Mediterranean veggies, the wine's sweetness was cut and everything just meshed perfectly.  The fruit flavors in the wine balanced very well the veggies and hardiness of the couscous in the dish.

HelloFresh Mediterranean Veggies