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  Name: Beringer Founders’ Estate Pinot Noir Variety: 100% Pinot Noir Region: Napa, California Country: USA Year: 2020 Price: $9.95 Tasting Notes: Beringer Founders Estate Pinot Noir is immediately fruit forward with bright flavors of red cherry and currant, beautifully complemented by cedar and cinnamon spice. It is a perfect pairing with grilled salmon, roast turkey, or brie cheese. Wine Folly: From page 151 of Wine Folly , Pinot Noirs from the Coast of California have hints of cherry, raspberry sauce, plum, vanilla, and allspice. I definitely was able to taste the cherry and plum in this one. Another cool thing about growing Pinot Noir in California, is that the Pacific Ocean creates a fog in the morning that makes the vines cool enough to grow. Personal Review: Very red and purple in color, as well as a strong aroma. I am not a huge red guy, so the smell was pungent to me at first. Plum was the first flavor I recognized when tasting, which was very bold and powerful on my to...

                                                        Name: Fairbanks Cellars California Sherry Variety: 100% Sherry, either from Palomino or Pedro Ximenez  Region: McFarland and San Martin, California Country: USA Year: 2021 Price: $7.00 Winery Review: Balance dry and moderately sweet. Notes of nutty, buttery, and honey flavors. More of a cooking wine than drinking wine. Wine Folly: From page 170 of Wine Folly , a dry style of Sherry, such as an Amontillado, is slightly bolder and has a nutty style. This is definitely what I got from this tasting. Sweet styles give off caramel flavors and smells which is also what I got off of this Sherry. Personal Review: The first thing I noticed was that the wine looked like whisky when I poured it in the glass. It has that same lig...

Gabbiano Chianti The first cheese I sampled with the Chianti was a super sharp vintage cheddar. I liked this pairing a lot because I felt the bold flavor of the cheddar offset/complimented the bold and powerful flavor of the Chianti. I am not a huge fan of reds quite yet because of the boldness but the cheddar was a great partner. From page 60 of Wine Folly it stated that with a Chianti, the best to worst pairings of the cheeses I sampled were #1 Cheddar, #2 Parmesan, and #3 Boursin.  The second cheese I sampled was parmesan. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t better than the sharp cheddar. It felt like the parmesan kind of made the Chianti flatter and more bland because I didn’t get that powerful flavor. The Parmesan almost hid the fruity blend of this Chianti. The last cheese I sampled with the Chianti was Boursin which has hints of garlic and herbs. The Boursin almost overpowered the flavor of the Chianti because the garlic and herbs were so bold. 1000 Stories Gold Rush Red This w...