Two Wines and a Goat Cheese

Today I had the chance to retry some wines I haven't had in a while. I was visiting with my parents for the afternoon and had previously recommended they try the Fall Creek Muscat Canelli. My mom wasn't a fan, so I tried it again and I must say it did not taste how I remembered!

It was still good, but I had rated it in my top wines of 2009! I find it very interesting that my perception of the wine changed so much from when I first tried it. Since neither one of us liked it that much and it had been open for a few days, we decided to open a Schmitt Sohne Auslese Riesling, which was previously my mom's favorite wine.

We noticed right away that this wine STINKS! We decided it smelled like new shoes, plastic, and pool water. Don't let this fool you though, it tastes pretty good! We had to let it open up a bit though, at first it was a little sour and alcoholic tasting, which is not good for a wine thats 9%! After it sat out and warmed up a bit, it became very fruity and a lot creamier. The smell still lingered a bit :/.

To go with the wines, I brought some honey goat cheese.

The cheese was amazing as always and with the Auslese it turned out to be a really great pairing!

A good day for wine and cheese overall!

Best Wines of 2009

Since everyone everywhere is making their "best of" lists, I thought it would be fun to recap the best wines I've tried in 2009. Before I started this blog in May, I kept a wine journal in which I kept notes about the wines I tried. My Top 10 Wines of '09 is therefore a combination of wines from the journal and the blog. 6 are whites and 4 are reds. Drumroll please...

Top White of 2009:

Castello del Poggio Moscato d'Asti - Ive had this wine probably 5 times in the last year and every time has been delicious. From the specs tasting, to wino divino, to Olive Garden, to the parents meeting, it is perfect for every occasion. It is light (7%), sweet, slightly sparkling, and amazing. It was an easy choice for top white of the year. $13

Rounding out the top 6 whites...

Texas Hills Orange Moscato - Sweet, fruity, but with a high alcohol content (14%!) and some depth! The hint of orange zest balances out the sweetness and makes this wine something I would recommend to everyone. $17 for a 500ml bottle.

Chisholm Trail Blanc du Bois - This wine is very crisp and refreshing with tastes of grapefruit, peach, and tangy apple. Its a little on the sour side, but with almost a buttery smooth texture. I definitely need to try this one again soon, luckily I have another one on my shelf! $17

Schloss Vollrads Riesling - Everyone likes this wine when they try it because its sweet, fruity, and doesnt taste a thing like alcohol. It is very drinkable and refreshing. $15

Crios Torrontes - The only dry white in the top 10, this torrontes is very well balanced with sweet and tangy. Hints of orange citrus and grapefruit pair well with the peachy, flowery tastes. I have tried 2 other torrontes' and they don't even compare to this one. $15

Fall Creek Muscat Canelli - This muscat canelli was one of the first ones I ever tasted and was my favorite from the Austin Wine Festival. It started an intense love of sweet whites. Upon trying it a second time it is actually very well balanced and not as intensely sweet as I previously thought. $13

Top Red of 2009 -

Becker Prairie Rotie - This wine is so complex - smells of earth, moss, and pepper with a big bold taste, yet somehow with a soft fruity finish. Its a wine I just want to sip and think about and just writing about it makes me want some right now. Overall fantastic! $15

Rounding out the top 4 reds...

Wrongo Dongo - You would never believe this wine is only $7. Its a monastrell and has intense smells and flavors of cherries, plums, and spice. Its got body, flavor, and outshines a lot of reds I have tried which seem to fall flat or seem thin. Its something I want to keep on hand at all time and goes great with strong cheeses! Its bold - 15% alcohol! $7

Oakley Five Reds - Originally I had this as a $40 bottle of wine in New York and was ecstatic to find it here for much cheaper. Its almost the exact opposite of the prarie rotie, with a light fruity beginning followed by a sharp bold finish. It might be a bit harsh by itself, but is delicious with food and cheese. $9

Hoya de Cadenas Tempranillo - I wrote that this wine smelled like red velvet cake and was "one of my new favorite wines". I had this right at the beginning of the year and I think its about time I tried it again. It has silky tannins, lots of fruit and pepper, and a delicious finish. $9

2009 has been a great year for wine! I cant even wait for the wines of 2010!

Fall Creek Muscat Canelli

As you may know, I have been really interested in muscat canellis recently, and this was my absolute favorite wine from the Austin Wine Festival back in May. I haven't had it since, but finally decided to try it again when I was looking for something dessert like.

I guess I was expecting to be blown away by sweetness, when in fact that's not what I got. At the festival, we tried sooo many wines that this one probably stood out for the lightness and sweetness and seemed overly so compared to all the other wines there. I was surprised and happy to find that this was a very balanced wine the second time around. There were fruit and acidity as well that made the wine very delicious and not at all like I was drinking a marshmallow. It was very smooth and peachy and super easy to drink. I got it at Specs for around $12 and would definitely buy this wine again!

Messina Hof Muscat Canelli

When I went to Specs to get the truffle cheese I got this wine mostly on a whim. I have been pretty impressed by the Messina Hof wines I have tasted lately. Also my favorite wine from the Austin wine festival was a muscat canelli, so I thought I should give this one a try.

Aside from the Fall Creek Muscat Canelli, I have also tried the Becker Muscat Canelli Amabile - both of which were deliciously sweet. So thats what I expected from this wine but much to my dismay I was a bit disappointed. This wine was really not sweet at all, and was more citrusy than anything. It tasted exactly like a grapefruit with a hint of lemon - which reminded me of a previous wine I had about a week ago - the Messina Hof Pinot Grigio! Seriously they tasted almost like the same wine! One interesting thing about this wine was the smell. It smelled like a white port - sweet and very alcoholic and almost exactly like a white port I have had.

Overall this wine was ok, I gave it a 6.5 out of 10. It was nothing special but it wasnt terrible either.