Tasting - "Dachshund Riesling"

Name: Dachshund Riesling

Variety: Riesling
Region: Rheinhessen
Country: Germany
Year: 2012
Price: $10.99

Winery Review: "The wine is full flavored with both pear and citrus fruit aromas. Stimulating on the palate, as well fresh and fruity it has a nice sweetness balanced with the typical crisp Riesling acidity and a long- lasting finish."

My Review: Obviously I bought this wine for the bottle, who doesn't love an adorable dog? But I also quite like Riesling and wanted to see what was going on behind the label. The smell was pretty standard Riesling in my mind; some petrol, strong citrus, and hints of peach and pear. The taste was curious. It took me a while to decide what I was picking up, which was a crisp acidity and spiciness on the finish. The spiciness is what threw me off. The finish was pretty long with a nice mouth feel. I also felt that there was a lot of citrus and tartness like a green apple. I'd like to see what I think of it later, because I couldn't decide if I liked it or not.

Tasting - "Shoofly Buzz Cut 2009"

Name: Shoofly Buzz Cut 2009
Variety: Viognier 38%, Riesling 27%, Verdelho 24%, Semillon 6%, Chardonnay 5%
Region: South Australia
Country: Australia
Year: 2009
Price: $8.99

Winery Review: "A wildly aromatic blend of Verdelho, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay and Semillon. The fruit is sourced from McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills and Langhorne Creek, fermented in stainless steel and bottled fresh and young for immediate enjoyment. It's a lush blend showing juicy, tropical flavors, exotic perfume and a refreshing, structured palate."

My Review: This wine was surprising, but I didn't really like it. The nose was oddly "red" with a lot of dirt, cigar box, leather, and gasoline scents. Then the taste had some of the dirt, but a lot of mineral notes and a heck of a lot of alcohol. 13.5% for a white is beyond me. All that alcohol brought the heat and the firm tannins couldn't remedy it.

Tasting - "Woodpecker Premium Cider"

Name: Woodpecker Premium Cider
Variety: Apple Cider
Region: Hereford
Country: England
Year: Not Stated
Price: $2.00 (individual bottles at Vintage Cellar)

Cidermaker Review: "The use of the English bittersweet apple provided Woodpecker® with a distinctive taste and refreshing drinkability. A crisp semi-dry finish, amber hue with a lightly sparking appearance, sweet fruity aroma and a slight toffee-apple note."

My Review: The nose was great; sweet honeysuckle and pear. The taste was difficult to pick up and very thin, but it was suitable. At first I noticed a sweet finish, but the more I drank the stranger the aftertaste seemed to get. I'm not sure I would buy it again, but it's by Bulmer's so I had high hopes.

Tasting - "SAVED Rosé"

Name: SAVED Rosé
Variety: Cabernet Franc 53%, Sangiovese 20%, Zinfandel 12%, Chardonnay 8%, Grenache 3%, Malvasia Bianca 2%, Malbec 2%
Region: Napa Valley, CA
Country: USA
Year: 2012
Price: $15.00

Winery Review: "SAVED Rosé is a pink wine for tough guys and gals. This delicate and ultra dry Rosé is crafted from a unique blend of varietals, carefully blended into one tiny batch of a few hundred cases."

My Review: This Rosé is crazy hot! And I don't mean in a good way...The alcohol content is 13.4% and it burns all the way down your throat. The nose was surprisingly "red" with a lot of dirty/soil aromas and a hint of flowers. The taste, from what I could get other than heat and acid, was floral and had a long finish, although not a pleasant one...It seems to me this wine was overworked and striving for high alcohol content, but it's very unbalanced and not at all smooth.

Tasting - "Foggy Ridge Serious Cider"

Sorry for the lack of blog posts recently! I actually found out I had Mono on April 1st and you're not supposed to drink alcohol with Mono, because of swollen organs and such....so that put a dent in my ability to post on here. It also put a dent in my last semester of my senior year at Tech, but that's another story. After 4 weeks and no more symptoms, I have decided I can ease back into tastings.

Name: Foggy Ridge Serious Cider
Variety: Apple Cider
Region: Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains
Country: USA
Year: Not Stated
Price: $18.00

Cidermaker Review: "Foggy Ridge Cider grows many "spitters"—high tannin apples that taste like unripe persimmons but contribute tannin to all our cider blends, especially Serious Cider, our most dry hard cider. Classic English cider apples like Stoke Red, Dabinett and Tremlett's Bitter combine with high tannin American varieties such as Ashmead's Kernel and Roxbury Russett to create a cider that drinks like Brut Champagne. Enjoy Serious Cider with fatty nibbles like a French Triple Creme or crab cakes browned in butter. Or just slice rich sheep's milk cheese and pour a glass. This Virignia Cider is made with only Virginia Apples and blended to perfection."

My Review: After looking at their website, I realized I would probably have preferred the other types, but the store I found this at didn't have any other kinds and I'd never heard of it before. That being said, this is an EXTREMELY dry cider and very fizzy. My friend tried it with me and really enjoyed it, but I was not a fan. The smell was fairly sweet, nice red apple and honeysuckle notes, but the taste was pretty tart. Just not my cup of tea.