Delectable Wine App

"The Only Wine App Worth a Damn." -Vinography

I have been an avid user of Delectable for about eight months now and I absolutely love it! I use it to help me decide what to buy, keep track of the wines I've tasted, and organize my wine regions. Delectable also allows me to connect to other wine lovers with similar palates as mine. I can see what others are drinking and read their personal reviews. This app is super helpful and fun. I like to describe it to people as "instagram for wine". It is very social yet informational. You upload a pic of your wine label, rate and describe it, and others can like and comment on your wine. The regions feature is probably one of my favorite things about it. The app separates your wines into countries, regions, and sub regions. This allows me to see which regions I have yet to explore and inspires me to try wines from those regions I have unfilled. Go download this app now! You won't regret it. I promise! Follow me on Delectable at Alex Sanchez.

Trip to "The Motherland" aka Napa Valley

I know this post is long overdue but here it is anyways. Last month I had the pleasure of taking a three day trip to Napa Valley & Sonoma. It was my first time visiting. I was so excited I could hardly sleep the night before. I felt like a kid going to Disneyland for the first time. I went with my friend Emilie, also a Cal Poly Wine & Viticulture graduate who works as an Enologist (wine scientist) for Opolo Vineyards in Paso Robles.

On Monday we made it the following wineries in order:

-Darioush

-Stag's Leap

-Opus One

-Duckhorn

-Mumm

-Alpha Omega

On Tuesday we visited...      

-Domaine Chandon

-Caymus Vineyards

-Raymond Vineyards

-St. Supery

-Cliff Lede

-Peju

On Wednesday we drove to Sonoma and tasted at...

-Buena Vista

-Gundlach Bundschu

-R2

My favorite winery for the ambiance and customer service was Darioush.

This winery was founded by a Persian couple. The architecture is absolutely gorgeous. It looks like a Persian palace. The tasting area is very elaborate and has a vegas like grandness to it. However, I had a very intimate and welcoming tasting experience there. Our server was very warm, informational, and kind. We even received a private tour of the winery and underground cellar. Everyone there was so hospitable; it was the perfect start to our trip. I would HIGHLY recommend visiting Darioush. Beautiful winery and great hospitality!

My religious wine moment at Opus One...

Emilie and I were so excited to visit Opus. Our good friend from Cal Poly works there so it was a real treat to visit and taste with her. Once we arrived at Opus we were greeted by Morgan and given a glass of their 2011 vintage. This vintage is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Malbec. Morgan gave us a tour of the winery and barrel room. It was amazing! The cellar was spotless. The floor was so clean you could easily slip on it. Oh and the barrel room...it was a sea of beautifully stained barrels. We ended the tour at the terrace and oh my gosh...that is where I had my moment! Just seeing how successful one of my fellow classmates was doing was so meaningful and satisfying. I felt a rush of emotions take over. It was such an exciting moment for me to have finally made it to Napa after all the years of wine education and deep desire to see it. In that moment I felt so much joy, love, and thankfulness. The best way to describe how I felt on that Opus One terrace is BLESSED.

Who had the best wines? Toss up between Caymus Vineyards and Alpha Omega

I was very impressed with Caymus. This was the first winery on the trip that I actually liked more than one or two wines at. Going into the tasting I already had my heart set on taking home a bottle of Clark & Telephone Belle Glos Pinot Noir with me but wow the Alturas Pinot Noir was delicious as well. I really enjoyed all of their wines from the Chardonnay to the Pinot and their flagship Cabernets. This winery does an excellent job making very clean, classic, elegant wines that showcases each varietal in an attractive way.

Alpha Omega was the perfect winery to end our day with. We sat on the patio in front of their gorgeous fountain. We had a very relaxing tasting. The wines were great! My favorite was the Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (I think it's the 2013 vintage). This wine was like no other Sauv Blanc I have ever tried. First, it's barrel fermented, which is very unlikely for a Sauv Blanc since most are always fermented in stainless steel. The oak imparted an incredible creaminess and mouthfeel without overpowering the fresh aromatics of the fruit. The wine smelled heavenly with beautiful tropical fruit on the nose. On the palate it was perfectly balanced with creaminess and acid and kept true to the citrus, minerality characteristics of a Sauv Blanc. This wine was orgasmic no joke.

Most interesting and fun tasting experience goes to Raymond Vineyards

I had a blast at Raymond! The winery has so many rooms for you to play in, we easily spent two hours here. We were able to take a peek in the Red Velvet Room (club member only room) and check out the JCB lounge. Each room had a different personality and showcased something special about the wines, soil, and the owner Jean Charles. We even received a tour of the cellar which is elaborately decorated with Vegas Showgirl mannequins. Not kidding. I loved the sensory station they had in one of the hallways and the gorgeous interior design. It was an experience like no other! Raymond is a must stop for anyone going to Napa.

Thanks for visiting my site. Let me know what your favorite Napa wineries to visit are in the comment section below.

Cheers!

Alex

Wine Flaws 101: Band Aid Wine

Although wine tasting is subjective and depends on personal preference there are definite wine faults which are not. Cork taint, excessive sulfides, volatile acidity (VA), brettanomyces, and oxidation are only a few. Most people are familiar with "corked" wine but an interesting wine flaw that is often unrecognized is Brettanomyces.

Wines containing Brett display aromas and flavors of band aid, barnyards, and medicine cabinets. This is caused by uncleaniless during the wine making process or a winery could unfortunately be stuck with the lingering Brettanomyces yeast in their cellar. Once the yeast has made home in a winery it is extremely difficult to eradicate.

If you have never smelled a wine effected by Brett or have trouble recognizing this wine flaw, pick up this bottle of Casa Especias 2011 Jumila and you will understand. It screams Brett! This wine smells like band aids and menthol and also has some beef jerky flavor on the palate.

I am not a fan of Bretty flavors so I would NOT recommend this wine for enjoyment. In fact I was extremely dissatisfied with this product and could not even drink it!  However, if you are interested in learning about Bretty characteristics this would be a great example to learn from.

Casa Especias 2011 Jumila Blend

Varietals: 40% Monastrell (aka Mourvedre), 30% Syrah, 30% Tempranillo

Alcohol: 13.5%

Region: Jumila, Spain

Price: $11.50

Retailer: BevMo! (It was on the 5 cent wine sale)

Ballin' on a Budget

Although I love me some top quality wine, my post grad budget just can't keep up with it these days. While grocery shopping I picked up this wine to give it a try! I purchased this from Trader Joe's. The Tiffany Blue label immediately caught my eye and the "Crew Pick" shelf talker made me more intrigued. Plus, it was only $3.99 so I didn't have much to lose anyways!

This wine is very refreshing and low in alcohol. On the nose it first smelled a bit funny but after sitting for a while the aroma opened up and displayed the scent of white flowers and stone fruit. On the palate I tasted flavors of lime and fresh green apples. This wine is has some great acidity to it but subtle enough to drink without any food. This is a very easy wine to enjoy and is a perfect "Porch Pounder" on those warm nights!

Rioja Rose´

Marques de Caceres Dry Rose´

Price: ~$10

Year: 2013

Region: Rioja, Spain

I was on a rose´ kick all summer and picked up this lovely wine at Albertson's during their summer sale. This wine is super expressive aromatically! On the nose I get FRUIT LOOPS to the max, a fresh bouquet of mixed flowers, and a fresh/clean scented candle (it has a waxy smell to it). On the palate I tasted strawberry, ripe red cherry, citrus, and orange cantaloupe. This wine has a long finish, moderate acidity, and medium alcohol coming in at 13.5%. It's balanced, refreshing, and excites the senses. I definitely recommend picking this up if you have the chance. This rose´ beat all of the Provence and California rose´s I tasted it against. For those who are uncertain about drinking rose´s give this one a shot. It's a dry rose meaning it's NOT sweet! This isn't Beringer White Zinfandel here! Don't be afraid to join the rose´ revolution and drink pink!

Cheers!

Alex