& on thursdays we taste wine.

Wine thursday? What better way to start the weekend than to go wine tasting at the Vintage Cellar! Probably one of my favorite days of the week.  Unfortunately, I left this wine tasting bottle-less.  I wasn't a huge fan of the wines this week, they were slightly disappointing but I'm hoping next week makes up for it :) 

Dibon Cava $9.95
Xarel-lo, Macabeo, Parellada
Catalonia, Spain
-- This wine had no color, it was clear.  Right away I could smell the alcohol in this wine! In addition to the heat it brought, I smelled pineapple and pear.  After trying it I could really only taste the carbonation.  It was SO carbonated that I couldn't pick out flavors.

Marques de Caceres $9.95
Verdejo 2013
Rueda, Spain
-- Beautiful, gold color.  Couldn't pick out any scents expect for hints of citrus.  This wine was very light and fresh with a hot finish.  It had a toasty, buttery taste which I enjoyed but the ending wasn't for me. 

Breca Tovana $8.95
Old Vine Garnacha 2013
Munebrega, Spain
-- Deep maroon color with hints of vanilla, alcohol, black currant, and a big 'ol campfire!  The smell was so distinct for me and that's probably because I'm starting to get very familiar with red wines.  I could definitely taste the vanilla and tannins...it was very, very tannic which added to the complexity of the wine.  I could also taste the smokey aspect of the wine.  At the end of this tasting, I came to the conclusion that I was not the biggest fan of this particular wine. 

Rare Red $9.95
Zinfandel, Petite Syrah, Petite Verdot, Merlot
California
-- The first thing I thought of when I smelled this wine was CHEESE.  I got a whiff of this smokey cheese that I had tried before but can't remember the name, I think havarti.  This wine began to smell sweeter and sweeter though after continuous whiffs.  I began smelling strawberries and vanilla.  This wine was also pretty hot and tart.  I could pick out the strawberry and some sort of spice like pepper. 

Jam Jar $8.95
Sweet White 2014
South Africa
-- This wine was a pretty light pink color! It smelled exactly how it looked, sweet and creamy with a hint of rose water I think.  I'm not a fan of rose water and the smell is so distinct that I could smell a tiny hint of it in this wine.  This wine tasted extremely sweet and first then had this weird finish, the sort of finish that didn't make me want to keep drinking.  I ended up giving the rest to my friend because I wasn't a fan.