Wine Stars

Wine Stories and News for the Young at Heart

Bus 305W – New Napa Winery Wins

Lastnight we had a blind tasting of 6 red wines. The purpose was to try to identify the four classic red grapes -- pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and merlot – by appearance, nose and palate. We also threw in two other favorites – a zinfandel and malbec – to make it more fun and challenging. Altogether 37 Millennials participated in the tasting, and we voted on our favorite at the end before revealing the label and price. The star of the evening was a cabernet sauvignon from a brand new winery in Napa! Read on for more details and [...]

By |2021-02-06T08:32:53-08:00February 26, 2009|

Bus 305W Favorite White Wines

The 40 Millennials in Bus 305W tasted through 6 white wines recently in a blind tasting format.  The purpose was to attempt to identify the classic varietals by color, nose, and palate structure.  A classic varietal is defined as one which must “have manifested QUALITY over a long period of time, AND have done so in more than one place in the world.”  Therefore according to experts such as Jancis Robinson and Karen McNeil, there are 5 classic white grapes:  chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, chenin blanc, and semillon.  We also added a sixth grape which is quite popular with Millennials [...]

By |2021-02-06T08:33:22-08:00February 21, 2009|

Wine Club’s Favorite Valentine Wine

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and everyone is seeking that perfect bottle of wine for a romantic evening.  While still wine can be quite enticing, bubbles are usually the preferred drink for Valentine's Day. With this in mind, the SSU Wine Club with 31 millennials met the first week of February to taste 5 sparkling wines.  They even tried a sparkling cosmo - made with sparkling wine, vodka and juice.   After the vote was taken, a clear favorite emerged -- the Reserve Pinot Noir Rose from Domaine Chandon. ***** Domaine Chandon Reserve Pinot Noir Rose ($30).  Everyone was impressed with the beautiful pink [...]

By |2021-01-05T13:53:50-08:00February 13, 2009|

Favorite California Dessert Wines for the Holidays

It’s that time of the year when friends and family gather for holiday events and good cheer.  This is often accompanied by wonderful dessert wines ranging from sweet white rieslings, gewurtraminers, and viogniers in late-harvest, sparkling, and ice-wine formats as well as velvety red ports, black muscats, and late harvest zinfandels.  All of these sweet and semi-sweet dessert wines pair well with different types of cheeses, chocolate, cakes, pies, and other delectable dishes such as crème brulee, cheesecake and flan. This week’s blind tasting included 6 different dessert wines from California – including 4 whites (late harvest riesling, gewurtraminer, viognier, [...]

By |2021-02-06T08:34:26-08:00December 9, 2008|

Top Scoring Zinfandels from Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley

California has claimed zinfandel as one of its signature grapes.  This is because there is no other place else in the world that can produce such big, spicy and jammy wines from this unique grape varietal (originally from Croatia).  One of the most famous appellations for zinfandel is the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County which has hot dry summers and warm autumns to ripen the heavy purple fruit from this vine.  Driving through Dry Creek Valley in the autumn is one of the most beautiful sites in California, because the valley floor and hillsides are filled with a tapestry [...]

By |2021-02-06T08:34:53-08:00November 6, 2008|

Top Scoring Pinot Noirs Between $10 and $20

California pinot noir is a “hot commodity” amongst the Millennial generation with its silky red fruit flavors and soft tannins.  It is an easy drinking red wine for new wine drinkers, but is often difficult to find at price points below $20.  Therefore, the purpose of this tasting was to evaluate value priced pinots and try to find some favorites.  Our five Millennial wine judges succeeded in this endeavor and have three great pinot noirs to recommend.  ***** (93, GOLD) Bogle Russian River Pinot Noir 2006 - $13 Silky texture, spices, fresh berries and cloves. A hint of minerals. Soft and [...]

By |2021-02-06T08:35:17-08:00October 28, 2008|

Favorite Aromatic White Wines

Aromatic white wines are those that are considered to be very fragrant when you smell the wine.  They often provide lovely aromas of flowers and fruit.  Common aromatic varietals include riesling, gewürztraminer, muscat, torrentez (from Argentina), albarino (from Spain), and gruner vetliner (from Austria).  We tried all six of these varietals today, but the slightly sweeter muscat from Sutter Home eclipsed the drier styles of the others.  Following are the favorites of the five Millennial wine judges. ***** (97, GOLD) Sutter Home Muscat, California, -$4 Lovely fragrant nose of roses and apricot, which carries through on the palate.  Sweet, dessert [...]

By |2021-02-06T08:35:44-08:00October 28, 2008|
Go to Top