I recently did the activity for Drink This Now's Lesson 6. I visited the Vintage Cellar to pick up a light and easy Chardonnay. The employees were busy helping out a group of some sort, so being the socially-anxious person I am and not wanting to intrude, I went by the shop's write-ups and picked one that was described as not offering "too much" and having a "light, creamy texture and plenty of vitality." It was $8.95. A friend I was doing the activity with picked up a bourbon barrel-aged Chardonnay, and another friend bought a loaf of Italian bread and a block of Parmesan cheese (pictured below at Step 4).
Step 1 was to pour a glass of each wine, then contemplate and describe the colors we see. We set the glasses next to each other on the table to compare, then held each one up against the white wall to observe the colors in the daylight. At first glance, the wines are both pale yellow and I start panicking that I got the wrong wine. Upon closer inspection, however, the bourbon barrel wine is slightly darker and has an orange tinge to it. The "light" wine is a lighter yellow with more of a lime-green tint, and when you hold it up to the light, the liquid appears white at the edges of the glass. The edges of the bourbon barrel wine were the same color as the rest of the wine.
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Glasses on the table. I think the mug on the right is meant for coffee.
Left: Light Chardonnay. Right: Bourbon barrel aged Chardonnay. |
Step 2 was to do a standard sniffing and drinking assessment of the wines. We made sure to try the lighter-colored Chardonnay before the darker-colored one. The Italian bread was so bland that it served as a perfect palate cleanser between wines. Here are the results, listed in the order we tasted them:
Light and Easy Chardonnay
Name: Geyser Peak California
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Napa
Country: California, United States
Year: 2014
Price: $8.95
Shop review: "A most beautiful wine, the 2014 Geyser Peak California Chardonnay invites a second glass and that is a good thing. There are so many wines of which one glass can be almost too much. This one offers bright fruit, a light creamy texture and plenty of vitality. I would really enjoy this wine with roast chicken over a bed of raw salad greens. Drinking perfectly now."
My review: Strong aroma of freshly cut pear. Taste is fruity with a slight buttery oakiness. Acidic, strong alcohol taste and mild dryness at the finish.
Heavier, Barrel-aged Chardonnay
Name: Beringer Bros. Bourbon Barrel Aged Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Sonoma
Country: California, United States
Year: 2016
Price: $19.95
91 - Wine Enthusiast review: "Richness, almost unctuousness, is the hallmark of this full-bodied, creamy textured and complex wine. Subtle baking spices, butter and ginger fill the aroma, while perfectly ripe, abundant flavors of pear tart and toasted almond flood the palate. It's balanced on the plump side."
My review: Smell was more sweet than the first wine, with notes of apple and some pear. Nutty, complex flavor - you can definitely taste the bourbon! Pleasantly smooth finish.
Step 3 was to describe the mouthfeel of the wines. I expected the Geyser Peak to be extremely light, like water, but it was actually somewhere between a light and medium body, which is probably the "creamy texture" the description mentioned. Yet I thought it felt more like very concentrated fruit juice than cream. The Beringer Bros., at least to me, was fuller than the Geyser Peak, but still more on the medium side compared to other wines I've tasted. Maybe like iced coffee with a splash of creamer in it? I've only had iced coffee a handful of times in my entire life (all in college, of course) so that may be a stretch. Also, the Geyser Peak gave me that burning sensation of alcohol in the back of my throat. Not fun.
Step 4 was what we assumed the hard, Italian cheese was for - seeing how the wines taste with food. After another slice of bread, we tried each wine with a chunk of Parmesan. For Geyser Peak, the cheese tamed some of the throat-burning caused by the alcohol in the wine, but it didn't do much for the flavors in either of them. However, it paired great with the Beringer Bros. wine! The cheese smooths out the wine even more, which I didn't think was possible. It also helped the wine express its complexities to the fullest extent.
Overall this was a fun and interesting lesson. Although the difference was small, the wines did differ in color based on the styles and preferences of the different winemakers. The bourbon barrel-aged wine was darker and slightly thicker than the light, fruity wine. However, wine quality has little to nothing to do with color and everything to do with flavors, aromas, and perhaps even texture (unless it's a brown white wine - yuck). My favorite Chardonnay out of the two was by far the Beringer Bros., mainly because it was a lot smoother but I also liked the touch of bourbon flavor. I'd like to try this again to see if the body and color of two other white wines is consistent with our observations in this activity!
