New York Week

Hello, everyone! This week we took on two wines from our very own New York!

Check out the video of our tasting, and keep reading below for the detailed evaluation!




Three Brothers Wineries and Estates, 4 Degrees of Riesling; Medium-Sweet Riesling, 2011

We started the night off with a medium sweet white wine, which I didn't have high hopes of liking for myself. But I was hoping our sweet-loving ladies would at least enjoy the vino.

The bouquet for this wine did not start out well for us. The first words we found for it were, dirty sponge, gasoline, mildew, and rubber. After digging deeper, some w(h)iners found a grape, and potentially a pear or apricot aroma. Needless to say, we were skeptically in taking our first sips.

And as we dove in, we didn't find much better in the taste. The initial taste was a very sweet, sugary water taste. The tastes were a bit more appealing, however, than the aromas, and we did find some grapefruit, pear, apple, and almond extract nuances within the wine. It ended, however, with a slightly tart after taste, that put off most of our w(h)iners.

With a cheap price and a fairly appealing label, this wine should draw in the customers. However, four out of five w(h)iners were not fans. One w(h)iner, who likes particularly sweet wines, did, however, truly enjoy this wine--so there is hope for it!

Bottom line: Would we recommend this wine? Only if you like very sugary whites. One out of five isn't very promising for recommendations, but there is a chance you could like it!



Chateau Frank, Methode Champenoise; Brut Sparkling Wine, 2006

 I set out initially to buy an actual French champagne. When I found the prices didn't quite mesh with my budget, I turned to finding a French sparkling wine (When it's not from the region of Champagne, it can't legally be called champagne.), and believed I had found it in this Chateau Frank...When I got it home and found it was from New York, it was time to change the game plan! So, I personally went into this tasting a little disappointed, but hopeful! (It was still made in the Champagne method, after all! And it was $28 a bottle--ouch!)

Starting out with our sense of smell, we found mostly pear, apple, honey, lemon, and maybe some vanilla or anise (black licorice). One w(h)iner smelled nail polish remover, as well.

Moving into the tasting, we found mostly an alcoholish, slightly lemony taste. One w(h)iner detected a pear flavor, as well, and a few agreed on an oddly-vodka-ish flavor. Another w(h)iner found a spiciness in the wine, while two others just called it a burn.

With an appealing label, and a $28 price tag, we expected a fairly good-quality wine, and we a little disappointed. The w(h)iners unanimously agreed it to be a "Meh" wine.

Bottom line: Would we recommend this brut? No. Spend your money on a better sparkler (like our favorite Prosecco from Ruffino). Overall, it was not a terrible flavor, but not altogether the most appealing of sparkling wines--not worth a large price tag, sadly.


Sadly, we didn't find any great wines to add to our W(h)iner's Circle this time around, so check back with us next week, and we'll see if we find something we like!