Two words for last night's online tasting: good times! Or, perhaps I should say: tough judges! The opinions flowed fast and occasionally fierce as three wines were tasted here yesterday as a virtual community. You can scroll down a little and see a replay of the chat, which attracted wine drinkers from the area and even a party from the Sidegate Homewine Group. We sipped, we swirled, we tapped away on our keyboards ...
So how did we rate the wines as a group?
Bogle 2008 Riesling: The group overall found this wine pleasant enough, with good flavors of stone fruits and apple, but some preferred a style that wasn't so sweet. I found a lot of sweet pineapple flavors as the wine warmed, but served on the colder side was fairly refreshing with its fruity taste.
Gnarly 2008 California Cabernet Sauvignon: The group basically wondered, "What the heck were the State Fair wine judges thinking?" when they awarded this wine 93 points. Thin, one-dimensional and a lackluster finish
this wine was even "banished to hell" by one taster. Blech ...
Red Rock 2008 Malbec: Now we're talking. The group enjoyed this wine for its complexity, mouthfeel and ability to be paired with a variety of foods. But there was one problem: numerous bottles of this purchased by tasters seemed to be corked. Without the bottle flaws, this malbec was definitely a winner.
In the end, we all had fun tasting these wines and evaluating them on our own. Because no matter what the State Fair judges say - especially in terms of the Gnarly Head cabernet - the only wine judge who really matters is yourself.
Look for another virtual tasting coming soon!
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