Rosé Challenge Results

 

Challengers are lined up

Challengers are lined up

1391463_1426580644220916_142933016_nThe first Santa Clara Valley Rosé Challenge  was held at the Dolce Hayes Masion in San Jose California.  A special thanks to Heather Moggia and the Dolce Hayes Mansion for their hospitalilty.  The tables were set and the wine was chilled. The challengers were Thomas Kruse Winery, Aver Family Vineyard, Sycamore Creek Vineyard, Guglielmo Winery, Clos LaChance Winery, Solis Winery, Jason Stephens Winery.  One of the things I like most about Rosé is that they are truly like a box of chocolates.  Each one is so different.  Some of the wines were single varietals and others were blends.  We lined them up head to head to see which wine makers inspiration would be most popular with our diverse group of participants.

We asked everyone to rank the wines from their most favorite to their least favorite.  The results were; 

First Place:  Solis Winery received the most First place votes followed by Aver Family and Thomas Kruse.

Jason Stephens received the most Second place votes followed by Solis and Sycamore Creek.

Clos LaChance received the most Third place votes followed by Thomas Kruse and a tie between Guglielmo and Jason Stephens.

Over all;  Solis received the most total votes followed by Jason Stephens, Thomas Kruse, Sycamore Creek, Aver, Guglielmo and Clos Lachance. 

It appears this group was drawn towards the sweeter rosés in the challenge.  A good time was had by all and we look forward to the next challenge. 

 

Quick fire blogging day 2 at WBC13

Ok so we are at a table and we have 5 mins to taste and rotate winemakers but we have to blog on site at the same time we are tasting! Here we go……this is def a first.
Riesling 2011 Monster Vineyards: 100% Riesling. Not sweet at all. Initial smell is some petrol. Sour to me. Eh, not that great. Lets move on……nope she’s still talking, 5 minutes is longer than I thought.
And we switch! Next Cedar Creek 2012 Riesling. Very light in color almost water looking. Fermented in stainless steel. Almost slightly bubbly at first, not very sweet but tasty. Lots of apricot with acidity at the end.

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Next……Quials’ Gate Chenin Blanc 2012. Hmmmm. Lots of mineral qualities, light and kinda sour. Not a fav.
Next up:
Bench1775 2012 Chill (white blend)
Smells nice with fruity flavors but the taste is no bueno. It’s again on the sour side….I’ve had a cracker in between so its not due to the other wines. One word: forgettable is best.
Next:
Terravista vineyards. Fandango 2012 blend of Verdelho and Albariño….I’m excited! First glance straw colored very light. Smell….like opening a bag of dried fruit smell. ( that kinda weird smell you get) ok, so it’s on the sour side, but tasty. I feel like it needs food I wouldn’t drink it alone. It’s ok.
5 rounds done 5 to go!
Next: ooooo first look they have a cup of popcorn to go with….. It’s a Chardonnay 2010 by Township 7. Finally some color with the wine. Smell slightly oaky/buttery. (I like the smell) mmmmm yum! Pretty good. Smooth with butter an acidic qualities. It goes well with the popcorn but better by itself. A must try 🙂
Next: Mt. Boucherie 2010 Chardonnay. Smell opposite from the other fresh crisp fruity smelling. Light and crisp but it reminds me of something….like a familiar old veggie that has stayed to long in the fridge. I can’t put my finger in the exact veggie. Thumbs down.
Next: Upper Bench 2012 Riesling. Smell awesome! Like your laying in a field on a warm summer day and you are surrounded by apricot trees…..and bug bumble bees 🙂 Then slightly disappointed with the taste. It does taste nice, but a little sour and maybe if it didn’t smell as good as it does it would taste better. It just smells so good but then you taste and it doesn’t hold it’s expectations that you build with the smell.
Next: La Petite Paille 2012 Sauvignon Blanc …. Very light in color more so than any others really looks like water. Smell has capsaicin smell of a Cab with a good taste but is kind of lost at the end…..weird…but good. This could be drunk by itself on a warm summer day. I like!
Next: last round!
Intrigue wines 2012 white blend. Smell delish. Crisp, cool with sour smells….but tasty with honeysuckle and a very slight sweetness. Very good. Could definitely drink it by itself on a warm summer day!

And that’s it folks! So all these wines all I had was five minutes each! It was super fun, loud and crazy in the big conference room! Imagine 200 plus people in a room blogging, face booking, tweeting etc.