I chose to do the experiment in Lesson 8: the Big Three Whites. The reason I chose this lesson is because I would normally choose something involving reds, so I wanted to branch out!

My instructions were to get 1 Chardonnay, 1 Sauvignon Blanc and 1 Riesling. The textbook provided us with a list of options for each type of wine, so I took a picture of the list and headed over to my local liquor store, Cellar’s.

I immediately asked for help because I wanted to find the least expensive bottles I could, but also the best quality possible for my low price range. I was led to these three:

I spent a total of around $30 for these bottles (which was more than I even wanted to, sorry I’m poor) but I would say that’s a pretty good deal! I was most excited to try the Chardonnay and the Sauv Blanc because I know they would be on the drier side. Rieslings I try to stay away from because they are usually way too sweet for me. The woman who checked me out at Cellar’s made a comment about how yummy the Riesling was though, so I was relatively excited to try it!

When I got home, I got out three wine glasses and labeled each with “C”, “S”, or “R”, then poured the wines according to the labeled glasses.

I immediately took note of the aromas I smelled when I poured the glasses as well as the color of each wine. The combination of all three wines was a potent smell! I smelled a lot of floral and fruity flavors…more specifically some citrus and melon. I noticed that the Sauvignon Blanc in the middle is noticeably lighter in color than the Chardonnay and Riesling. The Chardonnay and Riesling have a more golden tone and I think that the Riesling might be a hint darker than the Chardonnay.

I took a seat outside to enjoy the random day of beautiful weather while I sipped on my wines and took notes. I started with the Chardonnay. It was dry and tannic and made my mouth pucker. It had a strong scent, but it was not fruity at all. I got some buttery and oaky notes as well. I moved onto the Sauvignon Blanc. It was sweeter than the Chardonnay, but still not sweet. It was medium sweetness and medium body. It felt airy and light, but still had some weight to it. It tasted sour like lemons and citrus and although I did like the taste, as weird as it sounds…I sort of understand the whole cat pee taste??? Hah! Okay, onto the Riesling. It tasted more sparkly and bubbly than the other two wines. It was much sweeter, but still mild. It was fruity and refreshing, similar to juice! It went down really smoothly and was easily drinkable. It had a nice aftertaste as well.

About an hour later, I pulled out the chilled wines from the fridge. I poured a new glass of wine into each of the labeled glasses. I took a picture to try to capture the sweat on the glasses but it was an epic fail! Here’s my try anyways:

Sooo, yeah, you can’t tell they are cold, but I promise they were!!

I started out with the Chardonnay again. It smelled very strong for some reason this time. I think the chilled Chardonnay was much more flavorful than before! It was still very tannic and dry, but a lot more enjoyable than before. Overall, I liked the chilled Chardonnay over the room temp Chardonnay. I ate a few plain crackers as suggested between wines to clear my palate. I tried the chilled Sauvignon Blanc next. The aromas were oaky, more so than before it was refrigerated. I’m not even sure if I thought it was oaky before, so that is interesting. It tasted very bitter this time around, I honestly did not like it all! I thought for sure I would like every wine chilled better, but apparently not. It was sour and not easily drinkable. I was excited to taste the Riesling to say the least, but I ate a few crackers before hand to get rid of that awful taste in my mouth! The Riesling smelled fruity and floral. I got a tiny bit of a wood aroma before I tasted it, but not much. As for the taste, it was less bubbly than before. It went down smoothly and did not taste much like alcohol. I liked this one a lot better cold. It was still just as fruity as before, which was super yummy.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this lesson! All of my roommates participated and took sips of the wine and it was just fun to show them what I get to do for class! If there’s one thing I learned in this lesson, it is that I’m definitely a red girl 🙂

Until next wine time!